No. 7 Men’s Volleyball Enjoying A Successful Season with a 16-1 record – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
March 14, 2007
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The seventh-ranked Ohio State (16-1, 5-0 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, first place) men’s volleyball team is coming off a 3-1 (30-21, 28-30, 30-26, 30-23) win over 15th-ranked Ball State last week. The victory gives the Buckeyes a two-match advantage in the loss column over Ball State. The team has the week off to take Winter Quarter exams and returns to practice next Tuesday. The Buckeyes return to action the following Friday, March 23 against 12th-ranked Loyola-Chicago (15-5, 4-3). Ohio State will then travel to play at Lewis (12-7, 4-4), Friday, March 30 and at Loyola-Chicago, Saturday, March 31.
BUCKEYES TAKE A BREAK FROM THE ACTION
Men’s volleyball is taking a rare week off as the Buckeyes take winter exams this week. Ohio State last played March 9 when they defeated Ball State at home to go 16-1 overall and 5-0 in the MIVA. The Buckeyes have won nine straight and are undefeated at home with an 11-0 record. Ohio State has 13 straight home victories going into the end of the 2006 season. The Buckeyes return to practice next Tuesday to begin preparation for a home conference match against 12th-ranked Loyola-Chicago (15-5, 4-3).
A LOOK AT OHIO STATE
The seventh-ranked Buckeyes are coached by Pete Hanson. Ohio State is 16-1 on the season and 5-0 (first place) in the MIVA. On March 9, Ohio State defeated 15th-ranked Ball State, 3-1 (30-21, 28-30, 30-26, 30-23) at home. Dan Meske (Sr., Willow Springs, Ill.) is leading Ohio State in kills per game at 3.72. Robbie Klein (Jr./So., Cincinnati, Ohio) ranks second at 3.30 with Sam Stevens (5th/Sr., Miami, Fla.) third at 3.30. Layne Dreven (5th/Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) is hitting a team-high .605 with John Albertson (Jr./So., Ballwin, Mo.) second at .436. Setter Daniel Mathews (Jr., Shorewood, Wis.) is averaging 13.98 assists per game for the Buckeyes. Klein is the team leader in aces per game at .57 with 33. Mathews ranks second at .38 with 22 with Meske (19) Stevens (20) and Dreven (20) tied for third at .36. Defensively, Libero Conor Martin (Jr., Avon Lake, Ohio) leads the team in digs per game at 1.67. Stevens ranks second at 1.64 and Meske, third at 1.58. At the net, Albertson is the team leader in blocks per game at 1.35. He has six solos and 71 assists. Mathews ranks second at 1.17 with six solos and 62 assist blocks. Dreven is third at 1.04 with two solos and 56 assist blocks. Ohio State is hitting .380 and is averaging 16.50 kills and 15.09 assists per game. The Buckeyes average 2.40 aces, 8.26 digs and 2.82 blocks per game. OSU opponents are hitting .211 and average 12.07 kills and 11.19 assists per game. Opponents average .83 aces, 7.52 digs and 1.73 blocks per game.
KLEIN STEPS UP AGAINST BALL STATE
Robbie Klein scored a match-high 19.5 points in the Ball State match and was named the MIVA Shondell/Dunlap Division Player of the Week. He had a team-high 17 kills (.312), adding four digs, a solo block, three assist blocks and handled 32 reception attempts without an error. Klein has had double-figure kills in his last three matches and ten times this season. He leads the Buckeyes in aces per game at .57 with a team-high 33. For the season, he is averaging 4.19 points, 3.33 kills, 1.24 digs and .53 blocks per game. Klein has a .976 reception percentage with nine errors in 368 attempts.
DREVEN TIES CAREER HIGH WITH 13 KILLS AGAINST BALL STATE
Layne Dreven equaled his career high of 13 kills for the third time against Ball State. He had 13 kills against Quincy in 2005 and at George Mason this season. Dreven added an ace serve, one dig and seven assist blocks to record a career-high 17.5 points in the match. His previous best was 16.5 this season at Penn State. Dreven ranks as the top hitter in the country at .605 and is averaging 3.43 points, 2.54 kills, .36 aces, 1.04 blocks and .34 digs per game.
