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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Women's Volleyball Season Wrap Up

The regular seasons has come to a close for most teams around the country and the bracket has been drawn up for the road to the championship. Ohio State finished seventh in the Big Ten and received an at-large bid to extend its season into tournament play.

For the third consecutive year, the Ohio State (19-14) will travel to be a part of the NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship. The team will begin the tournament in Knoxville, Tennessee on Thursday afternoon when they take on the Middle Tennessee State Raiders. The Raiders (21-11) have seen tournament play for the last six years, under the direction of head coach Matt Peck, who is in his eighth season.

Although MTS has a better record than that of Ohio State, the statistics lean in Ohio State's favor. The Bucks have far more attack errors on the season than the Raiders, but no one on the MTS team even comes close to the numbers put up by Buckeye Mari Hole. Amanda Peterson is setting more balls per set than MTS's setter, and Ohio State has about 200 more kills on the year. The Raiders also have nothing on Sarah Mignin, who has nearly 63% more digs than the other team's libero.

The winner of that round will go on to face either Duke (21-8) or no.14 Tennessee (27-3) on Friday night. Should Ohio State get a win in round 2, it is likely that they will meet their old Big Ten pal no.3 Illinois (27-4) in the Florida Regional in Gainsville. Ohio State was only able to win one set in two matches against Illinois in the 2011 regular season. Under the direction of head coach Geoff Carlston, the Bucks have never won a game against the Fighting Illini.

But if we see a well prepared, collected Buckeye team like we have seen in the past, Ohio State should advance far in the bracket.

Last year, the Buckeyes defeated Lipscomb University in four sets in the first round of play. They then upset no.14 Dayton in five sets to move on no.3 Stanford in the regional semifinal, who they fell to in four sets.

The Big Ten is well represented this year with Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, Penn St. and Purdue all finishing in the nation's top 12. Interestingly enough, no.12 Minnesota (18-11) has the highest recorded losses of any seeded team this year. No.11 Penn St. looks to keep its national title from the previous four championships, but will have to call on younger players to step up after losing key seniors. Ohio State made semifinal appearances all the way back in 1991 and 1994, but the team has never seen a championship game.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Women's Volleyball Seniors

Sarah Mignin is from Northview High School in Sylvania, Ohio where she played volleyball for four years and served as team captain for two years. She will graduate from The Ohio State University with a degree in nursing.

Mignin saw action early on in her college athletic career with 23 matches and two starts her freshman year. She got a career-high 13 digs at Indiana in 2008. The following year, Mignin started 15 matches and played in 32. She recorded a career-high 3 service aces at Illinois. Her junior year, Mignin played in 35 matches and started all but one of them. She was named Ohio State Athlete of the Week twice in 2010 and ranked sixth in digs in OSU season records. The same year, Mignin suffered an ankle injury during the Minnesota game which lead to her being carried away on a stretcher. A determined Mignin returned to the court to face Stanford after the Buckeyes won their first two NCAA tournament rounds.

Her senior season brought honors like being named Big Ten Co-defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 12 for her performance in the Rocket Classic and then again the following week. When the Bucks took on a highly ranked Wisconsin, Mignin scored a team-high 16 points. A returning letterwinner and sporting a different color jersey than the rest of the team, the 5'5'' libero is known for her aggressive defensive strategy and smile on and off the court.


Senior middle blocker, Kelli Barhorst, is from Anna High School in Anna, Ohio where she recieved several honors for her efforts on the court. Her team took the state title in 2006, and she was named first-team All-Ohio that year. She served as team captain her senior year and won the Most Valuable Senior Athlete award. Barhorst will graduate with a degree in English.

During her freshman year at Ohio State, Barhorst started in all of the 25 matches in which she played. She saw double-figure kills in five games and ranked tenth in blocks within the Big Ten. Barhorst started and played in 33 matches the following year. She had season-high records of 12 kills and 14 points against California. Barhorst was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention her junior year and was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Oct. 18, 2010.

Barhorst has continued to shine into her senior year. In the home opener weekend at St. John Arena, Barhorst posted a match-high 16.5 points in a sweep against Akron. In a match against Michigan State, she recorded 11 kills and six blocks. She also lead the team in aces in back to back matches against Northwestern and Illinois. The 6'2'' senior would like to persue a career in teaching.

Both ladies were given an opportunity to speak after the Indiana game on Nov. 20 and thanked the coaching staff, their familes, and others. It was an occasion to celebrate for Mignin and Barhorst, although team and family members had tears in their eyes.

