The No. 13 Ohio State men’s volleyball team huddles together during the Ohio State-Maryville match Jan. 20. Ohio State won 3-0. Credit: Katie Good | Asst. Photo Editor
The No. 13 Buckeyes prepare for the finale of this year’s regular season as they face Purdue Fort Wayne and Loyola Chicago.
Ohio State (17-9, 9-3 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) will end its men’s volleyball regular season at the Covelli Center Thursday against the Mastodons and Saturday in a highly anticipated rematch against the current conference No.1 standing Loyola Chicago for the Buckeyes’ senior night.
“I just want to see us out there, regardless of who is on the other side of the net,” head coach Kevin Burch said.
With their first match of the week against Purdue Fort Wayne (16-10, 7-5 MIVA), the Buckeyes are preparing for a strong serving team who come with two fresh 3-1 wins against Quincy and Lindenwood.
“They’re a very, very good serving team,” Burch said. “Our passing is going to be a huge key.”
Burch is expecting some of the Mastodons’ veteran players on the court, such as senior outside hitter Jon Diedrich and junior middle blocker Bryce Walker. Diedrich has a current total of 356 kills and 33 service aces. Walker has a total of 211 kills and 41 service aces.
Sophomore outside hitter Mark Frazier also has a total of 246 kills and 32 service aces for his team.
The Bearcats won 3-0 against the Mastodons Feb. 16, and Burch said leaning on defense will help Ohio State find similar success.
“Just being disciplined like we have been talking about all year defensively is going to be critical,” Burch said.
The Buckeyes will host their last match of the regular season against the Ramblers (21-4, 11-1 MIVA), who enter the court on a three-match win streak after winning against Quincy 3-0 last Sunday.
“I’m always an emotional coach, our guys will be the first to tell you that,” Burch said. “It’s the first class that I’ve seen through as a head coach.”
This match will be the Buckeyes’ senior night, celebrating the players that will not be joining the team nor Ohio State for next season.
“It’s a happy-sad,” senior middle blocker Samuel Clark said. “Happy, I had a ton of fun in the last four years, sad, because I’ve got to go.”
The matchup against the Ramblers is expected to be one of high intensity offensive plays with equally matched defensive plays. The Buckeyes previously lost against the Ramblers 3-0 Feb. 17.
“I’m just looking for our guys to show what we can do, regardless of the result,” Burch said. “I want to see our guys give ourselves the best chance to win by being aggressive offensively.”
With a well-rounded team like Loyola Chicago, the Buckeyes will see redshirt senior opposite hitter Cole Schlothauer, redshirt sophomore opposite hitter Parker Van Buren and junior libero Matt Oakley on the court. Schlothauer and Van Buren have a current total of 297 and 368 kills, respectively, while Oakley has a total of 172 digs.
“That’s a game where we know they’ll be at their best, or close to their best, the whole game,” Clark said.
As the regular season comes to an end this week, Burch said he will take time to reflect on what makes this particular team of Buckeyes stand out from previous seasons.
“They didn’t give up against Ball State (March 15) but that was the one where we got beat pretty good,” Burch said. “To see our guys respond from that 3-0 and kick off a six-match winning streak shows a lot about this team’s character.”
Clark hopes that, through upcoming conference tournament matches, Ohio State will continue to play as much as possible before he takes the next steps off the Buckeye court for the finalizations of his degree in mechanical engineering.
“I really want to work in a lab, hands-on type stuff, develop, and basically be an inventor so to speak,” Clark said. “But I also do want to play at the same time, whether it’s like weekend tournaments or what not, coming back here and supporting the guys.”
Including Clark, redshirt senior outside hitter Jack Stevens and redshirt junior setter Michael Wright will be celebrated before the match.
“It will be tough to hold some emotions in,” Burch said. “They’ve certainly done a ton for this program, and we’ll definitely miss them.”
The Buckeyes will face the Mastodons at 7 p.m. Thursday and the Ramblers at 4 p.m. Saturday, with senior announcements held beforehand. Both matches will be available to stream on BTN+.