DREVEN MOVES UP IN OHIO STATE CAREER ASSIST AND TOTAL BLOCKS
Layne Dreven recorded seven assist blocks in the Ball State game and now has 290 career assist blocks. He now ranks seventh on the Ohio State career list passing Jon Yunker (1993-94) with 286. Dreven has 300 career total blocks (10-290) and has moved to 10th on the Ohio State career list passing Steve Potter (1992-95) with 295 (42-253) and Angel Aja (1997-00) with 293 (29-264). He needs five total blocks to pass ninth-ranked Mark Peckham (1002-04) with 304 (32-272). Dreven ranks ninth in Ohio State career blocks per game at 1.15.
ALBERTSON HAS SOLID MATCH AGAINST THE CARDINALS
John Albertson posted 15.0 points against Ball State in a solid effort. He had 11 kills while hitting .318. Albertson added eight assist blocks and had a season-high six digs in the contest. His 11 kills were his second straight double-figure kill match and his fifth of the season. Albertson is Ohio State’s top blocker with a 1.35 per game average with six solos and 71 assists. He is averaging 3.49 points, 2.58 kills, .19 aces, and .32 aces per game.
STEVENS HAS HIS SIXTH STRAIGHT DOUBLE-FIGURE KILL MATCH
Sam Stevens had 13 kills against Ball State for his sixth straight double-figure kill match. He has 12 on the season. Stevens hit .250 for the match, adding six digs and three assist blocks against the Cardinals. He handled 18 reception attempts without an error. For the season, he is averaging 3.96 points, 3.30 kills, .36 aces, 1.64 digs and .54 blocks per game. Stevens has a .975 reception percentage with nine errors in 367 attempts.
MATHEWS SPREADING THE OFFENSE
Daniel Mathews posted 51 assists in the win over Ball State. He added two kills, five digs and four assist blocks against the Cardinals. The Buckeyes had five players in double-figure kills in the match, recording between 11 and 17 kills each. Those players had between 21 and 32 attempts in the match. For the season, Mathews is averaging 13.98 assists per game. He is averaging 1.78 points, .76 kills, .38 aces, 1.21 digs and 1.17 blocks per game.
MATHEWS TIES FOR SEVENTH IN OHIO STATE CAREER ACES
Daniel Mathews recorded an ace serve against Ball State and now has 73 for his career. He has moved into a tie for seventh on the Ohio State career aces list with Mark Greaves (2003-06). Mathews needs three aces to move past Tom Trantow (2000-03) and Jose’ Bengoa (1994-97) who are tied for fifth with 75.
MARTIN HANDLING THE LIBERO POSITION
Conor Martin had five digs and two assists in the Ball State match and handled 31 of 32 (.969) serve receptions. He leads the team in digs per game with a 1.67 average and has a .965 reception percentage with 13 errors in 374 attempts.
OHIO STATE IN THE NATIONAL STATISTICS
In the Division I-II National Statistical Leaders, released on March 12, Ohio State’s Layne Dreven has the top hitting percentage in the country at .605 for the seventh week. John Albertson is 11th in hitting at .448 and is 10th in blocking at 1.35. Robbie Klein ranks sixth in aces at .57 with Daniel Mathews 15th at .38, Dan Meske tied for 18th at .36 and tied for 20th, Layne Dreven and Sam Stevens at .36. Mathews leads the country in assists per game with a 14.23 average. In team hitting, the Buckeyes are the top ranked squad in the country, for the seventh week, with a .380 hitting percentage.
HEAD COACH Pete Hanson
Pete Hanson is in his 23rd season at Ohio State. He has a 450-252 record with the Buckeyes and has nine Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Championships, including 2004. Named the MIVA Coach of the Year six times, including 2004, he was the American Volleyball Coaches Association National Coach of the Year in 2000 when OSU was the NCAA National Championship runner-up. Hanson was also the 1998 Volleyball Magazine Coach of the Year. His teams have advanced to the NCAA Championships six times including back-to-back appearances in 2000 (runner-up) and 2001 (semifinalist).
BUCKEYES RANKED SEVENTH IN 2007 CSTV/AVCA COACHES POLL
Ohio State is ranked seventh in the CSTV/AVCA Division I-II Men’s Coaches Top 15 Poll released March 12. The Buckeyes have now been ranked seventh for three straight weeks. Other MIVA conference teams ranked in the poll are IPFW 11th, Loyola-Chicago 12th and Ball State 15th.