Congratulations to both Sarah and Kelli on an outstanding season and good luck to all the Buckeyes in the NCAA tournament!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Women's volleyball at Michigan

The Ohio State women's volleyball team closed the regular season with a win Friday night in Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan in front of 2,286 fans. The Buckeyes (19-14, 9-11 Big Ten) took the no.22 ranked Wolverines (20-12, 8-12 Big Ten) in four sets.

The first set saw nine tied scores, many early on in the game. Tied at six, two Buckeye attack errors and a kill from Michigan's Courtney Fletcher gave the Wolverines their first lead. Errors from both teams and a kill from Alex Hunt of UM put the score at 8-12 in Michigan's favor. Ohio State was able to tie the game at 12 with kills from Emily Danks, Mariah Booth and Kaitlyn Leary. Fletcher returned with another kill and was followed by Buckeyes Mari Hole and Kelli Barhorst. A service error from Danks tied the game at 14. At 15 a piece, back to back Hole kills forced a time out from Michigan, but Hole answered with her third kill in a row. UM began to close the gap and a service ace from Lexi Dannemiller made OSU take its first time out at 19-18. The Wolverines would only score once more in the set on a Buckeye error. Ohio State closed the set a kill from Amanda Peterson, after a long run of kills from Leary, Danks and Booth, 25-19.

The first six points scored by Michigan were due to errors from Ohio State and Jennifer Cross, their 6'4'' sophomore. At 4-8, Hole set fire again with three consecutive kills. Interrupted by a Peterson block and a Michigan time out, Hole gave the Bucks their first lead with another kill. Fletcher, Dannemiller and Hunt scored three more points for UM to take back the lead. Tied at 12, Michigan gave up three points in error and saw two Booth blocks and a Leary kill. At 20-14, Catherine Yager, in collaberation with Cross, got two crucial blocks. A Hunt-Cross block, a Leary error and a Cross kill tied the second set at 20. A Fletcher kill put the game at 22 all, but the Bucks got to set point first with a block and kill from Booth. Danks sealed the set with a kill, 25-22.

Michigan, although down by two sets, came out of the locker room ready to play and took the third set 25-16. UM got ahead early in the set and Ohio State was unable to catch up. At 2-2, Claire McElheny and Lexi Erwin of Michigan both recorded kills. Two blocks, Cross-Erwin and Cross-Dannemiller, forced OSU to take its first time out. In an attempt to close the gap on Michigan, the Buckeyes scored nearly every time the Wolverines did for the next several plays. Kills from Peterson, Leary and Barhorst helped Ohio State stay alive, but they were answered by Fletcher, Hunt and McElheny. At 8-12, Michigan went on a four point scoring drive with kills by Cross and Erwin and a Fletcher service ace. After a time out from Ohio State, the Bucks were able to get several more points on the board, but the damage had been done. A Barhorst kill made it 14-21, and McElheny and Erwin gave UM two more. A Hunt service error and a Danks kill gave OSU its 16 points. Finally, a Fletcher service ace spelled victory for Michigan in the third set.

Now with the task of winning the next two sets, Michigan put up a fight in the fourth set. A Cross kill made it 4-7 in Michigan's favor before a five point run by Ohio State put them in the lead. Michigan caught up and tied the game at 12 with three Buckeye errors, a Dannemiller kill and a McElheny-Fletcher block. Tied at 14, Booth, Danks and Barhorst all earned points for OSU, while UM gave the ball to Molly Toon for a kill and gave up a point in error. Another Toon kill made it 19-16 and two OSU attack errors put the Wolverines back in the game. Barhorst and Danks answered with a kill and a service ace, twice. Erwin's serve sailed out of bounds to put Ohio State at match point. Barhorst, in her senior season, got one last powerful kill and the Bucks celebrated a 3-1 win over their rivals, 25-20.

Ohio State finished no.49 in the national rankings. Michigan finishes 23rd.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Women's Volleyball v. Penn State

The Ohio State women's volleyball team fell to the no.9 Penn State Nittany Lions in four games Wednesday night in their last home game of the season in front of 3,235 fans.

Ohio State started strong and took the first set 25-23. The set tied 10 times and had six lead changes as Penn St. kept it very close. A quick kill by Mari Hole and a service ace by Sarah Mignin kicked off the match. Tied at five, the Nittany Lions took their first lead with two Buckeye errors, a service ace from Maddie Martin and a kill from Deja McClendon. Ohio State was able to tie the score again and retake the lead thanks to two Hole blocks, a Hole kill, two PSU errors and a kill by Mariah Booth, making it 11-13. Penn St. then saw a kill from both Katie Slay and Martin, two attack errors by Hole and an ace from Ali Longo. Geoff Carlston called a time out for OSU and was able to get his team back on track. Tied at 19, a kill from Buckeye Emily Danks followed by two Danks service aces gave Ohio State the lead. PSU recovered and tied the score at 23 with kills from Slay and McClendon and an ace by Nia Grant. A block from Hole and Kelli Barhorst put the Bucks at set point before a Barhorst kill ended the set.

