MATCH STATS
- Western Kentucky def. RV Ohio State 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-16)
- Western Kentucky improves to 11-2; RV Ohio State drops to 5-4
- Columbus, Ohio (Buckeye Invitational)
- Box Score
Columbus, Ohio – Western Kentucky flexed its muscle over a receiving votes Power Five school by hitting an astounding .506 for a sweep over RV Ohio State.
Contributing to that .506 unstoppable offense was anyone and everyone who touched the court for the Hilltoppers as all seven players to attempt an attack had a hitting percentage of .429 or better. The two kill leaders, Rachel Anderson (12) and Alyssa Cavanaugh (11) each hit at exactly .429 while Taylor Dellinger wasn’t far behind with nine kills and a .571 hitting percentage. Western Kentucky setter Jessica Lucas led both teams in assists (34) and digs (seven) for the match in addition to her five kills while hitting .556.
Ohio State’s offense was clicking as well, as they hit a solid .297 led by Madison Smeathers‘ 10 kills on a .556 hitting percentage. Ayanna Swan came up big as well with eight kills on a .400 clip.
However, the lack of defense put the Buckeyes down early as they dropped a big first set, were closer in the second and then fell behind early in the third which led to the most lopsided of the three games. In total, Ohio State did out-block Western Kentucky, but it wasn’t enough to slow down the Hilltoppers’ attack as Ohio State was held to just 18 digs for the entire match.
The win was the seventh over a team ranked in the AVCA Coaches Poll for Western Kentucky, and the first time they’ve ever done so in a sweep. It also serves as the eighth time since 2014 that the Hilltoppers have taken down a Power Five opponent.
Western Kentucky isn’t done for the day either, as they now have a big opportunity against Dayton for a win over another high-level mid-major. Ohio State looks to rebound against Northern Illinois tonight before they get Dayton on Saturday.
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