Volleyball, 2003-2007
Taking dominance to a whole new level
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5 straight regular season titles
4 consecutive MAC Tournament championships
64 consecutive conference wins
144 total victories in five years
A picture of the 2003 volleyball team. Part of the 2004 edition of the Athena yearbook. Courtesy of Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, Ohio University Libraries.
Those are just a few of the record-setting numbers the Bobcat faithful witnessed from their volleyball team in the mid-2000s. It is an era that no other Ohio volleyball program – past or present – has ever seen.
This is the story of one of the most defining eras in Ohio University sports history.
The Majesties of the MAC
Head Coach Geoff Carlston and his Bobcats went 78-2
in Mid-American Conference play from 2003-07.
Ohio also accumulated a 14-1 record in the conference tournament in that span. Their only loss came to Miami in the 2007 championship – the final game of that dominant era.
The 2006 team set an attendance record, with more than 11,000 fans cheering them on at the Convocation Center throughout that season. Senior Michaele Blackburn even said Dr. Roderick McDavis, president of Ohio University at the time, would come to matches and give pep talks to the team.
That’s how popular they were.
In 2007, the Bobcats achieved the school’s highest-ever ranking by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) – No. 13.
Head Coach Geoff Carlston (center) with his players in 2006. From the 2007 edition of the Athena yearbook. Courtesy of Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, Ohio University Libraries.
Right: McKenzie Mauck of Ohio (right, #5) goes up for a block against Akron, 2007. From the Nov. 8, 2007, edition of The Post.
Courtesy of Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, Ohio University Libraries.
Key Players
Adamovsky (left) and Hageman (right) combine for a block in November 2003. Courtesy of Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, Ohio University Libraries.
Laura Hageman & Briana Adamovsky
Hageman and Adamovsky were upperclassmen in the 2003-04 campaigns. They earned the MAC Player of the Year Awards in back-to-back seasons – Hageman in 2003 and Adamovsky in 2004.
Hageman’s 2003 player of the year spotlight was her second consecutive honor. The 6’2” middle-blocker achieved the best single season hitting percentage in school history at .342 in 2002. She earned First-Team All-Conference honors in 2002 and 2003.
Adamovsky played setter for Ohio and commanded the competition during the 2004 season. She was named the Collegiate Volleyball Update’s National Setter of the Year along with being recognized as the MAC’s best player (the third straight time an Ohio player won that award).
Julia Winkfield
One key reason for Ohio’s sustained success was its ability to transition from one dominant player to another. Hageman and Adamovsky passed their torch to Julia Winkfield.
Having already been a key contributor during the Bobcats’ championship runs in 2003 and 2004, Winkfield took her game to even greater heights in 2005. She accumulated a team-high 438 kills while leading the team in hitting percentage (.365).
Winkfield propelled Ohio to a 33-3 overall record and an unblemished conference finish (16-0) in 2005. She became the fourth consecutive Ohio recipient of the MAC Player of the Year award.
Courtesy of Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, Ohio University Libraries.
Courtesy of Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, Ohio University Libraries.
Melissa Griffin
A four-time MAC All-Selection, Griffin became the fourth Bobcat in six years to win the Player of the Year award (2007).
Griffin, a middle blocker from Whitehall, Michigan, dominated on both ends of the floor, averaging a team-high 4.09 kills per set and finished the season with 21 solo blocks.
Coach Carlston said the following of Griffin that year:
“Melissa has grown more than any player I’ve coached in my career. She has become the glue for the team and is turning into a tremendous leader for us.”
Making an Early Splash
Aside from the four players who received conference player of the year recognitions, the Bobcats also saw its freshman leave equally as strong of a mark.
Amanda Anderson and Ellen Herman won the MAC Freshman of the Year in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Anderson tallied 259 kills in 33 games during her rookie season. Herman’s first season as a Bobcat saw her attain a staggering 482 kills. She was also the only freshman on the 2006 All-MAC First Team.
Amanda Anderson. From the 2007 Ohio Bobcats volleyball media guide.
Ellen Herman. Courtesy of Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, Ohio University Libraries.
A Record Unlike Any Other
On Friday, Nov. 7, 2003, the Ohio Bobcats volleyball program clinched its first-ever regular season MAC title with a road win against the Buffalo Bulls. The victory also guaranteed Ohio the top seed for that year’s conference tournament.
With the Bobcats’ position in the MAC all but locked up, they traveled to northeast Ohio to face Akron the very next day with a chance to secure a perfect 14-0 record in conference play.
