Match Stats
- #2 Ohio State def. #10 Loyola-Chicago 3-0, (25-20, 25-21, 25-15)
- Ohio State improves to 20-1, 9-0 MIVA
- Loyola-Chicago falls to 11-8, 6-4 MIVA
- Hosted by Loyola-Chicago
- Match results
After falling to UC-Irvine last week in their first loss of the season, ending a winning streak that lasted 400 days and 42 matches, #2 Ohio State was able to begin a new winning streak by taking down #10 Loyola-Chicago in a straight set sweep.
Though their overall winning streak was crushed, their home winning streak runs back to 2015, where their last home loss came 19 matches ago.
The Buckeyes were able to amass a .352 hitting percentage while holding Loyola to a .153 hitting percentage.
In the first set, the Buckeyes darted to a quick 7-3 lead, remaining ahead by a large margin before taking the first 25-20. Nicolas Szerszen was huge in the second set, blasting eight kills on a .583 hitting percentage. Loyola took the lead though mid-set at 13-11, but the Buckeyes were able to string off four straight to best the Ramblers 25-21 in the second.
The final set blew the Ramblers in the dust, with Ohio State picking up 12 digs and holding Loyola to a -.038 hitting percentage for the set.
Leading the Buckeyes was Miles Johnson with 14 kills, seven digs, four blocks and two service aces. Szerszen added another 10 kills, with eight coming in the second set alone. In the back court, Gabriel Domecus picked up 13 digs.
For Loyola, Ben Plaisted put down 10 kills and picked up four digs, while Avery Aylsworth added another eight digs for the team.
Press Release
Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
The No. 2 Ohio State University men’s volleyball team left little doubt in a 25-20, 25-21, 25-15 sweep of the 10th-ranked Loyola Ramblers (11-8, 6-4 MIVA) in a road victory taking less than 90 minutes to complete. The Buckeyes improve to 20-1 overall and remain atop the MIVA standings at 9-0.
Ohio State swung .352 as a squad while limiting the Ramblers to a .153 attacking efficiency. Gabriel Domecus dug a match-high 13 balls to lead the way defensively, complementing the offensive duo of Miles Johnson and Nicolas Szerszen combining for two dozen kills. Driss Guessous was a heavy contributor on both sides of the next, racking up seven blocks (one solo) and bouncing seven kills on 11 attempts with two misses (.455).
STILL STREAKIN’
• Ohio State has recorded 19 straight wins in true road matches (last loss in an opponent’s home gym came in 2015)
• The Buckeyes are also riding a 24-match winning streak versus MIVA opponents
Head coach Pete Hanson roamed the Buckeye sideline for his 999th career match, picking up his 665th triumph (.665-335; .666). The four-time National Coach of the Year also upped his MIVA career mark to 289-90 (.763) as Ohio State capped off its fourth consecutive sweep of Loyola.
Set 1: Playing in front of an ESPN3 audience, the Buckeyes raced out to a 7-3 edge before Loyola burned its first T.O. of the evening. Ohio State continued to pour it on, however, surging ahead by as many as eight points en route to a 25-20 first-set winner in which OSU never trailed.
Set 2: Szerszen came alive in the second stanza, exploding for eight kills via a .583 hitting percentage. Trailing 13-11 midway through the frame, Ohio State rattled off four straight to pull ahead for good in a 25-21 besting.
Set 3: The Buckeyes suffocated Loyola in the third, accumulated 12 digs and stuffing the Ramblers thrice. The superb defensive effort holding Loyola to a minus-.038 hitting percentage masked a subpar attacking performance for the Scarlet & Gray, doing little to derail a 25-15 clincher.
Saturday night (March 18) brings a tougher challenge, sending the Buckeyes to seventh-ranked Lewis University (10-2 in MIVA play) for an 8 p.m. ET meeting.
Press Release
Courtesy of Loyola-Chicago Athletics
In Short
Ben Plaisted tallied a team-high 10 kills, but No. 10 Loyola University Chicago hit just .153 on the night, as No. 2 Ohio State (20-1, 9-0 MIVA) earned a 25-20, 25-21, 25-15 victory tonight at Gentile Arena. The loss drops the Ramblers to 11-8 overall and 6-4 in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association play.
How It Happened
Ohio State raced out to a 5-1 lead in the first set before Loyola composed itself and got within 9-7 after Cole Murray smashed a pair of kills as part of a mini 3-0 Rambler run. The Buckeyes would respond by tallying eight of the next 10 points to bust open a 17-9 advantage, but the Ramblers wouldn’t go away quietly, chopping the deficit down to 22-19. Defending national champion Ohio State would regain its composure though and rattled off three of the next four points for a 25-20 victory.
Loyola came out of the gates hot at the start of set two as Collin Mahan recorded two kills in a 5-2 spurt to open play. After Ohio State stormed back to grab a 10-9 lead, the Ramblers used a 4-1 run that featured a pair of kills from Plaisted, and one each from Mahan and Jeff Jendryk, to claim a 13-11 edge. A Loyola service error ignited a 4-0 Buckeyes run that gave them the lead for good, though Loyola got within 17-16 on another Plaisted stop. OSU would rip off the next four points to build its lead back to 21-16, but Loyola countered with four consecutive points of its own to get within a point at 21-20. However, Ohio State would notch four of the final five points of the set for a 25-21 win and 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set was all Buckeyes as they stormed out to a 9-5 lead. A Loyola timeout couldn’t stop the Ohio State momentum however, and the Buckeyes would pull away thanks to an 11-3 run that gave them a 20-8 advantage en route to a 25-15 victory.
Inside The Box Score
– Jendryk pounded out six kills and hit .600 (6-0-10) for the match.
– Ohio State, which entered the match as the MIVA leader in hitting percentage, hit .352 on the night.
– Miles Johnson tallied 14 kills to lead Ohio State.
Up Next
Loyola hosts McKendree Sunday (March 19) at 4 p.m. at Gentile Arena.
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