It would be Ohio State's only victory of the night.

Set two brought even more tied scores with 11. Both teams kept the game very close early on. We saw action from Nittany Lions Aiyana Whitney and Micha Hancock and Buckeye Kaitlyn Leary who all had kills. When the score read 15 a piece, Ohio State began to build a lead. A kill from Amanda Peterson, Hole's kill and block and two PSU errors put the Bucks ahead, but Penn St. answered with kills from Slay and Ariel Scott and a Scott service ace. A Danks-Booth block tied the game at 20. Then three consecutive Buckeye errors put Penn St. in position to take the set, which they did with a McClendon block, 22-25.

The third set brought the return of Buckeye freshman Amy Schwarzwalder, who had four kills on the set. With OSU up 4-8, the Nittany Lions went on a five point scoring drive with kills from Hancock, Martin and Scott, a Martin block and another Scott service ace. A kill from Leary gave OSU a slight lead, but it was quickly reversed by a McClendon kill and a Schwarzwalder attack error. Schwarzwalder redeemed herself with a kill on the next play, which tied the teams at 13. Ohio State was unable to regain the lead in the third set. Danks, Leary and Peterson all had kills late in the game. Two more service aces from Penn St. put them at set point. Schwarzwalder's fourth kill slowed PSU down, but a kill from Martin ended the set 23-25.

In the fourth and final set, the Bucks brought in two more freshman players, Anna Faul and Erin Sekinger, who both had one kill. Faul's kill tied the game at six. Grant and McClendon answered with kills and Booth was called on an attack error. Booth came back with a block and a kill, but two McClendon kills and a Slay block forced a time out from Ohio State. With Penn St. up 16-10, a service ace from Dominique Gonzales, two Scott-Slay kills and a Danks error all went uninterrupted before a Schwarzwalder kill attempted to slow the pace. An attack error from Leary made the score 21-12. Ohio State was only able to score one more point on a Sekinger kill before a Sekinger attack error gave the Nittany Lions their seventh road win this season, 25-13.

The Buckeyes (18-14, 8-11 Big Ten) will close the regular season tonight in Ann Arbor, Michigan when they take on the Wolverines (20-11, 8-11) at 7 p.m.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Women's Volleyball v. Indiana

The no.25 ranked Ohio State women's volleyball team swept the Indiana Hoosiers in three sets Sunday afternoon to bring their record to 18-13 (8-10 Big Ten). Indiana fell to 9-21 (1-16).

Senior players, Kaitlyn Leary and Sarah Mignin of OSU and Caitlin Cox, Mary Chaudoin and Lindsay Enterline of IU, were recognized for their years of experience on the court.

In the first set, what could only be described as a Buckeye blow out, Ohio State quickly put 9 points on the board before Indiana's Morgan Leach earned her team a point with a kill. Two Hoosier errors and a block by OSU's Mariah Booth and Emily Danks put the set at 2-13. Another Leach kill was followed up by two more errors and another Booth-Danks block making it 3-16, forcing Indiana to take its second time out. After a word from their coaching staff and senior players, Indiana scored three points with Samantha Thrower, who had a block and a kill, and a Kelci Marschall kill. The Hoosiers wouldn't score again until the Buckeyes were at set point. Kills by Danks, Leary, and Kelli Barhorst, with help from several Hoosier errors, put them Ohio State in position to take the set. Thrower was able to capitalized on one more kill before Chaudoin's attack error gave OSU the set at 7-25.

The second set brought a more focused Indiana team. They were able to keep the lead until late in the set thanks to seven OSU errors. Two blocks and a kill from Leach and the entry of Ivie Obeime into the set, who quickly made two kills of her own, brought the game to 7-3. A crucial block by Whitney Grenado of IU forced a time out from Ohio State. Kills from Leary and Barhorst, with three Indiana errors, made it 11-8. A block by Barhorst and Amanda Peterson tied the game at 12, but Indiana held onto the lead. At 15 a piece, the Bucks took their first lead of the second set, but easy points due to errors tied the game again at 17. Finally, Ohio State pulled ahead late in the set with blocks from Leary, Booth and Danks, a Leary kill, and a service ace from Mari Hole. At 17-24, Indiana scored one more time with a block from Thrower. Ohio State then sealed the set with a kill from Leary making it 18-25.

