Sophomore middle blocker Eloise Brandewie jumps up to spike the ball in the Buckeyes three set loss to the Oregon Ducks Oct. 3 at the Covelli Center. Credit: William Moody | Lantern Photographer
After dropping a tight opening set, it was all Buckeyes in East Lansing, Michigan.
Ohio State (10-12 3-9 Big Ten) rallied after a first-set loss to defeat Michigan State (8-15 1-11 Big Ten) in four sets.
The Buckeyes opened their first set with a 9-7 lead. However, Michigan State went on a 5-0 run to reclaim the lead.
The Spartans and Buckeyes went back and forth before a kill from freshman outside hitter Reese Wuebker and a kill from sophomore middle blocker Eloise Brandewie, which gave Ohio State a 19-17 lead.
After falling behind 22-20, a late 5-1 run from Michigan State gave the Spartans the set over the Buckeyes 25-23.
The Buckeyes opened the second set with a 4-2 lead, before Michigan State went on a 7-1 run, forcing an Ohio State timeout.
Graduate outside hitter Emily Londot earned a kill to help the Buckeyes tie the set at 11, then graduate middle blocker Rylee Rader got a kill of her own as the Buckeyes capped off 5-0 run to take the lead back 12-11.
The Buckeyes earned their first block of the game off a shared effort by Brandewie and sophomore setter Mia Tuman to push their lead to 18-16.
Deep into the set, Londot got a kill to reach set point at 25-24. The following play, Michigan State sophomore outside hitter Taylah Holdem sailed her serve out of bounds to give the Buckeyes a 26-24 set win.
In the third set, Londot earned a kill off a gently placed hit to help the Buckeyes get off to a hot start with a 6-3 lead.
But Michigan State then went on a 3-0 run to tie the set at 13, forcing a Buckeyes timeout.
Later in the set, Wuebker racked up two straight kills, helping Ohio State take a 20-16 lead. Moments later, Wuebker got a cross-court kill to continue her dominance 21-18.
Freshman outside hitter Emmi Sellman earned the final two points of the set, with two kills, to reach set point and inevitably give Ohio State a 25-21 set win.
Early in the fourth set, Londot and Rader shared a block to help the Buckeyes take a 4-2 lead.
Sellman sparked the next Buckeyes run with a kill, then a shared block from Londot and Rader extended the Buckeye lead to 12-8.
Another shared block by Brandewie and Rader pushed the score to 16-10. Ohio State built as much as an eight-point lead in the fourth set.
A Michigan State attack error gave the Buckeyes match point at 24-17 before a service error earned the Buckeyes the 25-18 set win and subsequent match victory.
The Buckeyes will head to Ann Arbor, Michigan for a rivalry game against Michigan at 7 p.m. Friday.
