The Ohio State men’s volleyball team celebrates during a 3-1 victory over St. Francis University at the Covelli Center Monday. Credit: Aiden Ridgway | Lantern Photographer
The Buckeyes’ last four-game homestand was its best.
No. 5 Ohio State (4-0, 0-0 MIVA) defeated No. 17 UC San Diego (2-2, 0-0 Big West) 3-2 in a five-set thriller Saturday night at the Covelli Center.
The Buckeye offense was led by a two-man hitting duo. Senior outside hitter Jacob Pasteur notched a team-high 20 kills, and sophomore opposite hitter Shane Wetzel was not far behind with 19.
Wetzel said although the game went down to the wire, it was nice seeing fans come out to support the home team as the Buckeyes rounded out their four-game home streak.
“I thought it was awesome having all the fans here,” Wetzel said. “It fires me up, I know it fires our entire team up. We love seeing everyone come out and support our sport.”
The Tritons started strong in the Covelli Center, taking the first set in a point-for-point matchup. The UC San Diego offense was led by junior opposite hitter Anthony Cherfan, who slammed three quick kills early in the match.
The Buckeyes were the first to break 20 off a kill by Pasteur, but the Tritons quickly followed after two errors from Ohio State. Double service aces by Cherfan rounded out the set with a 24-26 score, and the Tritons took an early 1-0 lead.
Continuing its first-set success, UC San Diego opened scoring in the second and blasted to a 1-5 edge. But a pair of Pasteur kills brought the Buckeyes within two as the set moved to 3-5.
After back-and-forth points, Ohio State grabbed the lead on a kill by redshirt-freshman outside hitter Ben Putnam, pushing the score to 10-9. The Buckeyes maximized the berth, jumping to a 20-17 advantage against UC San Diego.
Their lead stretched to five after a Triton net violation and attack error. It remained there to finish the set as they tied the match at 1-1, with the final score landing at 25-20.
After a long volley to begin set three, the Buckeyes pulled away with the first points. UC San Diego was quick to follow off back-to-back kills from junior outside hitter Matthew Lim.
After multiple ties, UC San Diego was first to hit 20 off a kill from redshirt-sophomore middle blocker Peter Selcho, placing the score at 18-20. UC San Diego pushed the lead to three after an Ohio State service error, and the Buckeyes grabbed 3 more points before the Tritons took the third set 21-25.
The Buckeyes made crucial adjustments after falling to the Tritons for the second set of the night.
“We told them it was within our control,” Ohio State head coach Kevin Burch said. “Get back to the simple stuff, just slow down your approaches and make sure we get back to our basic fundamentals.”
Ohio State started the scoring in the fourth and dominated most of the set. The Buckeyes grabbed 3 early points before a Wetzel attack error gave UC San Diego its first set point.
The Buckeyes kept the momentum throughout the fourth, pushing the lead to nine as a block from redshirt-senior setter Michael Wright placed the score at 16-7. The Buckeyes led by as many as 14 points as kills from Pasteur and junior middle blocker Cole Young propelled the team to set point.
A kill from senior setter Andrew Boyle kept UC San Diego alive for one final possession until Wetzel terminated the ball, giving the Buckeyes a decisive win over set four, and the score settled at 25-11.
The fifth and final set began in favor of the Buckeyes as kills from Wetzel and redshirt-senior middle blocker Justin Howard gave them an early 2-0 lead. UC San Diego bounced back with a kill from Lim, but Ohio State kept the momentum on its side, maintaining a steady lead throughout the fifth.
Another Wetzel kill drove the score to 8-4. The Tritons grabbed a few more points off opponent errors but were not able to close the scoring gap to less than two as a strong defensive effort by the Buckeyes held the Triton’s offense at bay. A Pasteur service ace put Ohio State at set point, and a Wetzel kill finished off the night as they remained undefeated on the season.
The Buckeyes will begin road play this week with games against No. 1 UCLA Friday and No. 12 USC Saturday.
The hard-fought victory against UC San Diego was great preparation for the two ranked matchups ahead.
“Texas is going to be a gauntlet, and it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Pasteur said. “We’re going to have to understand that we can go down by two sets. We have the capabilities to bounce back and fight back. I think this not only prepared our mental toughness and our confidence but also how to understand the corrections we need to make to try and mitigate it from going to five in the first place.”
Both games will take place at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas, as a part of the First Point Federation Cup. Friday’s match against UCLA will take place at 5 p.m., and Saturday’s against USC at 2:30 p.m.
