The Ohio State women’s volleyball team huddles together during Ohio State’s matchup against The University of Texas Aug. 26. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
Indiana outside hitters freshman Candela Alonso-Corcelles and sophomore Mady Saris fueled the Hoosier offense Sunday, collecting 14 kills each against the No. 5 Ohio State women’s volleyball team at the Covelli Center in a 3-2 match win.
The Buckeyes (19-7, 15-3 Big Ten) had not lost two in a row since the opening weekend against then-No. 2 Texas and had won 14 in a row before their loss at Maryland Friday. Head coach Jen Flynn Oldenburg said the team’s chemistry was off at times during the last two matches.
“You never know why that happens, but it went away that second set against Maryland and it was hard to come back,” Oldenburg said. “I feel like we were engaged in both, but it’s about execution and playing with freedom, and I do not feel like we did that either night.”
The Buckeyes took a timeout after a 6-1 Hoosier run where they found spots that no Buckeye could get to, but took their own timeout once the score reached 8-7 in the first set.
Ohio State tied the opening set at 12 points and took a brief lead, but Indiana found itself up 17-13 before the Buckeyes’ second timeout. A flipped match point went the Hoosiers’ way to tying everything at 24, but two-straight Buckeye points earned Ohio State the set.
Indiana (15-15, 8-10 Big Ten) out-killed Ohio State 14-12 in the first set, but the Hoosier hitting percentage was .109 to the Buckeyes’ .159. Saris had four of the 10 Hoosier errors and four of their 14 team kills.
“When they’re playing like that, they’re going to build some confidence, and we weren’t ready to punch back,” Oldenburg said.
Indiana scored to start the second set and built a 13-8 lead on a service ace from senior defensive specialist Paula Cerame to force a Buckeye timeout. Ohio State, down seven points, called its second timeout at 18-11 but the Hoosiers held firm, allowing just six points after the pause and taking the second set 25-17.
Ohio State had seven attack errors and three service errors in the set and was held to a .134 hitting percentage. The Hoosiers responded from the first set with just one error, collecting 12 kills, while sophomore setter Camryn Haworth collected 11 assists in the set, 20 in the first two and 45 to finish.
“We’ve just got to dig deep,” junior middle blocker Rylee Rader said. “We have it in us — we just have to find it,”
The Buckeyes opened the third set scoring the first four points, but the Hoosiers tied it up at five before taking the lead 6-5. A subsequent 5-1 run by Indiana forced Ohio State’s first timeout.
Out of the timeout, the Buckeyes scored three straight, bringing the score to 11-9 and forcing the Hoosiers first timeout to snuff out the rally. Ohio State fell behind by eight and dropped the set 25-17.
Junior outside hitter Emily Londot had three kills and as many digs in the set to help her reach the 12th double-double of her season, finishing with 11 kills and 14 digs. Ohio State had three reception errors in the set and totalled 12 in the game.
Oldenburg said the errors stemmed from a lack of confidence by the Buckeyes.
“To me, passing is a mentality and when it starts to go a little bit, confidence fades a bit, that’s where those errors happen, and you’ve got to let go of it,” Oldenburg said.
Seven ties and a lead change opened the fourth set before a kill by Rader gave the Buckeyes a 13-11 lead. Indiana called its first timeout at 15-12, but Ohio State’s fourth set offense went on a 5-0 scoring run, building a six-point lead and forcing a fifth set 25-20 on a solo block by senior setter Mac Podraza.
Senior outside hitter Gabby Gonzales recorded three kills, three digs and a service ace for her 11th double-double of the year in the fourth set. Ohio State hit .310 in the set and totaled 13 kills while holding Indiana to .086 hitting percentage and 11 set kills.
“Mac did a good job of setting me in places where I could score,” Rader said. “The coaches were helping a lot, everyone talking to me and giving me places to swing.”
A block that forced an Indiana attacker to fall to the ground while the ball slowly hit the floor forced the first timeout at 4-1.Ohio State kept Indiana at bay until its match point leading 14-13, and four consecutive points later, the Hoosiers had taken the set 16-14, and the match 3-2.
The Buckeyes held the Hoosiers to a .114 hitting percentage in the fifth on 11 kills, but only found the floor five times in the set.
“We have two choices, learn from this and go do what the 2011 team did and make it to the final four, or we can dwell on these two losses,” Rader said.
Injury update
Senior defensive specialist and libero Kylie Murr did not play in the loss. Oldenburg said she expects to see Murr on the floor next week.
“I think it’d be really hard to keep her off the court,” Oldenburg said.
Return home
Two Hoosiers, junior outside hitter Morgan Geddes and senior middle blocker Kaley Rammelsberg are both from Ohio. Geddes, from Grove City, collected eight kills and Rammelsberg, who played with Podraza at Big Walnut High School in Sunbury, piled up 10.
Messy offense
Ohio State tallied 25 attack errors in the match and 54 in the last two games while hitting a combined .156 percent for the weekend.
Four Buckeyes surpassed the 10-kill mark in the match. Gonzales led all with 14, senior outside hitter Jenaisya Moore had 12, Londot had 11 and Rader finished with 10.
Ohio State combined for 53 kills on 179 attempts.
Up next
Oldenburg said she hopes to see the Buckeyes respond in practice to bounce back from consecutive losses.
“It’s going to be about how we respond, and it’s going to be how well we practice on Tuesday,” Oldenburg said. “You would hope that two losses to unranked teams when we were in the position that we were, they sting, but they should wake you up.”
The Buckeyes have two regular season games left, both at the Covelli Center, on Friday against No. 9 Minnesota and Saturday against No. 3 Wisconsin.
