MATCH STATS
- No. 2 Ohio State 3, Quincy University 1 (25-16, 25-27, 25-15, 25-12)
- Ohio State moves to 27-2, 16-0 MIVA; Quincy University falls to 7-21, 2-14 MIVA
- Quincy, Illinois
- Attendance: 442
- Final Box Score
The No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes closed out the regular season on Saturday with a 3-1 win over the Quincy University Hawks. With the win, OSU solidifies its MIVA Championship as they finish 16-0 in regular season play. This marks the second MIVA Championship title in a row for the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes won the match 25-16, 25-27, 25-15, 25-12. OSU finished the match with a .382 hitting percentage while also picking up 45 digs.
The Buckeyes were able to outhit the Hawks .382 to .106 and they also out-served the Hawks 4-2 in aces.
Junior outside hitter Nicolas Szerszen and junior outside Maxime Hervoir led the way with double-digit kills. Szerszen finished with 17 kills on a .387 hitting percentage while also picking up seven digs. Hervoir had 17 kills, hitting an impressive .560 percentage. Senior opposite Ryan Genn came on late as a sub and contributed seven kills at a .429 hitting percentage. Genn also tied for the team high in aces with two. Sophomore setter Sanil Thomas added a double-double for the Buckeyes, finishing with 43 assists and team high 11 digs. Senior libero Gabrial Domecus collected six assists to go along with 10 digs.
For the Hawks, senior middle blocker Jarrod Kelso had a team high nine kills on a .316 hitting percentage. Freshman middle blocker Blake Sprecher followed Kelso with seven kills on a .357 hitting percentage. Junior setter Thane Fanfulik added 27 assists.
In the first set, OSU jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead due to errors made by the Hawks. The Buckeyes continued to push their lead as they took a commanding lead at 18-10 before QU would call its first timeout. Out of the timeout the Hawks would score three in row, but it would not be enough as the Buckeyes close out the first set 25-16. Hervoir went a perfect 4-4 on kills in the first set, while Driss Guessous also went 3-3. On the set, the Buckeyes hit an impressive .450 percent.
Service errors plagued the Buckeyes in set two. OSU burned its first timeout when the Hawks took a 15-12 lead. Quincy pushed its lead to 22-16 before OSU senior Miles Johnson was subbed out for Ryan Genn. The Buckeyes used this substitution to go on a seven point run that was led by Genn, making the score 23-22 before a service error would end the run. Another service error put the Hawks up 25-24, followed by an OSU blocking error and a Hawks block for QU to take the second set 27-25.
The third set would see the Buckeyes get back on track, winning by a score of 25-15. Hervoir finished the set with seven kills on eight attempts, hitting at a .875 percentage. Throughout the third set, OSU collected 18 kills while also picking up 16 digs.
The fourth set showed the Buckeyes dominance as they would roll to a 25-12 victory. Of the final 18 points in the set, 15 of them went the Buckeyes way. With OSU holding a slim lead at 10-9, they used a 15-3 scoring run to take the fourth and final set.
The Buckeyes will now prepare for the first round of the MIVA tournament. They are set to host the Hawks of Quincy University on April 15.
Press Releases
Courtesy of Ohio State
QUINCY, Ill. – Ohio State men’s volleyball became just the second team in the last 25 years to run through a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) regular season unbeaten, picking up a road victory at Quincy University to complete a 16-0 conference slate. Loyola-Chicago went 14-0 during MIVA play en route to the 2014 national championship.
The second-ranked Buckeyes (27-2, 16-0 MIVA) departed Quincy’s Pepsi Arena as four-set victors (25-16, 25-27, 25-15, 25-12) Saturday night to set up a rematch exactly one week later in Columbus. As the MIVA Tournament top seed, Ohio State will host the eighth-seeded Hawks in the quarterfinals on April 15 at St. John Arena to begin postseason play.
