Ohio State freshman outside hitter Grace Egan (23) spikes the ball over the net during the game against Washington. Egan had a 10-dig performance for the fourth time this season to assist the Buckeyes’ 3-0 win over the Huskies Friday. Credit: Liam Ahern | Lantern Photographer
A strong opening set propelled the Buckeyes to a sweep over the Huskies.
Ohio State (13-14, 6-11 Big Ten) defeated Washington (19-8, 9-8 Big Ten) in three sets (25-11, 25-22, 25-19) Friday night at the Covelli Center..
Outside hitter Emmi Sellman said the team executed the game plan.
“We had a strong game plan going in, and we did exactly what we needed to do and what our coaches were telling us to do,” Sellman said. “I think we just communicated well throughout [the game] about what we wanted to do.”
Washington had three consecutive attack errors to give the Buckeyes a 6-3 lead.
Ohio State continued its momentum as Sellman got a kill to increase the Buckeye lead to 11 as Washington took a timeout with a score of 18-7.
A kill from Egan and a Washington attack error got the Buckeyes to set point 24-10. Outside hitter Emily Londot earned a kill a few plays later to win the first set 25-11.
Head coach Jen Flynn Oldenburg thought the service pressure from the first set helped set the tone for the rest of the game.
“It goes back to that service pressure. I felt like that was steady through the match, but I think we started well with that,” Oldenburg said. “I just like how we played defense like we were capable of the floor. We were covering our hitters, and we were patient inside our rallies.”
Sellman helped the Buckeyes take a 4-2 lead early in the second set with two kills, but Washington went on a run of its own, taking a 10-8 lead.
The Buckeyes then scored three straight with kills from Londot and Rader, taking a 3 point lead. 13-10.
The Buckeyes called their first timeout of the match following a Washington 3-0 run. After the timeout, the Huskies scored the following two points, bringing the score to 21-19.
Londot finished off the second set with a kill to close it out 25-22.
Sellman said seeing how hard the team worked in practice to translate to games was rewarding, especially as the second set was tight.
“We’ve just been working really hard and having tight sets like that in practice,” Sellman said. So just working through that and then having that translate into the game,”
To open the third set, Sellman helped the Buckeyes take a 3-0 lead with two kills, but the Huskies scored the next six points to go up by 3 points.
Ohio State tied the set at six with kills from Sellman and Londot and an ace from Tuman.
Three kills from Londot ignited a 5-0 Buckeye run, increasing their lead to six.
Egan earned a kill off an attempted Washington block for match point at 24-18 before Londot closed out the match with a kill.
Oldenburg enjoyed watching the team, which was the healthiest it had ever been, and thought they played at a high level.
“This is the healthiest team in the past couple of years. I’ve been ready for and waiting to see most of our team healthy and on the court, performing at the level they’re capable of,” Oldenburg said, “It’s what I envision, and so it’s cool to see it come together and play at a high level like we did tonight.”
The Buckeyes host Indiana 7:30 p.m. Sunday for their final home game of the season.