They lost to the Zips in five sets.
Headline from the Nov. 10, 2003, edition of The Post. Courtesy of Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, Ohio University Libraries.
“We’re all disappointed, but it makes us want to come back on Monday with a drive to get even better,” Ohio’s Brianna Adamovsky said in an article from The Post. “Losing to Akron will make us work harder to beat them next time.”
It would be 1,420 days until Akron or any other MAC team claimed a victory against the green and white.
Header from the Oct. 1, 2007, edition of The Post. Courtesy of Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, Ohio University Libraries.
Ohio did not witness its next conference defeat until Sept. 28, 2007, in a Friday night clash with archrival Miami. The RedHawks took the match in four sets.
The loss marked the volleyball team’s first defeat at the Convo in five years to the day. It was also Geoff Carlston’s first home loss as head coach since being hired four years earlier.
“Miami played well tonight and better than us. Eventually someone was going to step up. That’s how it goes,” Ohio’s coach remarked.
The Bobcats clinched that season’s MAC regular season title but fell to those same RedHawks in that year's conference championship.
Amanda Anderson blocks a shot during the 2007 loss to Miami. From the Oct. 1, 2007, edition of The Post. Courtesy of Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, Ohio University Libraries.
Geoff Carlston: All He Does is Win
Five years. Five regular season titles. Four MAC Tournament championships.
Carlston coaches setter Savannah Parra during a game in 2006. Courtesy of Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, Ohio University Libraries.
Geoff Carlston built off the Ohio volleyball program's early success when he arrived in 2003.
However, he doesn’t take all the credit. The long-time coach praised the efforts of the team's previous regime led by Mike Lessinger, who propelled Ohio to its first ever MAC Tournament win the year prior with 14 conference victories – the most for the Bobcats to that point.
Carlston spoke on the culture Lessinger established and how that propelled the Bobcats to even greater heights when he took the reigns:
"I was fortunate to just have some really awesome people that were there already," Carlston stated. "I got a great staff and we had really awesome support. We stayed healthy and had a nice little run ... We just coached from a lot of passion, honesty, and authenticity."
- In an interview with broadcaster Emily Ehman from August 2024
Carlston is once again the head coach for Ohio’s volleyball program. He was rehired in the summer of 2021 after spending 12 years in Columbus as the top man of the Ohio State Buckeyes – winning 220 total games during that time.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers alumnus notched his 200th career victory as head coach of Ohio's program in a five-set triumph against the Toledo Rockets on Oct. 4, 2024.
A native of Plymouth, Minn., Carlston graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1993 with a degree in speech communication. He began his coaching career at Hopkins High School in the city of Minnetonka and led the school’s volleyball team to a 41-17 record in two years.
Carlston then turned his sights to service and was stationed in Belize as a member of the Peace Corps, working at a school for the deaf. It was not long after when he was given the opportunity to serve as head coach for the country’s women’s national volleyball team and as an assistant for the men’s team.
"[Coaching] has just always sort of followed me," Carlston said in his interview with Ehman. "I can't sit here and say it was a master plan."
His final stop before coming to Ohio was head coach of the Concordia University Golden Bears in 2000. Carlston took a team that had finished 0-18 the season before his arrival and elevated them to a national ranking in three years.
Carlston talks to his players during a timeout in Ohio's matchup against the Miami RedHawks, October 2024. Photo by Darayus Sethna.
Those winning ways followed Carlston to Athens. In his first stint with the Bobcats from 2003-07, he earned four MAC Coach of the Year awards and accumulated a .968 winning percentage against conference opponents.
Carlston watches from the sidelines, October 2024.
Photo by Darayus Sethna.
Carlston gives coaching points to setter Chariti McKeller (left), October 2024. Photo by Darayus Sethna.
Carlston gives coaching points to setter Chariti McKeller (left), October 2024. Photo by Darayus Sethna.
Upholding the Tradition: Now and Beyond
Video made by Darayus Sethna. Footage provided by WOUB (2024).
The 2024 volleyball team was young. It included four freshmen, seven sophomores, and only two veteran players (a senior and a graduate student).
Carlston has stayed committed to instilling the same values within his players as he did back in 2003. The long-time coach spoke to the media after a game in October 2024. In the video to the left, he emphasized the importance of his team to represent those that came before them with the ultimate sense of pride.
The way they need to do that is by "acting the part."
Carlston looks to bring the Bobcats their first MAC Championship since 2015.
Carlston observes as his team prepares to defend against Miami, October 2024. Photo by Darayus Sethna.
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