Ohio State sophomore outside hitter Gabby Gonzales (8) serves the ball during their game against Maryland on Jan. 23. Ohio State won 3-2. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Ohio State women’s volleyball (9-0) traveled to Champaign, Illinois, to extend its undefeated record against the Fighting Illini (2-6) and secured back-to-back wins.
Ohio State’s 3-1 (25-17, 24-26, 25-17, 25-22)win was its first against Illinois since Nov.11, 2015. The Buckeyes followed it up with a 3-2 (25-22, 16-25, 21-25, 25-18, 15-11) triumph over the Illini Saturday.
Game 1
The Buckeyes opened their series against Illinois with a 3-1 triumph.
The Buckeye offense was a team effort with sophomore outside hitter Gabby Gonzales, junior opposite hitter Vanja Bukilic, freshman opposite hitter Emily Londot and freshman middle blocker Rylee Rader all collecting 12 kills apiece.
Sophomore setter Mac Podraza assisted 42-of-48 balls and dug six.
Coming into the second set, the Buckeyes scored six unanswered points until the Illini offense quickly cut the deficit and closed the set securing the win.
Offensive leaders included freshman outside hitter Raina Terry who collected 14 kills for the Illini and a .286 hitting percentage at the end of the night.
The Illini had six service aces. Sophomore middle blocker Rylee Hinton led the Illini defense with five blocks and junior defensive specialist Taylor Kuper dug 23 balls.
Unfortunately for Illinois, their defense wasn’t enough to stop the Buckeyes as they secured back-to-back wins in the third and fourth sets to secure the win. The Buckeyes had only 15 attack errors while Illinois had 29.
The Buckeyes were able to come out on top for the first night, leading with a .291 hitting percentage compared to Illinois .131 percentage.
Game 2
The second night came with challenges for both the Buckeyes and the Illini.
Illinois dropped the first set to the Buckeyes after the set tied 10 times before the Buckeyes ultimately were able to take it with a kill by sophomore outside hitter Gabby Gonzales. Gonzales had 11 total kills.
The Illini were able to gain momentum for the second and third set, while attack and service errors for the Buckeyes increased.
Terry was a consistent challenge for the Buckeye defense and offense, collecting 17 kills, 13 digs and three aces .
It wasn’t until the fourth set where the Buckeyes began to turn things around, earning a 25-18 win in the penultimate set. Ohio State sealed the deal with a 15-11 win in the fifth set, capped off by three straight attack errors by the Illini to close the match.
The Ohio State defense tallied 11 blocks and 75 digs. Sophomore defensive specialist Kylie Murr dug 26 of the 75. Londot, Rader and senior middle blocker Lauren Witte each had five block assists.
Londot and Rader both had double digit kills with Lodot collecting 14 and Rader collecting 12.
Ohio State was able to secure a match win 3-2 after five sets. The Buckeyes had a .271 hitting percentage while Illinois had .181 percentage.
The Buckeyes travel again, this time to Piscataway, New Jersey, to play Rutgers Feb. 26 and Feb. 27 with both matches starting at 5 p.m.
