Kyle Grantham / Staff Photographer / kg116806@ohiou.edu

Michelle Jantsch, who finished the game with 37 assists, jumps to block a Kent State spike.  The Bobcats swept the Golden Flashes 3-0 last night.

The light at the end of the tunnel is becoming a beacon.

While other teams below them are jockeying for position in the Mid-American Conference East division, the Bobcats just keep winning.

Ohio’s fifth win in a row and 10th in the last 11 matches took just 81 minutes. While the stat sheet may not have been pretty, the Bobcats’ destiny is clear.

A win in tomorrow night’s showdown with MAC West foe Central Michigan and Ohio earns its sixth consecutive MAC East title.

But last night, the Bobcats had a pesky Kent State team standing in the way, looking for the most improbable of upsets.

The first set was a variety of service errors and missed opportunities from both teams, but the Bobcats pulled away thanks to late serving mishaps by the Golden Flashes. Kent State opened and closed the first set with an error from the service line and five kills from junior Meghan Simons set the tone early.

“The error battle in game one was just about even,” coach Ryan Theis said. “We had to take advantage of those errors, because they didn’t make many. When they made (a mistake), we jumped on it.”

The Bobcats didn’t need their defense in the same capacity as recent weeks, thanks to 17 attack errors by the Golden Flashes. Sophomore Sue Jacobi was Ohio’s top player at the net, recording four blocks on the night.

Compared to last weekend, it was a relatively quiet evening for outside hitter Ellen Herman. The junior had 13 kills. Kent State attempted to neutralize her in game two, but her seven kills in the set were a big factor in wearing the Golden Flashes down.

Ohio had 34 digs in the final two sets and Kent State struggled to find seams down the stretch.

“They didn’t give us too many points,” Herman said. “We didn’t give up too many errors, we’re serving tough, and that’s something we have to keep improving on every day.

 “It seemed like it was a really quick-paced game, and then it was over.”

Setter Michelle Jantsch’s 37 assists helped an offense that also got 11 kills from junior Jane Sytsma, who was instrumental in changing the tone of the match at the net

“(Jantsch) had great sets tonight,” Sytsma said. We hardly had any errors. She didn’t just set one person, she set everyone. They couldn’t focus on just one person and it’s a lot harder to block.

Kent State got its first lead of the match at 4-3 in the second set, and never led by more than a single point.

The Bobcats’ balanced attack was utilized for the second weekend in a row, with four players contributing at least eight kills. Simons and Jacobi each tallied eight kills, with Simons hitting at a .533 clip.

Ohio ended the match in familiar fashion — on a Herman kill. The familiarity ends there, however, as the Bobcats travel to face the Chippewas for the first time this season.