MATCH STATS
- #3 Ohio State def. #8 Stanford, 3-1 (25-18, 25-22, 22-25, 25-23)
- Ohio State moves to 2-0; Stanford drops to 0-4
- Columbus, Ohio
- Attendance: 579
- Box score
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The defending champion #3 Ohio State Buckeyes remained undefeated after a hard-fought victory over #8 Stanford, 3-1 (25-18, 25-22, 22-25, 25-23). The victory sets up a Saturday night showdown between Ohio State and BYU, who won a four-setter of their own Friday night at Ball State.
Stanford had no equal to Nicolas Szerszen, who led the Buckeyes in three different categories (17 kills, 5 digs, 3 blocks) while hitting .438 in the match. Other major contributors to the OSU cause were libero Aaron Samarin (team-high 5 digs), setter Sanil Thomas (match-high 41 assists while team hit .352), and middle blocker Blake Leeson (team-high 3 blocks). Outside hitter Maxime Hervoir added 11 kills and a match-high 2 aces to the cause.
Stanford had three hitters with double-digit kills, led by Kevin Rakestraw with 12 on .688 hitting. He was joined offensively by Leo Henken and Eric Beatty with 10 kills each. Setter Paul Bischoff made his season debut—after being out with injury on the opening weekend—and dished out 39 assists for the Stanford attack, who hit .298 in the match. Libero Evan Enriques led all defenders with a match-high 15 digs.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Buckeyes picked up their second win of the season after a hard fought match, defeating Stanford 3-1. Nicolas Szerszen topped the Buckeyes on all sides. With 17 kills, he attacked .438 on 32 attempts. He tied with Aaron Samarin for a team-high five digs. At the net, Szerszen and Blake Leeson totaled three blocks each. As a team, Ohio State attacked .352 over Stanford’s .298.
SET 1: Ohio State started off the night in familiar fashion with a 25-18 win in the first set. The Buckeyes kept the lead after Szerszen’s first kill of the night, making the score 5-4. He scored the next two points for the Buckeyes and recorded three of his five kills for the set on that scoring run. Reese Devilbiss added three kills on three attempts to add to the team’s lead. Maxime Hervoir and Nick Laffin tallied a block for the Bucks.
SET 2: The score was tied 13 times this set, but the Buckeyes were able to take advantage of errors and secure a 25-22 lead. The Ohio State offense dished out a dozen kills which included Leeson going 3-for-3. Devilbiss attacked .667 with two kills and a dig. Szerszen was responsible for a set-high four kills.
SET 3: Stanford edged out the Buckeyes 25-22 to take the third set. Down 23-18, Ohio State pushed back when a Devilbiss kill ignited three straight for Ohio State. The visitors stalled the comeback with a timeout, however, and eventually took the set.
SET 4: The Buckeyes topped Stanford 25-23 to end the match. After Ohio State falling behind to an early 9-5 deficit, Ohio State pulled even at 14-14. The lead went back and forth for the rest of the set. Tied at 18, the Buckeyes were able to capitalize off Stanford service errors, and an ace by Szerszen pushed OSU ahead 20-18. Ohio State went on to finish the set victorious. Jake Hanes entered the match in the fourth set, going a perfect 4-for-4 on the attack while racking up a set-high three digs.
Courtesy of Stanford Athletics
COLUMBUS, Ohio. – Sophomore setter Paul Bischoff made his season debut Friday as Stanford fell to No. 1 Ohio State, 3-1, at St. John Arena.
Bischoff, who missed the opening weekend due to injury, dished out 39 assists as the Cardinal (0-4) hit a season-best .298 as a team. Ohio State (2-0) posted a .352 clip and held a slight edge in blocks (5.0-4.0) and aces (5-4).
Redshirt senior middle blocker Kevin Rakestraw hit a team-season-best .688 (12-1-16) to pace the Cardinal. Outside hitters Eric Beatty and Leo Henken each tallied 10 kills from the pin.
Freshman opposite Jaylen Jasper chipped in with nine kills, but also had nine hitting errors. Freshman middle blocker Kyler Presho finished with five kills and a team-high three blocks. Senior libero Evan Enriques racked up a match-best 15 digs, which also tied his season-high.
Ohio State combined for just four hitting errors in the first two sets and posted a sideout rate of 75 percent for the match. MIVA Preseason Player of the Year Nicolas Szerszen led all players with 17 kills on .438 hitting for the Buckeyes.
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