Ohio State sophomore outside hitter Jacob Pasteur (7) huddles up with the team after a successful point during the Ohio State-Loyola Chicago game Feb. 17. Ohio State lost 3-2. Credit: Katie Good | For the Lantern
Sophomore outside hitter Jacob Pasteur led Ohio State to a pair of Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association wins last weekend against Quincy and Lindenwood.
Pasteur hit .596 for the week with 31 kills on 47 swings, adding two aces and five blocks with no errors vs. Lindenwood. Head coach Kevin Burch pointed to Pasteur’s ability to accept coaching as a driving factor in his improvement since last season.
“15 kills on 21 attempts with no errors is a great example to show how great of a learner he is,” Burch said. “Combine that with his level of talent and the sky’s the limit.”
Last week’s success earned Pasteur his second-career Player of the Week award. He said he has an “indifferent attitude” toward individual awards despite saying it was nice to see him recognized by the conference.
Pasteur said he is more focused on teamwork, and the team’s attributions have led the Buckeyes to three-straight sweeps in the conference.
“This season we have had a lot of setbacks with injuries,” Pasteur said. “But we have been growing with resilience and camaraderie among the team.”
This season, Pasteur leads the Buckeyes with 31 blocks, 21 service aces, 185 kills and averages 3.85 kills per set.
He has competed in the Pan American Cup in 2021, where he said he trained for 10 days and the team ultimately won bronze, and was named to the High-Performance Championships All-Tournament Team in 2019 for USA Volleyball.
From these tournaments, coaches had begun showing interest in him, Pasteur said.
Head coach Kevin Burch reached out to Pasteur, offering him to play for the Buckeyes. After his official visit to campus, he had committed in less than 24 hours.
“He is such a powerful player,” Burch said. “The energy that he brings to the team and the momentum that he produces is great.”
The Buckeyes will face Lincoln Memorial for non-conference play Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Covelli Center. The games will be streamed on Big Ten Network Plus.
