Frenchman Nicolas Szerszen is just 4 kills shy of breaking Ohio State’s career record in the category. After scoring 14 in a 3-set sweep of the Buckeyes’ MIVA tournament opener against Quincy on Saturday, he’s left with 1,599 career kills. The all-time Ohio State record of 1,602 kills was set by Steve Potter from 1992-1995.
Szerszen, a senior, already holds Ohio State records in career points with 1,934 – 40.5 points ahead of Porter in that category; and career aces with 226 – 66 ahead of his former teammate and 2017 team captain Miles Johnson.
What’s all-the-more impressive about Szerszen’s statistical totals is the efficiency with which he’s done it – he has a career .371 hitting percentage, and has hit above .300 in each of his 4 collegiate seasons. That includes .385 this year as a senior – rare territory for outside hitters.
Ann all-around star, he’s also climbed to 4th in Ohio State’s all-time rankings in digs, even as an offensive player, and has 182 total blocks.
Szerszen will likely earn the kills record in front of a home crowd on Wednesday at St. John Arena in the MIVA Semi-Finals against 4th-seeded Lewis University. Szerszen had 12 kills in each of the teams’ prior two matchups this season, which were boom-and-bust: the first resulted in a 3-0 Lewis win, while the 2nd was 3-0 in favor of the Buckeyes.
Ohio State’s next-highest active kills total comes from fellow senior Maxime Hervoir, who has 539 in just 2 seasons – he played his first two years of collegiate volleyball in France. The most likely player to challenge Szerszen’s record among active players is freshman Jake Hanes, who has 314 this year – second on the team behind Szerszen. With 690 attacks this season, he’s been fed even more than his french teammate, and is just 5 kills shy of the number of kills Szerszen had as a freshman. Like Szerszen, he’s also made significant contributions in service (32 aces), blocks (50 total), and digs (113) this season – all numbers very similar to Szerszen’s first season at Ohio State.
Ohio State All-Time Kills Leaders, Career:
- Steve Potter, 1992-1995, 1,602
- Nicolas Szerszen, 2015-present, 1,599
- Shawn Sangrey, 2009-2012, 1,411
- Jose Bengoa, 1994-1997, 1,378
- Rene Esteves, 1997-2000, 1,356
Leave a Reply