Buckeyes Visit Michigan State, Host Maryland for Senior Night
11/6/2018 12:54:54 PM | Women's Volleyball
RELATED INFO
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s volleyball team is scheduled to wrap up a pair of home-and-home Big Ten series this week. The Buckeyes are heading to Michigan State for a midweek outing Wednesday at 7 p.m. The squad returns to St. John Arena to host Maryland at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
WEEKLY BASICS
Wednesday, Nov. 7 | 7 p.m. | East Lansing, Mich. | Jenison Field House | Stream: BTN Plus
Ohio State (12-14, 3-11 B1G) at Michigan State (15-12, 3-11 B1G) | Live Stats | Live Stream ($)
Saturday, Nov. 10 | 7 p.m. | Columbus, Ohio | St. John Arena | Stream: BTN Plus
Ohio State vs. Maryland (15-11, 6-8 B1G) | Live Stats | Live Stream ($)
SENIOR SALUTE
Saturday’s contest against Maryland will serve as Ohio State’s senior night. The Buckeyes will honor technical coordinator Andrew Fischer, Jasmine Koonts, Taylor Hughes, Olivia Dailey and Audra Appold after the match.
HISTORY WITH THE SPARTANS & TERRAPINS
The Buckeyes have been victorious in 47 of their 79 matchups against the Spartans. The teams have played each other already this season, back Oct. 14 when Ohio State swept Michigan State on national television via ESPN2. Bia Franklin did a little bit of everything behind career highs in kills (14) and points (18.5). She also registered 12 digs, three service aces and two blocks.
Ohio State has a 10-4 lead in the all-time series with Maryland. The Buckeyes are looking to even this year’s series after suffering a 3-2 setback on Sept. 29 in College Park. During the match, Vanja Bukilic registered a career-high 19 kills and 19.5 points.
SCOUTING REPORT
Michigan State has lost its last seven matches, five of which were against nationally ranked opponents. Last week, the Spartans came up short to No. 13 Purdue in four sets before falling to No. 3 Minnesota in a five-set thriller. MSU is the 24th-best team in the country in blocks per set (2.64). In the Big Ten standings, Naya Gros is seventh behind 1.18 blocks per set and 10th with a .320 hitting percentage.
Maryland split a pair over the weekend with a 3-1 win over Northwestern and straight-set loss to No. 4 Illinois. Erika Pritchard currently leads the conference averaging 4.25 kills per set. Allegra Rivas’ 4.54 digs per set (6th) and Nicole Alford’s 9.91 assists per set (9th) are also among the top marks in the league. On a national scale, Katie Myer has 0.47 aces per set and 44 total service aces to rank 17th and 19th, respectively.
BUCKEYES LATELY
Ohio State is still looking to get back into the win column after dropping its last six matches. The most recent setback occurred Sunday when the Buckeyes fell to Northwestern, 3-1. Vanja Bukilic notched a team-best 13 kills, seven digs and two services aces during her 21st match in double figures. Becca Mauer chipped in a career-high nine kills with 12 digs and three service aces. Lauren Witte and Adria Powell added eight and seven kills, respectively, while Bia Franklin posted four kills, five digs, three aces and two assists. Olivia Dailey got in on the action with a match-high 38 helpers. Defensively, Hannah Gruensfelder led both teams with 24 digs. Powell and Dailey both got involved at the net behind four and three blocks, respectively.
B1G STATS
Lauren Witte has the eighth-best hitting percentage in the Big Ten with a .350 clip. Hannah Gruensfelder has 3.47 digs per set (12th) and Becca Mauer averages 6.45 assists per set (13th). Vanja Bukilic stands 15th with 3.04 kills per set.
BLOCK PARTY
Ohio State has out-blocked its opponents 11 times, including a season-high 17.0 rejections at Dayton. However, the Buckeyes have had fewer blocks in 10 of their 14 Big Ten contests.
FAREWELL ST. JOHN ARENA, HELLO COVELLI CENTER
The 2018 campaign is the final season for the Buckeyes inside St. John Arena. The women’s volleyball team will be moving to the Covelli Center, which is set to be complete in time for the 2019 season. The state-of-the-art facility is part of the new Ohio State Athletic District and will span over 100,000 square feet in total and include a locker room and coaching suite designed specifically for the women’s volleyball program.
