Men’s Volleyball: No. 13 Ohio State wins 8th in a row on senior night, earns share of MIVA regular-season championship

The No. 13 Buckeyes swept No. 10 Loyola Chicago on their senior night time Saturday and claimed a share of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Affiliation regular-season championship for the primary time in 5 years.

The Ohio State males’s volleyball staff (19-9, 11-3 MIVA) placed on an intense and emotional match because it performed towards the Ramblers (21-6, 11-3 MIVA), who entered atop the convention standings. The Buckeyes gave their seniors a momentous sendoff within the closing match of the common season.

The followers jumped from their seats on the Covelli Heart and the staff bench ran to the court docket because the Buckeyes took the third set and the match following a Loyola Chicago assault error 25-23.

“Coming into the match feelings had been excessive, a few tears had been shed,” redshirt junior setter Michael Wright mentioned. “We had been just a little frantic, simply our feelings had been excessive and as soon as we got here again down, issues had been going our approach.”

Earlier than the Buckeyes confronted the Ramblers, they despatched off this season’s senior group of center blocker Sam Clark, redshirt senior outdoors hitter Jack Stevens and Wright.

“I really like this staff, and everybody’s bought one another’s again,” Stevens mentioned.

The battle for the lead started shortly because the Buckeyes tied with the Ramblers at level two from a Wright kill all the best way to level 9.

The Ramblers took a two-point lead after a three-point run ended with a redshirt sophomore setter Dan Mangun service ace and an assault error made by sophomore center blocker Cole Younger 11-9.

Each groups would tie all the best way to level 15 because the momentum from the Buckeyes gave the impression to be diminishing, letting the Ramblers obtain a four-point run 18-15.

“They’ve bought a staff loaded filled with actually nice gamers,” Stevens mentioned. 

Ohio State started to select up its tempo because it prevented the Ramblers from successful the set at level 25, tying with them at 24 by way of a freshman reverse Shane Wetzel kill.

The battle for the two-point lead started because the court docket full of depth and aggression because the Buckeyes went forwards and backwards with the Ramblers as much as level 27.

After an assault error was made by Rambler redshirt sophomore reverse hitter Parker Van Buren, the Buckeyes took the primary set with the sound of a Younger kill hitting the ground 29-27.

The Ramblers established management early into the second set by way of a four-point run ending with a Van Buren kill 6-2.

“He’s among the best gamers within the convention,” Wright mentioned. “That was an enormous goal for us tonight.”

The Buckeyes inched their approach nearer with the assistance of three Rambler service errors. Block assists from Wright, Younger and Stevens.

“We had been just a little spotty tonight and simply making an attempt to attain when it mattered,” Wright mentioned.

Each groups tied as much as level 14 earlier than the Buckeyes took their first lead of the set from a Stevens kill. The Ramblers referred to as for his or her first timeout 15-14.

The Ramblers took a two-point lead by way of a block from Van Buren, redshirt junior outdoors hitter Jack Yentz and junior center blocker Jimmy Meinhart and a Van Buren kill 21-19.

The lead flipped because the Buckeyes took the subsequent three factors attributable to a Yentz service error, Pasteur kill and Wright service ace because the Ramblers referred to as for his or her final timeout 22-21.

Buckeyes pushed by way of the battle for the lead and took the second set by way of a Stevens kill and a Rambler staff error 28-26.

Just like the earlier units, the Ramblers maintained management to start with of the third set till the Buckeyes pushed a three-point run by way of a Yentz service error and two assault errors by graduate outdoors hitter Nick Martinski to knot at six.

The Ramblers struggled to take care of a gradual lead because the Buckeyes continued to tie with them from level 12 up till level 19. Ohio State then gained a 21-19 lead by way of two blocks.

Van Buren dedicated an assault error that allowed Ohio State to emerge victorious. It’s the primary time the Buckeyes have claimed at the very least a share of the convention title since 2018.

“Protection was enormous for us tonight,” Stevens mentioned. “We’ve carried out a fairly good job establishing ourselves as a fairly full staff, so when one factor isn’t going, we bought our protection or our serving to select it up.”

With their common season over, the Buckeyes will wait to study their subsequent opponent earlier than kicking off the MIVA Match. Ohio State will host the opening spherical starting April 15 at 7 p.m.