The Ohio State women’s volleyball team preps for the serve during their game against Maryland on Jan. 23. Ohio State won 3-2. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
After getting off to a quick start and putting pressure on Iowa right off the bat, tallying a six-point lead in the opening set, Ohio State was able to earn its second sweep of the season.
Ohio State (5-0) secured the win in three straight sets (25-17, 25-15, 25-21) over Iowa (1-6) Friday, behind sophomore outside hitter Jenaisya Moore and freshman outside hitter Emily Londot — who both finished with 10 kills a piece.
The Buckeye block remained a constant challenge for the Hawkeyes’ offense with blocks made by senior middle blocker Lauren Witte, who had seven, Londot who added six, and senior defensive specialist Hannah Gruensfelder who racked in eight, all contributed to a steady pressure for defense. Sophomore defensive specialist Kylie Murr added 18 digs.
“We worked on blocking a lot this week, and seeing it kind of coming into the game and really executing that, it’s really rewarding to see how that hard work has paid off and I think that gets the entire team hype too because they know how hard we have been working on it,” Witte said.
The Buckeyes scored six straight points to begin the match, with kills made by Witte, junior opposite hitter Vanja Bukilić, Londot and two service aces made by Moore to begin the first set . Playing calm, cool and collected pushed the momentum forward to a Buckeye win, Witte said.
“Someone will get a block, and you’ll get a kill, and a sweet dig and it just kinda brings everybody together as a team,” Witte said.
Leading Iowa in kills was sophomore outside hitter Edina Schmidt who racked up eight, followed by junior middle blocker Amiya Jones, junior middle blocker Hannah Clayton, and junior outside hitter Courtney Buzzerio who all had four each. To counter the Hawkeyes offense, the Buckeyes collected 49 team digs and 13 blocks total.
“My favorite is when you are blocking with someone else on the pin and you kinda get to come down and cheer with them and just kinda shout what we are made of,” Witte said.”You get to really feel that passion and excitement with your team which I love.”
Ohio State carried it’s momentum into the second and third sets, creating a deficit the Hawkeyes were unable to fully overcome.
The Buckeyes carried a six-point lead that forced Iowa into a timeout halfway through the third set. Out of the break, Iowa was able to cut the deficit to one, but kills by Moore and blocks by Witte and Londot secured the Buckeyes’ second sweep for the season.
“It’s a game of momentum and if you can keep that momentum for a long period of time then you have that success on the court,” head coach Jen Flynn Oldenburg said. “I was happy that they created those leads and kept them, for the most part, the whole match tonight.”
In the midst of an unorthodox season, the Buckeyes will come back again Saturday night and have another opportunity to play Iowa. They are prepared to be flexible and adaptable for a switch up on Iowa’s plays, working around any changes that the Hawkeyes make overnight, Witte said.
Ohio State closes out its series with Iowa Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Covelli Center.
