Ohio State senior outside hitter Martin Lallemand (6) serves the ball over the net during the Ohio State-Loyola Chicago on Feb. 20. Credit: Christian Harsa | Asst. Photo Editor
The Buckeyes hope to add a couple wins against the Mastodons as it plays a two-match series on the road.
Ohio State (5-7) is looking to get back to their winning ways as they take on a competitive Purdue Fort Wayne (3-5) team that has won two of the last three matchups against the Buckeyes. After a hard fought 3-2 loss to Ball State, Ohio State head coach Kevin Burch said he wants to get his team back on track heading into these matches.
Burch said that making sure his players are in positions to score points has been the focus of practice this week. Although the Buckeyes committed less errors in their loss to Ball State, Burch said that the decrease was a result of his team playing timidly instead of fighting for points.
“Our mentality has been serving to not miss and that creates issues for us,” Burch said. “I think being a little more fearless from the end line and being a little more intentional with what we’re doing as far as scoring points specific ways has been a big point of emphasis.”
Although scoring points on offense has been Burch’s focus this week, the Buckeyes defense struggled to defend Ball State’s attack in their last match. Heading into Fort Wayne, Indiana, Ohio State will have to be dialed in defensively to stop an aggressive Mastodon offense.
Freshman outside hitter Vicente Ibarra will be the Buckeyes’ main target on defense. The 6-foot-8 Santiago, Chile native averages 4.46 kills per set and has a .326 hitting percentage on the season.
“There aren’t very many players in the country that are unstoppable no matter what you do defensively, but when they pass in on the net, he’s as close as it gets to being unstoppable,” Burch said. “A big key for us is going to be serving to get them off the net which will be huge for us.”
In the Buckeye’s last match, freshman outside hitter Jacob Pasteur exited the match midway through the third set with an ankle injury. Despite this, Burch said he is healthy and ready to play against the Mastodons.
Pasteur leads the Buckeyes in kills per set, averaging 3.75. Burch said he has been able to practice and is happy to have him back in the lineup for Friday’s match.
Ohio State’s second leading scorer, senior outside hitter Martin Lallemand, echoed what Burch said about being prepared to score points in meaningful ways.
“Putting ourselves in tough situations in practice and making sure that we can put up an aggressive ball on the serve has helped,” Lallemand said. “All the things we have been working on have been crucial to make sure we get a swing off of every opportunity they give us.”
Lallemand is a key player for the Buckeyes, contributing both offensively and defensively, averaging 2.88 kills per set and 1.56 digs per set. He said that given the uncertainty of the season due to the pandemic, he feels a sense of urgency heading into every match to perform the best possible.
“I think that it’s a good opportunity for us to just bounce back and show the conference that we’re a good team and we can compete at the highest level of this conference,” Lallemand said. “I think that we’re all super pumped to get another opportunity to compete again, so we’re going to make the most of it and make sure we’re ready to fight on every ball when we get there.”
The match is set to begin Friday at 6 p.m. in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
