Sophomore opposite hitter Shane Wetzel (6) and redshirt-senior middle blocker Justin Howard attempt a block together in then-No. 1 Ohio State’s loss against then-No. 9 Penn State, 3-1, at the Covelli Center Jan. 25. Credit: Lantern Photo Editors
The No. 6 Buckeyes snapped a two-game losing streak with a decisive win over a conference competitor.
Ohio State (7-2, 1-0 MIVA) defeated Lindenwood (2-6, 0-2 MIVA) Sunday to open Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) play in Columbus.
The win came after two losses against No. 9 Penn State University last week.
“The fact that we were able to stay resilient and come around for the last three sets shows a lot of improvement from last game,” said redshirt-freshman hitter Daniel Hurley.
Hurley stepped in for sophomore hitter Shane Wetzel on the opposite side and led the Buckeye offense with 12 kills. Junior middle blocker Cole Young followed with 11.
After stepping into a more prominent role on the outside against Penn State, Hurley said he was eager to have the opportunity to play on the opposite pin.
“I feel prouder of my right-side ability,” Hurley said. “So it helped being able to come into this [game] with a lot more confidence and fire.”
Two other Buckeyes tallied double-digit kills, senior outside hitter Jacob Pasteur and redshirt-freshman outside hitter Ben Putnam. Redshirt-senior setter Michael Wright led Ohio State in assists with 38.
The matinee matchup began in favor of the Lions, and they opened the scoring in the first set with a kill from freshman outside hitter Aidan Curcuru. Multiple service errors put the Buckeyes on top 5-4, but Lindenwood answered quickly and jumped to a 19-13 lead off two kills by sophomore opposite hitter Ian Schuller.
A Pasteur kill tied the score at 24-24, and the first set pushed past regulation. An ace from graduate opposite hitter RaShawn Bonner ended the first with a score of 32-30 and gave Lindenwood the 1-0 lead.
Ohio State responded well in the second set and moved to an early 4-3 lead off a Pasteur termination. Errors riddled the Lions offense and kept the Buckeyes consistently on top.
A slam by redshirt-senior middle blocker Justin Howard led Ohio State to set point, and Hurley finished it off with one final kill to give the Buckeyes a 25-20 set victory.
The momentum remained in favor of Ohio State heading into the third match. The Buckeyes stepped to an early lead, and an ace from Hurley put them ahead 10-6.
The Lions once again struggled with errors in the third, and the Ohio State lead stretched to eight. Two Buckeye blocks pushed them to set point, and a Lindenwood attack error gave Ohio State the 25-17 set win.
A Schuller kill put Lindenwood on the board first in the fourth set, but double kills from Putnam gave the Buckeyes a 5-3 lead. Ohio State remained clean and consistent, and three kills from Young set them ahead 21-15.
Young was a dominant force for the Buckeyes in the fourth set, tallying five kills from the middle in the final stretch.
“We knew their defense wasn’t really respecting my offense, so we decided that we just had to push more balls to the middle of the court,” Young said.
A kill from graduate outside hitter A.J. Lewis kept the Lions alive for one final point, but a Lindenwood attack error ended the set and match in the Buckeyes’ favor with a 25-18 score.
Following the 3-1 victory, The Buckeyes will hit the road for two ranked matchups next week: No. 14 Lewis University Wednesday and No. 11 Loyola University Chicago Friday. The Loyola Chicago game will be streamed on ESPN Plus.
