The Ohio State men’s volleyball team circles up before a 3-1 series win over No. 6 Lewis Saturday at the Covelli Center in the first round of the MIVA playoffs. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
Ohio State extended its conference tournament run with a 3-1 win over Lewis on Saturday.
The No. 3-seeded Buckeyes (20-8, 11-5 MIVA) beat the No. 6-seeded Flyers (15-15, 8-8 MIVA) at the Covelli Center in Columbus to advance to the MIVA Tournament semifinals on Thursday.
Senior outside hitter Jacob Pasteur led the Ohio State offense with 17 kills. Sophomore opposite hitter Shane Wetzel followed with 16.
Wetzel also led the Buckeyes’ defense with 13 digs. Redshirt-senior setter Michael Wright facilitated the team with 49 assists.
Four Buckeyes also tallied at least one service ace in the match. Pasteur led with four, followed by Wright with three. Junior outside hitter Kyle Teune and redshirt-freshman outside hitter Ben Putnam also each had one.
Putnam said that he felt confident in his team heading into the semifinals.
“We know that we can beat any team in this conference and in the country,” Putnam said. “So we’re just going to prepare, focus on ourselves and get ready for Thursday.”
To start Saturday’s matchup, the Flyers jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first set, fueled by two Ohio State errors. A Buckeye net violation stretched the Lewis lead to four.
A service ace by Teune brought Ohio State back within one, and a Pasteur kill tied the score at 11-11.
The lead shifted throughout the remainder of the set, and the Buckeyes were the first to reach 20 off a Flyers’ service error. Another Lewis error stretched the Ohio State lead to two at a 22-20 score.
A slam by sophomore outside hitter Daniel Haber and an ace by junior setter Tyler Morgan followed to tie the score at 22-22. Another service ace by junior outside hitter Max Roquet set Lewis at set point, but a kill by redshirt-senior middle blocker Justin Howard tied the score at 24-24 to push the set past regulation.
The Buckeyes regained the lead with a Teune termination, and they finished with a block to take the 26-24 first-set victory.
The Flyers grabbed a 3-1 lead to start the second off multiple Ohio State errors. The lead extended to four off a service ace by redshirt-freshman middle blocker Shawn Baggs.
The Buckeyes responded with back-to-back aces by Pasteur to tie the score at 13-13, but an error followed to once again put Lewis ahead. Ohio State then went on a 3-0 run to grab the 18-16 lead.
Double service aces by Wright put the Buckeyes up 23-20, forcing a Flyer timeout. Fueled by a slam from freshman outside hitter Deyan Todorov, Lewis went on a 4-1 run to even the score at 24-24.
A Roquet kill put the Flyers at set point, and a second Roquet slam gave them the 27-25 second set win, tying the match at 1-1.
A Wright slam gave Ohio State a 3-1 lead to start the second. Adding to his success at the service line, Wright collected his third ace of the night to extend the lead to four.
The Buckeyes held a consistent lead throughout the set and reached 20 on double kills from Wetzel. A Lewis attack error stretched the gap to five at a 21-16 score.
A slam by junior middle blocker Cole Young placed Ohio State at set point, and a Pasteur kill gave the Buckeyes the 25-21 third-set win.
A 3-1 lead for Ohio State began the fourth set, fueled by double kills from Pasteur. A Buckeye block bumped the lead to four.
With his 16th kill of the night, Wetzel put Ohio State up 15-9 in the fourth. After Lewis grabbed 2 quick points, two aces and a kill from Pasteur put the Buckeyes ahead by seven at an 18-11 score.
A service ace by redshirt-senior opposite hitter Christian Prayer put the Flyers back within four, but multiple errors followed to set the score at 21-16. A Roquet slam brought Lewis back within three.
Roquet’s 17th kill of the evening brought the Flyers to 20, but their final push was not enough, and a Howard slam gave Ohio State the 25-20 set victory to win the match in four.
After their first-round win, Wetzel said the team is excited to continue its run.
“We all want this badly,” Wetzel said. “We have a lot of seniors on the team, and this is their last run, so we’re going to try and take it to everyone we play and hopefully take it all the way.”
With all MIVA quarterfinal matchups complete, the Buckeyes are set for a 4 p.m., game against No. 2-seeded Loyola Chicago at Worthen Arena in Muncy, Indiana, on Thursday. Ohio State is 0-2 against the Ramblers this season.
