The Ohio State Women’s Volleyball team stands and kneels before the Ohio State-Maryland game on Jan. 23. Ohio State won 3-2. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
With a top-15 battle on the horizon, the Buckeyes look to bring confidence and aggressiveness on the road against the Cornhuskers this weekend.
The No. 11 Buckeyes (12-0) head to Lincoln, Nebraska, to face off against the No. 4 Cornhuskers (9-1) for a pair of matches Friday and Saturday. Sophomore defensive specialist Kylie Murr said that the Buckeyes want to attack hard early against a confident Nebraska team.
“They kind of come onto the court like they own it,” Murr said. “With this being an away game and we’re playing in their own gym, we want to make that our gym, we want to walk in there like we own the place.”
Dating back to 1978, Nebraska is 16-7 all-time against Ohio State and has won the last five matches against the Buckeyes since 2016.
Senior outside hitter Lexi Sun leads the Cornhuskers’ offense with 3.94 kills per set and a team-high 12 service aces along with 2.33 digs per set. Sun ranks fourth in the Big Ten in kills per set and was named the Big Ten Player of the Week Monday after averaging 5.17 kills per set on a .315 hitting in two wins against Illinois.
Senior middle blocker Lauren Stivrins is putting up 3.42 kills per set and a .490 hitting percentage — which ranks first in the Big Ten. Stivrins is closing in on 1,000 career kills, entering the weekend with 990 career kills.
“She’s (Stivrins) gonna get her kills, we can’t get wrapped up in it, but if we can slow their outsides a little bit, I think we have a good chance,” Ohio State head coach Jen Flynn Oldenburg said.
Sophomore setter Mac Podraza garnered her third-straight Big Ten Setter of the Week honor Monday, becoming the first Buckeye to earn the award three times in a row. Podraza has recorded at least 40 assists 10 times this season.
Podraza will play an important role for the Buckeyes as their passing will be crucial in Ohio State’s success against the Cornhuskers, Murr said.
“The serving and pass game is going to win this game with a lot of good teams, everyone has powerful hitters, but it’s really going to come down to whether we can use them, or also we want to put our hitters in the best situation by passing well,” Murr said.
Ohio State remains undefeated, but have been challenged, playing in six five-set matches this season.
Oldenburg emphasized that pushing confidence in the young team and trusting each other will help continue the success on the court, especially against a historically great program such as Nebraska.
“If you go into a match and you’re not quite sure if you could compete with a team or if you don’t think you could win, you probably won’t,” Oldenburg said. “This is a conference where just that little bit of belief can really make a big impact.”
Oldenburg pointed to the importance of having all 16 of her players ready to contribute, whether they are starting or cheering from the sideline.
“If our 16 works as a unit and a group, then they’re going to go to battle together and not against each other, and get kind of petty or mad at each other if things happen,” Oldenburg said.
The Buckeyes open their series against the Cornhuskers at 7 p.m. Friday on BTN+.