In the third and final set, Indiana took an early lead again. When the set tied at 6, two Danks-Barhorst blocks and a Hole kill gave OSU the edge it needed. Two service aces followed in the nest couple of plays, one by Danks and one by Thrower. Kills from Hole, Booth and Leary, and a Barhorst attack error, put the set at 10-14. A Marschall kill, followed by two Hole kills, two Danks kills, and a Booth attack error made the score 12-18. Thrower answered with her own kill and Booth got her first ace of the day. A Leary kill made the board read 15-22. Indiana, who wasn't ready to give up just yet, quickly put up four points, one of which was a service ace by Whitney Grenado. A wild serve by Obeime put Ohio State at set point. With her team's fifth service ace of the night, Amanda Peterson ended the match 19-25.

The Buckeyes will host no.9 Penn State (21-7, 14-4) on Wednesday night. The Nittany Lions swept OSU earlier in the season in University Park. The Hoosiers will host Purdue (25-4, 13-4) also on Wednesday. The Ohio State women's volleyball team will play its last regular season game on Friday in Ann Arbor when they take on the Michigan Wolverines.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Women's Volleyball v. Purdue

In an exciting three set match, the no.8 Purdue Boilermakers swept the Ohio State women's volleyball team Friday night in front of a crowd of 1786. The Bucks left the game with a record of 17-13 (7-10 Big Ten) and Purdue came away with a 24-4 (13-3) record.

In set 1, the Buckeyes started off strong and quickly put five points on the board thanks to three Purdue errors and kills by Mariah Booth and Kaitlyn Leary. Kills by Boilermakers Tiffany Fisher, Rachel Davis and Val Nichol early in the set tied both teams at seven. Purdue began to pull ahead, but Ohio State was able to keep it very close until the end. More errors from both teams gave easy points to their opponents including attack and service errors by Purdue's Ariel Turner and Catherine Rebarchak and attack errors from OSU's Emily Danks, Mariah Booth and Leary. At 17 a piece, Purdue went on a four point streak before Ohio State was forced to call two time outs. Three Buckeye errors from Mari Hole, one from Booth, and a service ace from Purdue's Emily Ehlers contributed to the run. After recollecting themselves, the Bucks scored four points of their own with two Booth kills, a Booth service ace and a Davis ball handling error. A Boilermaker time out at 21-22 gave Purdue the chance slow down and end the set with two Turner kills and a service ace by Amanda Miller, 21-25.

Set 2 brought five quick Purdue points due to attack errors from Danks and Hole and kills by Rebarchak, Turner and Fisher. Buckeyes Booth and Kelli Barhorst were able to keep Ohio State alive with kills of their own. Purdue began to create a lead, but the Bucks never gave up. At 7-10, kills by Barhorst, Booth, Hole and Turner, and a Rebarchak error, tied the teams at 11. Two Turner kills, a Blair Bashen service ace and a Rebarchak attack forced another time out from Ohio State. Kills by Booth, Leary, Fisher and Turner balanced each other late in the second set. With OSU trailing by four at 18-22, kills from Hole and Leary, in addition to a Turner error, put the team back in the game. But it would be Purdue's set again as a ball handling error from Buckeye Amanda Peterson and two kills from Boilermaker Kierra Jones sealed the deal, 21-25.

In what would turn out to be a long, exciting third set, both teams kept it even with three Buckeye errors and kills from Turner, Leary, Hole and Danks. At 5 all, Ohio State began its largest lead of the night. Three Hole kills, two Barhorst kills, one from Leary and two service aces put the Bucks at 13-7. Purdue was able to tie the game at 16 with a long scoring drive with kills from Ehlers, Davis, Fisher and Turner. Buckeye errors helped the Boilermakers along with two each from Booth and Danks. Tied at 20, errors by Hole and Leary added to Purdue's score, as did kills from Jones and Turner. Ohio State tied the score at 23 and found themselves at set point after an attack error by Turner. Turner was able to tie it up again at 24. After a Leary kill, OSU was in position to take the set again, but two Purdue kills put them at set point. Hole, not finished just yet, tied the score at 26. The Boilermakers needed two points to end the match and they came from a Nichol kill and a Hole attack error, 26-28. The score tied 17 times in this set.

