Ohio State sophomore middle blocker Samuel Clark prepares to spike the ball over the net during the Ohio State-Loyola Chicago game on Feb. 20. Ohio State won 3-2. Credit: Christian Harsa | Asst. Photo Editor
Looking to continue its winning streak, Ohio State men’s volleyball attempts to complete the season sweep against Ball State after a long rest period.
The Buckeyes (5-6) host the Cardinals (7-4) 12 days after the two teams faced off in Muncie, Indiana. Ohio State won the opening match 3-2 by taking advantage of holes within the Cardinals’ defense.
Despite the Buckeyes’ recent success, errors have plagued the team and prevented them from closing out tight sets. Ohio State head coach Kevin Burch said in order to continue to be competitive this season, his team has to clean up its mistakes.
“We’ve been working a lot on how to be aggressive and minimize errors,” Burch said. “Obviously those errors have hurt us quite a bit, but that’s part of having a young team.”
Ohio State is averaging 5.8 service errors per game which not only has disrupted the team’s rhythm offensively, but also gives away valuable points in tight matches. In the Buckeyes’ last match, they had 26 service errors, enough points to win an entire set.
Sophomore middle blocker Samuel Clark said that having a break since their last match has helped him and his teammates get creative and try new serves to get out of the rut.
“We had two good weeks of practice just to get reps and build confidence in different serves,” Clark said. “We’ve just tried new things and worked through those solutions.”
The Buckeyes have won three straight matches after starting the season 2-6. Burch said that after losing back-to-back matches to McKendree, he has worked his team hard and has started to see the improvements.
In the five matches after playing McKendree, the Buckeyes have seen a 15 percent increase in kills per set and a 30 percent increase in digs per set compared to their first six matches of the season.
These increases indicate that the Buckeyes have been able to earn more points on offense and dig more balls on defense, allowing them to extend rallies and ultimately win more matches.
Burch said that winning multiple matches in a row has given his team some much needed motivation during a difficult season.
“In a year like this, with the pandemic, it’s always hard,” Burch said. “We’re asking them to sacrifice more off the court, so anytime that you’re in the middle of the season and you’re winning, it’s always a good thing.”
Heading into Thursday’s match, Burch said he is prepared for the Cardinals’ defense that is historically very strong. Despite the Buckeyes finding ways around Ball State’s front line in their last meeting, Burch said he expects a more difficult battle this time around.
“Last match was one of the few times I can remember where we actually out-blocked Ball State,” Burch said. “I expect them to really be dialed in defensively and make adjustments to really force us to beat them.”
Ball State leads the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association in digs per set with 9.6 and ranks second in total blocks, averaging 2.48 per set.
Senior setter Quinn Isaacson leads the Cardinals with 77 digs on the season, the second most in the MIVA. At the net, senior middle attacker Will Hippe averages more than one block per set, notching three against the Buckeyes in their last meeting.
Clark said that although the team goes over a scouting report of their opponent prior to every match, he is more concerned with executing on his own side of the net instead of trying to predict what Ball State will do.
The Buckeyes are 4-2 when playing in the Covelli Center this season, better than their 1-4 record on the road.
“It’s always nice to be at home,” Clark said. “You’re on the court that you love in the place that you love.”
The Buckeyes take on Ball State at 6 p.m. Thursday in Columbus on BTN+.
