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.

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.

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.

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.

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).