11th Seeded Women’s Volleyball Advance to NCAA Regional Play with a 3-1 victory over Middle Tennessee. – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 2, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The 11th seeded Ohio State (25-7) women’s volleyball team overcame a slow start to defeat Middle Tennessee (27-8), 3-1 (23-30, 30-19, 30-17, 30-22) Saturday night in the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, Ky. OSU’s Anna Szerszen scored 19.5 points for the Buckeyes with 16 kills, two solo blocks and three assist blocks. Blue Raider Ashley Adams had a match-high 23 points for Middle Tennessee with 20 kills, an ace serve and four assist blocks.
At four-all in game one, Ohio State scored seven straight points to take an 11-4 lead. At 17-12, OSU, five straight Blue Raider points tied the game at 17 with a Katie Brush kill. A block by Leslie Clark and Quanshell Scott gave the lead to Middle Tennessee. At 23-21, Blue Raiders, a four-point run made it 27-21. Middle Tennessee reached game point on an OSU error. An Ami Stevens (Jr., Centerburg, Ohio) kill stopped the first game point (29-23), but a Savannah Pegg kill ended the game at 30-23 for Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders hit .302 for the game to .140 for the Buckeyes.
The Blue Raiders held an 8-6 lead when Ohio State kills from Felicia Jones (Sr., Concord, Ont.), Stevens and two from Briana McCarthy (Sr., Beaver Dan, Wis.) gave the Buckeyes a 10-8 lead. At 13-11, kills by Danielle Meyer (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio), Anna Szerszen (Fr., Conflans Ste Hne, France) and Jones and a Blue Raider error opened a 17-11 lead. At 17-12, a five point Buckeye run took the OSU lead to 22-12. The run started with a Szerszen kill. Two Marisa Main (Sr., Louisville, Ky.) ace serves, a McCarthy solo block and a Middle Tennessee error completed the run. Ohio State reached game point at 29-18 with a Szerszen kill. Pegg stopped the first game point with a kill at 29-19. A kill from Meyer closed out the game at 30-19 to tie the match at one game each. Ohio State hit .424 for the game to .152 for Middle Tennessee.
The Blue Raiders held a 5-4 lead in game three when their three errors and a Jones kill gave the Buckeyes an 8-5 lead. After an Ashley Adams kill, OSU scored four straight points starting with a Jones kill. Solo blocks by McCarthy and Szerszen and a McCarthy kill took the lead to 12-6. At 21-16, a Szerszen kill, a McCarthy-Jones block, a Blue Raider error, a McCarthy kill and another Szerszen kill opened a 26-16 Buckeye lead. Leading 27-17, a Blue Raider error and a McCarthy-Meyer block set game point at 29-17. OSU won the game, 30-17 on a Middle Tennessee error to lead the match, 2-1. Ohio State hit .324 for the game to -.049 for Middle Tennessee.
Middle Tennessee held an early 6-2 lead in game four before a 5-1 Buckeye run tied the game at seven with a Szerszen kill. At 10-10, kills from Szerszen, Stevens and McCarthy and a Middle Tennessee error opened a 14-10 lead. At 22-17, kills from Szerszen and Stevens made it 24-17. Trailing, 27-20, Middle Tennessee with a Jessica Robinson kill and an OSU error made it 27-22. A Stevens’ kill made it 28-22. A Blue Raider error set match point at 29-22. Stevens, with an ace serve, won the game, 30-22, to capture the match, 3-1. Ohio State hit .436 for the game to .294 for Middle Tennessee.
Ohio State hit .322 for the match to .172 for the Blue Raiders. OSU had a 69-55 edge in kills and a five to four margin in ace serves. The Buckeyes had eight service errors to six for Middle Tennessee. Defensively, the Buckeyes had a 57-51 advantage in digs with Ashley Kiel (Sr., Allenton, Wis.) recording a match-high 22. At the net, OSU had a 14 to eight margin in team blocks with McCarthy collecting a match-high seven blocks (2-5). OSU setter Main had 55 assists in the match while Leslie Clark had 51 for the Blue Raiders.
Ohio State advances to the Seattle Regionals with semifinals scheduled for Dec. 9.
