The Ohio volleyball team (6-5 overall) begins Mid-American Conference play this weekend at The Convo when it takes on Akron at 7 tonight and Kent at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Ohio Head Coach Ellen Dempsey said she believes both teams will provide good competition for the Bobcats.

"They are both really good ball control teams," she said. "They dig well, they pass well. Balls you think are down, they're going to get a hand on and keep alive."

The style of play Akron and Kent bring to the table might cause a little trouble for Ohio this weekend.

"Both teams have a tendency to send over a lot of junk," Dempsey said. "They'll tip, they'll throw the ball, push it. It's not pass, set, bang.

"Our kids like to play pass, set, hit and sometimes they get a little frustrated when they play teams that don't necessarily play that style of game. How well we adjust to that has a lot to do with how successful we'll be."

The play of middle blocker Katie Mullen and outside hitter Amber Merrill has led Ohio so far this year. Although Dempsey would like to see the entire team step it up, she said she is looking for setter Michelle Gil to have a good weekend.

"She has to play big," she said. "She had a great weekend her first weekend in Virginia. She had a rough last match of our home tournament as well as a rough tournament last week.

"This is a big weekend for her. This is the conference. It counts, and she has to step up to the plate twice."

There is no clear-cut favorite right now to win the MAC, Dempsey said. The pre-season favorite to win the East division, Miami, has lost six straight matches.

"I've been saying all along Western Michigan is a dark horse," she said. "They were picked third in the West. I see Ball State being one and Western being two in the West. On our side, it's a wide-open race at this point."

Mullen said she believes Ohio has what it takes to bring home a MAC title.

"We have as good a chance as anybody to take the championship and I think if we step it up and meet the challenge, we'll definitely be one of the teams who will be in position to win it."