Junior outside hitter Erin Sekinger spikes the ball during a match against Dabrowa Sept. 4 at St. John Arena. OSU won, 3-2.
Credit: Shelby Lum / Photo editor
The No. 13 Ohio State women’s volleyball team finished its non-conference schedule 12-0 after sweeping all three matches at the Blue and White Classic in Buffalo, N.Y., this weekend.
The Buckeyes, off to their best start since Geoff Carlston became head coach in 2008, recorded back-to-back three set wins against Valparaiso and Buffalo Saturday after dominating Maryland Eastern Shore (25-6, 25-10, 25-9) Friday.
OSU clinched the tournament title against host Buffalo in the team’s final non-conference match (25-13, 25-14, 25-16).
Senior outside hitter Kaitlyn Leary led all players with 17 kills against the Bulls while freshman outside hitter Kylie Randall had 11 kills and three errors. Senior libero Davionna DiSalvatore and senior defensive specialist Julianne Mandolfo had 11 and 10 digs respectively.
The Buckeyes finished the match with a .365 attacking percentage while Buffalo had a .000 mark (24 kills, 24 errors).
Earlier in the day, the Buckeyes played the closest of their three matches in the tournament against Valparaiso. The Buckeyes fought a long first set, winning 29-27, before finishing off the final two sets 25-20 and 25-17.
Senior outside hitter Kaitlyn Leary posted a match-high 18 kills, freshman right side hitter Taylor Sandbothe tallied 14 and junior outside hitter Erin Sekinger finished with 11. Junior setter Taylor Sherwin put up 44 assists and DiSalvatore posted 15 digs.
The Buckeyes did not allow double digit kills to a single Valparaiso player but did finish the match with 21 hitting errors, compared to 17 for their opponents.
Against UMES, Sandbothe led the way with nine kills on 14 attempts, for an attacking percentage of .643. Sekinger finished the match with eight kills and Sherwin had a match-high 23 assists.
Freshman setter Maggie Heim, who coach Carlston said had been nursing a hamstring injury, made her collegiate debut in the match, finishing with 12 assists on 15 attempts.
As a team, Ohio State finished with 38 kills compared to only 11 for UMES.
Sherwin has been named tournament MVP twice this season, but it was Leary’s turn to pick up the honor in Buffalo. Sekinger and Sanbothe both joined her as all-tournament selections.
Ohio State is scheduled to kick off Big Ten play Friday as No. 10 Michigan (10-1) travels to Columbus. The rivals are set to square off at 8 p.m. in St. John Arena.
