MATCH STATS
- #7 Ohio State def. #12 IPFW, 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-14)
- OSU improves to 9-2, 2-0 MIVA; IPFW falls to 9-2, 1-1 MIVA
- Columbus, Ohio
- Attendance: 1008
- Box score
COLUMBUS, Ohio – #7 Ohio State more than doubled #12 IPFW’s kills in their MIVA match Saturday night, further staking their claim as the premier program in the conference. Efficiency was the key, as OSU hit .275 (42-17-91) while IPFW could only muster an .041 (20-17-74) hitting percentage.
Ohio State was led offensively by Jake Hanes, who had a match-high 14 kills and hit .333 on the night. He also added 4 digs and a match-high 3 aces. Teammate Maxime Hervoir was the only other player in double-digit kills with 11. Middle blocker Blake Leeson finished with 7 kills on .600 hitting while adding a team-high 2 blocks. Setter Sanil Thomas ran the offense, dishing out 37 assists. Nicolas Szerszen led all floor defenders with 11 digs to go along with his 5 digs and 2 aces. Libero Aaron Samarin added 7 digs on floor defense.
For the ‘Dons, their only two losses on the season are to top-10 programs; Penn State and now defending champ Ohio State. They were led offensively by Pelegrin Vargas with 8 kills. Michael Keegan started the match at setter and distributed 14 assists, but was replaced by freshman Frederico Santos in the third, who could only create 4 kills in the third set. Libero Kolbie Knorr led all Mastodon defenders with 7 digs. Richie Diedrich led all net defenders in the match with 4 blocks.
Ohio State continues their home stand with two more MIVA matches; Lindenwood comes to Columbus Thursday evening, while Quincy invades St. John Arena on Sunday. IPFW, however, continues their tough scheduling run with two more top-15 MIVA programs at home; Loyola-Chicago comes to Fort Wayne on Friday, while the Flyers of Lewis come to town Saturday night.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State increased the margin of victory as the night went on in a Top-15 triumph over Fort Wayne. The No. 5 Buckeyes started slow against 14th-ranked Fort Wayne in a 25-23 opening set before riding the wave of a 7-1 run to end the second set, 25-19, and rolling past the Mastodons in a 25-14 third frame.
The snowball effect was in full force Saturday night in St. John Arena, beginning with a sluggish 25-23 first set. Ohio State’s side-out percentage jumped from 58% to 68% to 73% in the final period as the Buckeyes regained service possession on 11 of 15 receptions. Jake Hanes’individual performance mirrored that of the team’s upward trajectory as the match ensued. He capped it off by rocking 7-of-9 attempts for kills in the lopsided clinching third.
SET 1: Superb service bailed out the Scarlet & Gray as both squads crawled along at a .143 attacking rate. The Buckeyes connected for four aces and snuck away as 25-23 victors.
SET 2: Mayhem in the middle was inflicted by Nick Laffin and Blake Leeson, each terminating three kills on three errorless attempts for a six-pack of puntos. The Mastodons scrapped their way to an 18-18 tie despite a 15-7 deficit in kills. From there it was all Buckeyes, however, securing seven of the next eight points for a 25-19 winner.
SET 3: Competitiveness went off the rails in the third, thanks in large part to Hanes’ dominance. His seven kills and an ace carried the offense while, as a whole, Ohio State out-dug the Mastodons 13-6. Add in another three Buckeye aces and it resulted in a 25-14 clincher.
Courtesy of Fort Wayne Athletics
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 14 Fort Wayne men’s volleyball team fell to No. 5 Ohio State in three sets (25-23, 25-19, 25-14) in St. John Arena on Saturday (Feb. 10).
The Mastodons held close in the first set, and brought the score within one after a 6-1 run at 15-14. OSU answered with four straight points, but Fort Wayne had a four-point run of its own to even the score at 23. Colton Stone had five of his six kills in the first set. The ‘Dons held Ohio State to .143 hitting after 48 points of volleyball.
In the second, Ohio State did not give up the lead after taking an 8-6 lead early. The Mastodons had a 4-1 run that tied it up at 18, but OSU rattled off seven of the last eight points of the set.
The Buckeyes had four- and five-point runs in the final set to open up a 15-7 lead, and stifled the Mastodon offense to take the sweep.
Pelegrin Vargas finished with eight kills to lead the ‘Dons and Kolbie Knorr had seven digs to pace the defensive end. Tony Price had six digs and Vargas chipped in five. Richie Diedrich led in blocks with four and Tomas Gago followed suit with three. Fort Wayne finished with three service aces, which came from Michael Keegan, Stone and Diedrich.
The Mastodons held two-time national player of the year Nicolas Szerszen to a .000 hitting percentage.
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