The Buckeyes celebrate during their 3-2 win over the University of Michigan on Friday in Ann Arbor. Credit: Ohio State Athletics
The Buckeyes appeared to lose all of their momentum against the Illini after a thrilling rivalry win on Friday.
Illinois (17-7, 0-5 Big Ten) swept (25-18, 27-25, 25-20) Ohio State (11-13, 4-10 Big Ten) in the second game of the Buckeyes’ weekend road trip Saturday at Huff Hall.
In the opening set, outside hitter Emily Londot earned the Buckeyes’ first kill of the match to tie the set at one.
But Illinois controlled the rest, leading by at most five points and forcing Ohio State to take a timeout with a 12-7 deficit.
But the Buckeyes failed to build momentum as the Illinois run extended the Illini lead to 11.
Ohio State eventually bounced back after scoring seven of the nine match points. Middle blocker Rylee Rader and outside hitter Emmi Sellman each had two kills during the span, cutting the lead to six.
A kill from Illinois middle blocker Ashlyn Philpot closed the first set 25-18.
Back-to-back attack errors from Illinois helped the Buckeyes take a 5-3 lead to start the second set.
Rader sparked a 4-0 run by the Buckeyes with an ace and kill to then tie the set at 13.
Both teams went back and forth as libero Olivia Hasbrook tied the set at 18, although Illinois took the lead with two straight points.
Philpot helped the Illini reach set point at 24-22 with a kill, before the Buckeyes went on a 3-0 run, taking a 25-24 lead with kills from middle blocker Eloise Brandewie and Sellman.
But it was Illinois who would prevail, finishing on 3-0 run of its own to win the set 27-25.
The Illini helped the Buckeyes earn their first three points of the third set with three attack errors, pushing the score to 3-3.
The Illini did the rest.
Illinois led by as much as eight before the Buckeyes went on a 5-2 run, cutting the lead to five at 16-11.
The Buckeyes went on another five-point run to get within three but following the timeout but Illinois eventually closed out the third set 25-20.
Next up for Ohio State, the Buckeyes host Maryland at the Covelli Center on Friday at 8 p.m.
