Whitney Maiden’s confidence is growing with every swing of her arm. The Nelsonville native was called upon Thursday night in the absence of junior outside hitter Ellen Herman, who has an ankle injury. Maiden contributed 10 kills against Kent to lead the team and added 14 Saturday, a new career-high, to lead the Bobcats to a five-set win over Eastern Michigan. She received the ball for 37 swings Saturday and is becoming a more-than-capable replacement for the Bobcats’ leader. “(Maiden) had a slow first set, but from there on, she did a great job,” coach Ryan Theis said. “She did well against Kent, and hopefully she keeps rolling.” Maiden credited the team around her for getting her the ball in the proper areas. “My confidence is definitely there, but it has everything to do with the team,” Maiden said. “If the setters give me a good ball, it’s my job to put it down.” In what has become a concerning trend at home, the Bobcats yet again started slow. The match opened with a service error into the net, and the Eagles took control of the first set early, holding off a late Ohio rally. “Apparently, I need to change something about how we’re focusing on that,” Theis said with a smile. The second frame was more tightly contested, with both teams trading kills and benefiting from an abundance of attack and serving errors. After losing the third set, the Bobcats amped up their defense and junior middle blocker Jane Sytsma came alive. Syts ...
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