Ohio State freshman outside hitter Emmi Sellman (14) raises her arms after the Buckeyes earned a point against the Michigan Wolverines Sunday. Ohio State went on to lose the match in four sets. Credit: Liam Ahern | Lantern Photographer
The Buckeyes (8-8, 1-5 Big Ten) had the opportunity to play in the Schottenstein Center Sunday for the first time in program history against rival Michigan (14-3, 4-2 Big Ten), but an attendance record of 8,844 fans wasn’t enough for Ohio State to come away victorious, as it fell in four sets to the Wolverines.
Despite the loss, sophomore setter Mia Tuman admired the Buckeye fans in attendance.
“I think what’s so special about being at Ohio State Buckeye Nation is that your fans will show up for anything. They really showed up and just made a huge impact on us tonight,” Tuman said. “Like, it was just so great, such a great feeling like they always do a great job, and they didn’t disappoint tonight.”
Behind the crowd’s momentum, the Buckeyes opened the first set with a 3-1 lead, and a couple of kills from graduate outside hitter Emily Londot helped the crowd maintain its energy. Ohio State rode its early lead to 14-8, causing Michigan to call a timeout.
Michigan then narrowed the score margin to only three points, with a score of 22-19, leading Ohio State to take its first timeout.
The Wolverines continued their momentum, stormed back and scored the game’s final four points to win the set.
“I think we came out hot, like you said, but I just think it’s about finishing at the end of the day,” Londot said. “We talked about it in the huddle; when we got in the 20s, you could feel it was a little tense, and in those moments, that’s when we got about swinging. We didn’t do that.”
The Buckeyes started the second set with another 3-1 lead. Both teams traded points to make the score 12-9, and the Buckeyes called a timeout after Sellman hit the ball slightly too high and out of bounds. Londot helped the Buckeyes continue their lead, being the first Buckeye to achieve 10 or more kills in the game, which caused Michigan to take a timeout after her 11th.
Toward the end of the second set, Michigan started to make a comeback, only being down a few points. In the end, Michigan went on yet another 4-0 run, ultimately taking the set.
Tuman said the team is working on its consistency.
“I think we have great moments. How long can you play better for longer than the other team?” Tuman said. “I think that’s something we work on every day at practice, and I think we wish we had done a little bit better. While we started the match strong, I think it was just as consistent as we would have liked.”
Graduate middle blocker Rylee Rader secured an ace to take a 10-3 lead, forcing Michigan to call a timeout.
The Buckeyes owned a 24-20 lead and learned from their previous two mistakes. This time, Londot closed out the third set 25-20 with her 18th kill of the game.
“I don’t think we ever let it up,” sophomore middle blocker Eloise Brandewie said. “We were trying to be aggressive, swinging hard, attack brutality the whole entire time.”
The Buckeyes trailed for a majority of the fourth set.
Londot helped the Buckeyes get within two points following a kill, but the Wolverines pulled away with a 25-21 win.
Buckeyes head coach Jen Flynn Oldenburg said the team’s early mistakes proved costly.
“I think we missed too many serves in the first two sets early,” Oldenburg said. “We’re making plays and other times we’re just standing looking around, and those are the things that need to change to get different results.”
The Buckeyes will face off against Penn State Friday at 8 p.m. at the Covelli Center.
