MATCH STATS
- #6 Ohio State def. #7 Loyola-Chicago, 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-19)
- Ohio State improves to 23-5; Loyola-Chicago falls to 23-7
- Columbus, Ohio
- Attendance: 1364
- Box score
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Coach Pete Hanson won his 700th career match and his #6 Buckeyes earned their third-straight MIVA title win a straight-set win over #7 Loyola-Chicago Saturday night (25-20, 25-23, 25-19).
MIVA All-Tournament honoree Jake Hanes led the Buckeye attack with 13 kills. MIVA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Nicolas Szerszen added 12 kills (.417), a team-high-tying 9 digs and a match-high 4 aces. Rounding out the double-digit kill performers for Ohio State was Maxime Hervoir with 11. He also added a team-high-tying 9 digs, a team-high 3 blocks and 2 aces. Setter all All-Tournament honoree Sanil Thomas distributed 40 assists in the efficient (.307) attack.
Loyola was led by All-Tournament honoree Collin Mahan with 9 kills on .421 hitting with 5 digs and a match-high-tying 4 blocks. Paul Narup joined Mahan in match-honors in blocking with 4. Setter Garrett Zolg finished with 23 assists and 5 digs. Libero Avery Aylsworth scooped a match-high 10 balls on the night.
The big story for Loyola was their inability to find offensive rhythm. Ohio State took 19 more swings than the Ramblers, which resulted in the Buckeyes finishing with 18 more kills in the match (47-29). Loyola played well; their 3 unforced hitting errors was a season-low. The real damage was done behind the service line, where Ohio State pounded 9 aces to Loyola’s one.
With the win, OSU claims the MIVA’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and awaits their fate. The nervous waiting game now begins for Loyola, who are on the bubble in receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The field will be announced on Sunday, April 22 at 1 p.m.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The two-time defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes will have the opportunity to preserve their crown as the country’s best after earning an automatic bid into the NCAA Championship with a sweep (25-20, 25-23, 25-19) over No. 8 Loyola Chicago (23-7) in the MIVA Tournament Finals.
Ohio State’s NCAA Tournament fate will be revealed Sunday (April 22) during the Selection Show streamed live on NCAA.com at 1 p.m. ET when the seven teams competing for a national championship are announced.. The seventh-ranked Buckeyes play next on either April 27 or May 1.
BUCKEYE BITS
? Third consecutive MIVA Tournament title for Ohio State
? 17th MIVA Tournament title overall
? Coach Hanson’s 700th career victory (700-339)
? Third straight NCAA Championship appearance
Three Buckeyes were named to the 2018 MIVA All-Tournament Team, including the event’s Most Outstanding Player Nicolas Szerszen. He has now had three consecutive MIVA All-Tournament Team selections and this marks his second `MOP’ recognition (also in 2016). Jake Hanes and Sanil Thomas joined Szerszen on the ’18 all-tourney squad.
Courtesy of Loyola Athletics
In Short
Top-seeded Ohio State (23-5) hit .307 and had three players post double-digit kills to upend No. 2 seed Loyola University Chicago (23-7), 25-20, 25-23, 25-19, tonight at St. John Arena in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament title match. With the win, the Buckeyes earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
How It Happened
Seventh-ranked Ohio State broke free early in a battle of the MIVA regular season co-champions, using a 4-1 run in set one to turn a 5-5 tie into a 9-6 lead. The Buckeyes’ lead would grow to as many as five points on a handful of occasions in the opening set, but eighth-ranked Loyola mounted one final push late in the match after a Rambler service error stretched the OSU advantage to 20-15. A pair of Ohio State errors, sandwiched around a Dane Leclair service ace, trimmed the deficit to 20-18, but the Buckeyes reclaimed control by tallying three consecutive points to bump the lead back to five and they never looked back on their way to a 25-20 decision.
Loyola bounced back in set two and when it rattled off five unanswered points early on, it found itself in possession of a 10-5 lead. But, Ohio State picked itself up off of the mat and countered with an 11-4 run to claim a 16-14 lead, although the Ramblers would claw their way back on top, retaking the lead at 20-19 on a Buckeye hitting error. Consecutive points put the hosts back on top, but another OSU service error knotted the score for a final time at 21. Kills from Jake Hanes and Maxime Hervoir provided Ohio State with the lead for good and a few points later a kill from Collin Mahan brought the Ramblers within a tally, at 24-23, but Hervoir closed out the set with a kill for a 25-23 OSU victory.
Ohio State took control of the third set from the get-go, storming out to an 8-2 lead. Loyola punched back, stringing together a 6-2 run that closed the gap to 10-8, but that is as close as the Ramblers would get the remainder of the way.
A Look At The Numbers
- Mahan finished with a team-high nine kills and added five digs and four blocks, while hitting at a .421 (9-1-19) clip, to lead Loyola, which hit .244 as a team.
- Avery Aylsworth totaled a match-high 10 digs and Ricky Gevis added seven kills.
- Hanes led Ohio State with 13 kills and pitched in six digs.
- Mahan and Gevis were named to the MIVA All-Tournament Team along with Michael Simmons (Lewis), Matt Walsh (Ball State), Sanil Thomas (Ohio State), Hanes and Most Outstanding Player Nicolas Szerszen (Ohio State).
Up Next
Loyola will await its postseason fate when the NCAA pairings are announced tomorrow on NCAA.com.
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