The Buckeyes went on to sweep Indiana on Sunday afternoon and Purdue fell to no.12 Penn State on Saturday.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Women's Volleyball Big Ten Update

  • Nebraska Cornhuskers 20-2 (13-1)
  • Illinois Fighting Illini 22-3 (11-3)
  • Purdue Boilermakers 22-3 (11-3)
  • Penn State Nittany Lions 18-6 (11-3)
  • Michigan State Spartans 18-8 (7-7)
  • Ohio State Buckeyes 17-10 (7-7)
  • Minnesota Gophers 14-9 (7-7)
  • Wisconsin Badgers 14-12 (6-8)
  • Michigan Wolverines 17-9 (5-9)
  • Northwestern Wildcats 14-11 (5-9)
  • Iowa Hawkeyes 11-16 (1-13)
  • Indiana Hoosiers 8-18 (0-14)
As of Nov. 6, the Big Ten is led by Nebraska and Illinois who are ranked no.1 and no.2 in the country respectively.

Nebraska, Illinois and Ohio State all made Sweet Sixteen efforts in last year's NCAA Division I tournament. While the final round has been dominated by the Big Ten for five years (Penn State 2007-2010, Nebraska 2006), OSU has never seen a national championship game.

Ohio State fell from the nation's top 25 to no.41 after losing in four games to Minnesota on Saturday. Buckeye Mariah Booth was chosen as this week's Big Ten Co-Defensive Player along side Purdue's Kierra Jones. Booth had seven blocks against the Gophers and nine blocks against Wisconsin Friday night.

The Buckeyes continue their stretch on the road in Illinois this week where they take on Northwestern in Evanston on Friday and the Hawkeyes in Champaign on Saturday.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Ohio State vs Iowa Women's Volleyball

The Ohio State women's volleyball team defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes in four sets Sunday afternoon in front of a crowd of 1048.

The Hawkeyes, who entered St. John Arena on a six game losing streak, won the first set 25-23. Ohio State started the set strong, but Iowa was able to quickly recover and take the lead for the first time 9-8. Kills from Buckeyes Mari Hole, Emily Danks, and Kaitlyn Leary put OSU ahead 15-13 before Iowa head coach Sharon Dingman called the first time out. Iowa was able to take advantage of a few Buckeye errors and kills made by their star outside hitter, Tiffany Nilges, to tie the set at 17. Kills by Hole kept Ohio State close, but a kill by Iowa's Alex Lovell brought set point. Leary's kill was able to put Ohio State in position to take the set at 24-23, but a Buckeye error handed it to Iowa. OSU had nine errors on the set.

Set 2 brought more early kills from Danks and Leary, accompanied by their teammates, Mariah Booth and Kelli Barhorst. More OSU errors and kills made by Hawkeyes Megan Eskew and Chante Thompson tied the set at 6. Leary and Barhorst pulled their team ahead but were quickly answered by yet another one of their errors and a Thompson kill to make it 15 all. Booth began to connect with the ball at this point, and gets a kill and a crucial block with help from Taylor Sherwin. A kill by Lovell gave the team its final point in the set before the Bucks went on get six straight points and win 25-17.

Iowa was able to keep the third set very close with 9 tied scores, but were only able to lead the Buckeyes once early on 6-4. When the score showed 13-13, Booth and teammate Amanda Peterson answered with back to back kills. Iowa tied it up again at 15 with a kill and block from Nikki Dailey. OSU began to run away with the set thanks to kills from Booth, Danks, Leary and Hole. A service ace by Hole shook the arena as the team and crowd celebrated with her, making it 23-16. Hole's next kill made it set point, and a Booth-Danks block sealed the third set.

In the fourth and final set, the Buckeyes went on an early six point stretch to take the lead. After several errors in favor of Iowa and a kill by Nilges, the score remained 17-13. After a kill by Booth, Buckeye libero, Sarah Mignin, had the third service ace of the night. Iowa struggled to catch up as Thompson made a kill and a block. Kills from Peterson, Danks, Barhorst and Dailey, in addition to an Iowa error, brought the score to 24-16. Iowa, unable to make anything happen, watched as Barhorst clenched the match with her ninth kill of the evening.

Mari Hole scored on 19 of her 41 attack attempts and claimed 14 digs and 21 points, a match high. Leary had 13 kills, while Danks and Booth both had 12. Peterson, the OSU setter for most of the match, had 41 assists. Iowa's Thompson and Dailey both had 8 kills; Dailey had 29 assists. Iowa had 16 errors. Although Ohio State had 24 errors on the match, they were able to make up for it in hitting percentage.

The no. 23 Ohio State women's volleyball team walks away with a record of 16-9 overall (6-6 Big Ten) as they prepare for two weeks on the road. The Bucks will face Wisconsin (13-11, 5-7) on Friday and no.15 Minnesota (13-8, 6-6) on Saturday. The Hawkeyes fall to 11-14 (1-11 Big Ten) as they travel back to Iowa City to get ready for Michigan State (17-7, 6-6).