Buckeyes Open Season Thursday vs. Central State

Follow the 2023 Buckeyes

2023 Schedule

No. 13 Ohio State vs. Central State, No. 4 Penn State

NOTE: Ohio State men’s volleyball fans are asked to arrive early to the match Thursday (7 p.m.) vs. Central State because of other athletics events scheduled at the same time. For free admittance, fans should indicate to parking staff at the lots around the Covelli Center they are attending the men’s volleyball match.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 13 Ohio State opens the 2023 campaign vs. Central State (7 p.m.) Thursday followed by a 4 p.m. match Saturday vs. No. 4 Penn State. Both matches will be at the Covelli Center.

Tickets and parking at all Ohio State men’s volleyball matches are free.

Video: Ohio State news conference at MIVA Media Day https://t.co/ChhKxsQwCT https://t.co/TZCze0GTNg

— Off the Block (@offtheblock11) December 30, 2022

The Buckeyes open the 2023 season vs. Central State and Penn State this week. Ohio State is 2-0 vs. the Marauders with both wins coming last season in Columbus. The Buckeyes are 48-81-1 vs. the Nittany Lions all-time.
Senior Samuel Clark and junior Jacob Pasteur were named to the 2023 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Preseason All-MIVA squad. Pasteur led Ohio State a year ago in sets played (104), kills (417), total attacks (808) and aces (38). He was second in total blocks with 59. Clark played in 103 sets in 2022 with 377 kills, 796 attacks, 35 aces and 42 blocks.
The Buckeyes will play in a couple in-season events this year, both away from Columbus. George Mason, the host institution for the 2023 NCAA Championships, will host the Patriot Invitational Jan. 14-15. The Buckeyes will face Grand Canyon and George Mason in the event. The annual Pac 12/Big Ten Challenge will take place in State College, Pa. with Ohio State taking on USC Feb. 2 and UCLA Feb. 4 at Rec Hall on the Penn State campus.
The MIVA regular season gets underway Feb. 9 with McKendree traveling to the Covelli Center for the league opener.
The Buckeyes were picked to finish third in the preseason MIVA poll with 53 points. Ball State led with 56 ahead of Loyola Chicago with 54.
Sean Ryan, who completed his Ohio State career in 2022, earned the first Ken Dunlap Buckeye of the Year Award in the spring of 2022. The Ohio State men’s volleyball program issues just one annual award and starting with the 2022 season, that honor is termed, The Dunlap Buckeye of the Year Award, named in honor of former head coach, Ken Dunlap.
Brian and Craig Sherman were inducted into the MIVA Hall of Fame last September. Brian Sherman was a three-time All-MIVA selection in 1977 (Kellogg C.C.), 1978 and 1979 (Ohio State). Sherman led his squads to 32 MIVA wins in those three seasons, which included a 12-0 season at Ohio State in which the Buckeyes claimed the MIVA regular season title. Craig Sherman is the only student-athlete in MIVA history to be named Player of the Year at two schools: Kellogg C.C. (1980) and Ohio State (1981). The Independence, Missouri, native was Co-Player of the Year in 1980, leading his Kellogg squad to MIVA regular season and tournament championships. After transferring to Ohio State, he won four more titles, two regular season and two tournament, in 1981 and 1982.
The Ohio State Men’s Volleyball team was recognized in 2022 for maintaining at least a 3.3 grade-point average over the 2022 season by The United States Marine Corps and the American Volleyball Coaches Association. The Buckeyes first earned the award, established in 1992-93, in 2008 and have since been recognized a total of eight times, which includes a streak of four-consecutive honors from 2019-2022.
Ohio State is one of eight NCAA Division I men’s volleyball programs to earn the recognition in 2022.
Four members of the 2022 Ohio State Men’s Volleyball team were named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars.
Graduating senior Parker Mikesch earned the honor three times with classmates Ethan Talley and Luke Lentin each earning the academic award for the second time.
Three Buckeyes have been selected to the U.S. Men’s U21 National Training Team as announced by USA Volleyball. Hudson Bates, the Buckeyes’ associate head coach and recruiting coordinator, served as the assistant coach for the training team while rising sophomore Kyle Teune and newcomers Shane Wetzel and Niko Williams made the roster. Ohio State had the second-most student-athletes make the roster out of all the schools represented.
Kevin Burch, head coach of the Buckeyes, has four roster spots filled in 2023 with players named among the Fab 50 men’s volleyball players nationally, according to VolleyballMag.com. Wetzel, a 6-6 right-side hitter from Altamonte Springs, Florida, also was named the No. 4 ranked recruit on the list. Ohio State is among six schools with four-or-more players named among the Top 50. In addition to Wetzel, Dan Hurley (6-8, OH, Virginia Beach, Va.), Jack O’Riordan (6-7, OH-RS, Barrington, Ill.) and Williams (6-6, S, Poway, Calif.) made the list.
MIVA announced its 2022 Academic All-Conference awards and the Buckeyes were well represented with 17 student-athletes on the 117-member list. The MIVA awards followed the announcement that 13 members of the men’s volleyball team earned spots on the 2022 Academic All-Big Ten Team. Earlier last spring, 18 were named Ohio State Scholar Athletes.
Pasteur, a sophomore from Westminster, Maryland, was named a 2022 AVCA Honorable Mention All-American Pasteur played in all 104 sets last season with a team-high 417 kills and 38 aces. His 59 total blocks ranked second. He also was recognized as an All-MIVA First Team selection in 2022. Clark and graduating senior were named to the All-MIVA Second Team.
Kevin Burch, now in his fourth year as Ohio State head coach, has a record of 33-32 over three seasons as head coach in Columbus.