Members of the OSU women’s volleyball team during a game against Michigan on Nov. 14 at St. John Arena. OSU lost 3-0. Credit: Lantern file photo
A third-set Buckeye effort wasn’t enough to stop the Indiana Hoosiers from swiping a win from the Ohio State women’s volleyball team on Saturday.
Indiana took home the 3-1 victory on their home court, while No. 22 OSU fell to 15-11 overall on the season and 5-9 in the Big Ten.
The loss tallies two in a row for the Buckeyes, dropping a match to Wisconsin prior to their faceoff with the Hoosiers. OSU has just six remaining matches in the regular season. The Buckeyes will see three of those teams for the first time this season.
A week ago, junior outside hitter Luisa Schirmer said that allowing teams to go on three or four-point runs is ruinous for the Buckeyes. In the first set alone, the Hoosiers went on three three-point runs and created a hole for OSU.
Near the conclusion of the first set, the Buckeyes pulled within two points but it was the deadly three-point deficit that came back to haunt them. The Hoosiers took the first set, 25-22.
The second set was anchored offensively by sophomore outside hitter Audra Appold, who swung for 10 kills. Even with impressive statistics, the Buckeyes were doomed to play catch-up nearly the entire set.
However, OSU rallied and tied the score at 23-23. Then, Indiana’s Deyshia Lofton secured a kill and an assisted block for the second Indiana set win.
By the third set, the Buckeyes had had enough, and jumped out to an 8-0 lead, assisted by multiple attacking errors from the Hoosiers. It wasn’t long before sophomore setter Taylor Hughes set foot on the service line and led the team on another three-point run to make the score 14-4.
The OSU kills kept rolling, as senior middle blocker Taylor Sandbothe racked up three in a row, and junior outside hitter Ashley Wenz led the set-winning attack. The Buckeyes headed into the fourth set trailing 2-1.
Down for nearly the entire set, OSU gained its first lead at 14-13. The advantage changed hands briefly before the score was mirrored at 22 each. It was the Hoosiers’ Allison Hammond who slammed down two attacks in the final minutes to take the match, 25-23.
Appold and Sandbothe combined for 37 kills during the match, while freshman Madison Smeathers assisted with five blocks.
OSU will have a chance to redeem its loss to the Hoosiers at the final match of the regular season in front of a home crowd. Before then, the team will first face Rutgers at 7 p.m. on Friday at St. John Arena.
