Ohio State Hits Road To Face Michigan, Michigan State

Press Release courtesy of Ohio State Athletics.

Ohio State continues its road swing with a pair of Top 25 Big Ten opponents. The Buckeyes are taking a trip to Ann Arbor to face No. 23 Michigan Friday night live on the Big Ten Net­work at 8 p.m. ET. It’s a quick turnaround as the squad heads over to No. 16 Michigan State on Saturday for a 8 p.m. ET showdown.

WEEKLY BASICS

Friday, Sept. 29 | 8 p.m. ET | Ann Arbor, Mich. | Crisler Center

Ohio State (9-4, 2-0 B1G) at #23 Michigan (10-4, 0-2 B1G) | Live Stats | Live Stream ($) | TV: Big Ten Network

Saturday, Sept. 30 | 8 p.m. ET | East Lansing, Mich. | Jenison Field House

Ohio State at #16 Michigan State (9-2, 2-0 B1G) | Live Stats | Live Stream ($)

HISTORY WITH THE WOLVERINES & SPARTANS

Ohio State started its series with Michigan and Michigan State in 1974. Since then, the Buckeyes have gone on to secure a 50-24 all-time record versus the Wolverines. OSU has dropped the last two meetings, including a 3-1 setback in Ann Arbor a season ago.

Michigan State trails 46-31 in the series with Ohio State. The two teams split last season’s home-and-home series, starting with a straight set win for the Spartans at Jenison Field House. The Scarlet and Gray bounced back with a 3-0 sweep in St. John Arena.

BUCKEYES IN THE B1G

Hannah Gruensfelder bumped her average to 4.76 digs per set, which is good for the top spot in the league. Taylor Hughes is also representing the Buckeyes with 10.46 assists per set (11th) while Lauren Witte averages 1.22 blocks per set (9th) and has a .366 hitting per­centage (12th).

UPSET ALERT: DOWN GOES PURDUE

The Scarlet and Gray handed Purdue its first home loss of the season with a 3-1 triumph on Sept. 23. It was the first time the Buckeyes defeated the Boilermakers in Holloway Gymna­sium since 2012.

SCHIRMER & SMEATHERS SHINE AT PURDUE

Luisa Schirmer and Madison Smeathers combined for 41 kills when the Buckeyes bested Purdue in four sets. Schirmer was on fire with a career-high 25 kills, hitting .385 (25-5-52) on the evening. Smeathers came through with a career-best 16 kills on 31 at­tempts and three errors for a .419 clip.

GOING STREAKING

Ohio State is currently riding a four-match win streak, having only dropped two sets. The Buckeyes are averaging 15.7 kills and 15.0 digs per set during the streak.

CAREER WATCH: TAYLOR HUGHES

Taylor Hughes currently ranks ninth in program history with 2,722 assists. She is on track to move up the ladder, approach­ing the eighth spot held by Amanda Peter­son (‘09-12) with 2,755 helpers.