Senior outside hitter Martin Lallemand (6) prepares a service during the Ohio State-Loyola game on Feb. 20. Ohio State won 3-2. Credit: Christian Harsa | Asst. Photo Editor
The Ohio State men’s volleyball team leaves Quincy, Illinois, with a split series after dropping the second match of the series to the Hawks to close the Buckeyes’ regular season.
The Buckeyes (9-9) dominated the first matchup against Quincy (5-12) Friday, sweeping the Hawks 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-18) and winning its ninth consecutive set dating back to March 26. The Buckeyes’ winning streak was snapped in the second match, losing 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 16-25, 25-21, 15-10).
Ohio State’s momentum came to a grinding halt as the Hawks found ways to create opportunities offensively in the second match. Although the Buckeyes played stronger on defense than they did in losses earlier this season, mistakes and errors allowed Quincy to battle back and earn the victory.
The Buckeyes’ focus now shifts to the postseason as they attempt to shake the feeling of this loss.
“We’re in a tight conference against a lot of good teams that have a lot of guys that can kill balls just like we can kill balls,” Ohio State head coach Kevin Burch said. “In the end it’s going to come down to how consistent we are defensively and how tough we make it on our opponents offensively.”
Game 1
Ohio State picked up its third straight victory late in the season by beating the Hawks in straight sets. The Buckeyes were able to knock Quincy on its heels by swinging confidently, fueling their high-energy offense.
Although the Hawks had some moments of success, Ohio State stepped out to early leads in all four sets that allowed them to relax and play more confidently.
“We controlled the match defensively, and we were consistent throughout the whole match,” Burch said. “I did think that we played well defensively and that’s what controlled the match from the get-go.”
Freshman outside hitter Jacob Pasteur and senior libero Luke Meidel both notched five digs for the Buckeyes and sophomore middle blocker Samuel Clark earned three block assists. The strong defensive front for the Buckeyes allowed for more relaxed offense that felt more flexibility to attack.
Freshman outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis led the Buckeyes offensively, scoring a match-high 10 kills. Siapanis has been a crucial player for Ohio State, particularly in matches where the Buckeyes have capitalized off of momentum.
“We were carrying a good amount of momentum coming into the match,” senior outside hitter Martin Lallemand said. “We also knew that they were going to come out firing, so we stayed focused.”
Game 2
Although the Buckeyes dominated the first match, the Hawks were determined to fight back in the second, handing Ohio State a loss to close out the regular season.
The Buckeyes led in kills, aces and digs, but the statistic that truly differentiated the two teams was errors. Ohio State suffered 34 errors on the night, 12 more than the Hawks.
“I honestly thought we played pretty good defense tonight,” Burch said. “We just had a lot of attack errors that ended up costing us.”
Lallemand earned 23 kills on the night followed by Siapanis’ 19. The two combined for more than 40 percent of the Buckeyes’ points in the match.
Despite Ohio State’s success offensively, errors continued to trip up the Buckeyes, opening the door for the Hawks to strike. Siapanis committed 14 errors in the match, twice as many as any of his teammates.
“I think that we kind of stepped into this game expecting it to be easy because of what happened yesterday,” Lallemand said. “But errors killed us in this match.”
Quincy went on scoring runs of as many as four points several times throughout the match, largely thanks to mistakes from the Buckeyes.
“They took advantage of the momentum and made some big plays in big moments, and unfortunately our guys showed some fear in some tough situations,” Burch said. “Hopefully they learned something from it because they put us into a lot of tough situations.”
Senior opposite hitter Omari Wheeler led the Hawks offensively with 17 kills and a hitting percentage of .293.
“It’s not an easy loss, but I think our guys learn from it,” Burch said. “Hopefully we’ll play a little more fearlessly moving forward.”
The Buckeyes will travel to Ball State for the first game in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association tournament on April 10.