Offensively, the Buckeyes leaned on a pair of Frenchmen as Maxime Hervoir and Nicolas Szerszen each connected on a match-high 17 kills. Hervoir’s 17 terminations came at a .560 attacking rate (17-3-25) while Szerszen swung .387 (17-5-31). Sanil Thomas received the nod for his second start of the season and responded well. He not only navigated the Buckeyes to a .382 team hitting percentage with 43 assists, but also paced all players with 11 digs. Gabriel Domecuswasn’t far behind, digging up 10 balls to help in stifling Quincy to a .106 team hitting percentage.
Set 1: Quincy’s Anthony Winter missed the mark on the night’s opening serve, cracking the door for Ohio State to lead from start to finish in set number one. Hervoir bounced all four attempts and was flanked by Driss Guessous’ 3-for-3 attacking effort. The Buckeyes attacked .450 for the frame and rolled to a 25-16 triumph.
Set 2: Ohio State dug a sizable hole in the second stanza, falling behind by a half dozen late at 22-16. The Buckeyes then stormed back to quickly even the score at 22-all, forcing Hawk timeouts at 22-19 and 22-22. The comeback was ultimately wasted, however, dropping a 27-25 equalizer to the Hawks.
Set 3: The Buckeyes got back on track in the third, riding Hervoir’s 7-0-8 offensive stat line to a 25-15 winner. Ohio State knocked home 18 kills and dug 16 balls in the dominating effort.
Set 4: Fifteen of the final 18 points went in favor of the Scarlet & Gray to conclude the evening. Ohio State put up the exclamation point in turning a slim 10-9 advantage into the 25-12 lopsided clincher.
The Buckeyes will not travel again for the remainder of the 2017 season, hosting all of their potential MIVA Tournament games (April 15, 19, 22) and serving as the final destination of the NCAA Men’s National Collegiate Volleyball Championship May 4 and May 6.
Courtesy of Quincy University
QUINCY, Ill. – The Quincy University men’s volleyball team earned the final spot in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament, despite falling to No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday (April 8) night at Pepsi Arena, 25-16, 25-27, 25-15, 25-12.
The Hawks (7-21, 2-14 MIVA) qualified for the No. 8 seed by virtue of a tiebreaker with Fort Wayne. It came down to the fourth tiebreaker as the teams split their regular season matches, each team winning in five sets, and both having the same point margin. The fourth tiebreaker came down to winning percentage in all sets in conference matches. The Hawks won 18 and lost 45 sets in MIVA play while the Mastodons won 18 and lost 46.
The crucial win came in the second set on Saturday night against the Buckeyes (27-2, 16-0 MIVA), who finished just the second undefeated MIVA season in the last 25 years. The Hawks held a six-point lead, 22-16, after an attacking error by Miles Johnson. Ohio State then reeled off the next seven points to take a 23-22 lead. After an OSU service error, the Hawks got a kill from junior Shane McAdams (Tucson, Ariz./Ironwood Ridge/San Diego City) to take a 24-23 lead.
Nicolas Szerszen tied it back up with a kill before an error by the Buckeyes gave the Hawks set point yet again, 25-24. Szerszen answered with another kill, but senior Jarrod Kelso (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Darby) followed with a kill and then paired with junior Anthony Winter(Olmsted Falls, Ohio/St. Edward) on a double-block to get the win.
The Buckeyes were able to bounce back after the intermission and stroll through the final two sets to pick up the victory.
Kelso had nine kills (.316) and three blocks to lead the Hawks, who hit .106 as a team. The Buckeyes finished with a .382 mark and were led by 17 kills each from Szerszen and Maxime Hervoir.
Freshman Blake Sprecher (Cross Plains, Wis./Middleton) chipped in with seven kills (.357) and two solo blocks. Junior Thane Fanfulik (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Darby) handed out 27 assists. Sophomore David Siebum (St. Louis, Mo./Vianney) led the defense with eight digs.
The Hawks and Buckeyes will match up again in the first round of the MIVA Tournament next Saturday (April 15) at 4 p.m. CT in Columbus. It will be the first time since 2012 the Hawks will not meet Loyola Chicago in the first round of the conference tournament.
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