Feb. 15, 2018
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 5 Ohio State University men’s volleyball team continues to chug along, notching its seventh consecutive win Thursday night versus Lindenwood University (6-6, 1-4 MIVA). The latest conference win, which marks the 37th straight against a MIVA opponent for Ohio State, improves to the Buckeyes to 10-2 in 2018 including a 3-0 league mark. The contest ended in three sets: 25-19, 25-20, 26-24.
Ohio State’s trio of pin hitters carried the load offensively, each posting a dozen or more kills. Sophomore Reese Devilbiss earned a start and delivered in a big way, dropping in a match-high 14 kills at a .500 (14-2-14) attacking clip. He was flanked on the attack by fellow outside hitter Maxime Hervoir’s .417 hitting percentage and 12 kills, and opposite Jake Hanes connecting on 13 kills. Sanil Thomas entered the contest averaging 10.71 assists, good for second best in the nation, and left the court at 10.77 assists/set following a 35-helper effort.
Hervoir made it a double-double with 11 digs, coming up just shy of Aaron Samarin’s 12 digs for the team lead. Nick Laffin got it done in the defensive front court, getting in on all Buckeye blocks.
Set 1: Ohio State snagged a commanding lead just 10 points in the first set. The Buckeyes surged out to a 9-1 edge before letting up on the gas a bit and coasting to the 25-19 winner. Service success was key for the Scarlet & Gray, gashing the Lions for three aces.
Set 2: The Buckeyes backed up their .476 first-set hitting percentage with a .455 rate in set number two. Devilbiss and Hanes each contributed six kills while 13 digs and three team blocks limited Lindenwood enough to allow Ohio State to notch a 25-20 triumph. Devilbiss terminated twice during a three-point spurt to lift OSU ahead for good at 10-8.
Set 3: Ohio State found itself trailing 21-17 late in the third, forcing head coach Pete Hanson to burn his final timeout. The break in action proved extremely beneficial for the Buckeyes, fostering a 7-1 run setting up Ohio State with match-point at 24-22. Lindenwood delayed the finalizer momentarily before ultimately failing to withstand the Buckeyes’ match closure at 26-24 on consecutive kills from Hanes and Devilbiss.
Ohio State returns to St. John Arena on Sunday (Feb. 18) for a 2 p.m. match vs. Quincy.
