| The No. 1 Ohio State University men’s volleyball team rolls over to Loretto, Pa., for a Friday night clash with Saint Francis University at 7:30 p.m. ET. Following the road tilt, Ohio State returns to St. John Arena on Tuesday (Jan. 24) to face another EIVA foe, Penn State, at 7 p.m.
WEEKLY BASICS
Friday, Jan. 20 – Loretto, Pa. (Degol Arena)
7:30 p.m. ET – #1 Ohio State (5-0) at Saint Francis (3-2)
Live State
Video Stream: NECFrontRow
Tuesday, Jan. 24 – Columbus, Ohio (St. John Arena)
7 p.m. ET – #1 Ohio State vs. #15 Penn State (2-2)
Live Stats: GameTracker
Video Stream: BTN Plus
Complete Match Notes
STREAK SNIPPETS
• Ohio State carries a 28-match winning streak into the weekend
• The Buckeyes last suffered an NCAA loss on February 6, 2016
• Ohio State won 84 of 102 sets during the victorious stretch
• The streak also includes 13 straight wins in true road matches
• Longest winning streak in Ohio State history is 32 matches (24-0 in 1969 and the first eight contests of 1970)
• Loyola owns 40-match run in 2014-15 while UCLA is believed to have the all-time record of 47 straight (1983-85)
HISTORY WITH THE RED FLASH AND NITTANY LIONS
Ohio State has won 29 of 30 all-time meetings with Saint Francis since the first clash in 1993, ripping off 10 straight victories since suffering a loss on the road in 2010. Penn State owns the upper hand in its all-time ledger against the Buckeyes, however. Ohio State captured a ‘W’ in both showdowns last season and has taken four of the last five, but trails in the overall mark since 1971, 38-71-1.
RECORD BOOK MASSACRE
A flock of current Buckeyes are ravaging the OSU all-time record books with a multitude of career numbers ranking among the best in Ohio State history. Nicolas Szerszen has wreaked the most havoc, crashing the Top-20 in nine different statistical categories including the top spot with .48 aces per set. Christy Blough, Gabriel Domecus, Driss Guessous and Miles Johnson have also already etched their names into the record books. A complete view of the ‘Career Records Watch’ can be found on Page 6 of the match notes.
STANFORD SWEEP
Following a west coast swing sweeping past No. 10 Stanford on back-to-back nights, the Buckeyes are one of only two programs in the country to record multiple wins against current AVCA nationally-ranked squads. Ohio State owns four such wins while UCLA has three.
Individually, Miles Johnson and Nicolas Szerszen posted landmark numbers while in California as well. Johnson’s final kill of the weekend marked the 1,000th of his career, becoming just the 15th Buckeye to ever reach that total. Szerszen, meanwhile, racked up 10 kills in total with a half dozen coming in the second contest. His six-ace sum is tied for the fourth highest amount in school history.
DYNAMIC DUO
Two weeks into the 2017 season both Nicolas Szerszen and Miles Johnson are among the best point producers in collegiate men’s volleyball. Szerszen ranks fourth nationally with 5.09 points per set while Johnson is nipping at his heels averaging 5.03 points/set (slotted fifth).
NEWCOMERS FILLING NICELY IN FOR DEPARTED CHAMPIONSHIP PIECES
Replacing Christian Franceschi, the starting ‘O2’ throughout the 2016 championship run, will be far from easy. Thus far, that task has been assigned to junior transfer Maxime Hervoir and freshman Reese Devilbiss. The Buckeye tandem has combined for 32 kills 23 digs and six blocks. Ohio State’s top serving specialist from a season ago, Peter Edwards, has also graduated. Freshmen Andrew Hillman and Shawn Hughes have filled in admirable by each recording a service ace during the first week of action. Hillman’s service snipe came on his very first career serve attempt.
SZERSZEN NAMED NATION’S BEST OF OPENING WEEK
Nicolas Szerszen was tabbed as the National Player of the Week on Jan. 10 by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) after an electric performance in lifting the top-ranked Buckeyes over No. 2 UCLA on Jan. 7. Szerszen also played a role in the Buckeyes downing of USC the night prior. In addition, he was also awarded MIVA Offensive Player of the Week recognition.
This marks the second National Player of the Week and ninth MIVA Player of the Week (eight Offensive, one Defensive) laurels of Szerszen’s career.
BIG TEN TOPS PAC-12 ON STRENGTH OF TWO OSU VICTORIES
In the second annual Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge, which simultaneously served as the 2017 AVCA Showcase, the top-ranked Buckeyes posted a pair of four-set wins over USC and No. 2 UCLA to open the season. The latter contest versus the Bruins was broadcast nationally on the Big Ten Network. Penn State split its weekend against the same two squads, resulting in a 3-1 overall triumph for the Big Ten.
News courtesy of Ohio State Athletics. |
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