KLEIN NAMED THE MIVA SHONDELL/DUNLAP DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK – March 12, 2007
Ohio State men’s volleyball Robbie Klein has been named the MIVA Shondell/Dunlap Division Player of the Week. Klein scored a match-high 19.5 points in Ohio State’s (16-1, 5-0 MIVA) 3-1 (30-21, 28-30, 30-26, 30-23) victory over Ball State (10-7, 4-2) to expand their lead in the MIVA Standings. Klein had a team-high 17 kills while hitting .312 against the Cardinals. He added four digs, a solo block and three assist blocks in the match. He also handled a team-high 32 reception attempts without an error. With the match tied at one game each, Klein with a kill and solo block overcame a 23-22 Ball State lead to put Ohio State ahead, 24-23. He added a kill to make it 28-24 leading to a 30-26 game three win. In game three, Klein had a team-high seven kills while hitting .333. He added two digs, a solo block and an assist block in the game. For the match, Klein averaged 4.88 points, 4.25 kills, 1.00 blocks and 1.00 digs per game. For the season, Klein is averaging 4.19 points, 3.33 kills, .57 aces, 1.24 digs and .53 blocks per game. He currently ranks sixth nationally in aces per game at .569 with a team-high 33. This is the second time this season that Klein has been named the MIVA Player of the Week.
MATHEWS NAMED THE MIVA SHONDELL/DUNLAP DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK – March 6, 2007
Daniel Mathews has been named the MIVA Shondell/Dunlap Division Player of the Week for his play in road victories at Rutgers-Newark (3-0) and George Mason (3-1) last week. In the 30-27, 30-25, 30-27 win at Rutgers-Newark, Mathews recorded 51 assists (17.00 per game). He added a season-high five kills while hitting .667. Mathews added four digs and two assist blocks in a match that Ohio State hit .375 and had three players with double-figure kills. At George Mason in a 31-33, 30-27, 30-23, 30-26 win, Mathews had a career-high 72 assists (18.00 per game). He added three kills (.250), an ace serve, four digs and three assist blocks against the Patriots. Ohio State hit .321 in the match as five players posted double-figure kills. For the two matches, Mathews averaged 17.57 assists, 1.14 kills, .14 aces, 1.14 digs and .71 blocks per game. On the season, Mathews is averaging 14.07 assists per game and leads the country in that category this week. He ranks second on the team in aces per game at .39, second in blocking at 1.19 per game and is fifth on the team in digs per game at 1.20.
MESKE NAMED THE MIVA SHONDELL/DUNLAP DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Feb. 27, 2007
Dan Meske has been named the MIVA Shondell/Dunlap Division Player of the Week. Meske posted a team-high 18.5 points in the 3-0 home win over Lewis. He had a team-high 17 kills while hitting .556, adding an ace serve, an assist block and seven digs. He hit .857 (6K-0E-7A) in game one, .500 (5-1-8) in game two and .417 (6-1-12) in game three. He had the game winning kill in games one and three. Meske produced a career-high 23.5 points in the win over sixth-ranked IFPW. He had a team-high 19 kills while hitting .457. He added two ace serves, five digs, a solo block and three assists in OSU’s second victory over IPFW this season. Trailing 1-0 in the match, Meske hit .667 (8-0-12) in game two to help even the match at one game each. He had a kill (point 27) and an ace serve (point 28) in helping OSU to a 30-27 game three win again the Mastodons. For the two matches, Meske averaged 6.00 points, 5.14 kills, .43 aces, 1.71 digs and .71 blocks per game while hitting .500. He has had double-figure kills in eight of his last nine matches. Meske has started all 14 matches this season after three seasons at defensive specialist/libero. For the season, he leads OSU in points at 4.21 and kills at 3.52 and is averaging .41 aces, 1.39 digs and .50 blocks per game.
KLEIN NAMED THE MIVA SHONDELL/DUNLAP DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jan. 29, 2007
Robbie Klein has been named the MIVA Shondell/Dunlap Division Player of the Week. Klein helped Ohio State to wins over Rutgers-Newark, 3-0 (30-26, 30-28, 30-18) and Carthage, 3-1 (30-24, 26-30, 32-30, 30-21) last week to keep the Buckeyes undefeated at 7-0. Klein had a team-high 12 kills against Rutgers-Newark adding two assists, two ace serves four digs and an assist block for 14.5 points. Against Carthage, Klein posted career-highs of 29.5 points, 23 kills, five ace serves and a season-high six digs in the victory. Tied at one game each against the Red Men, he had seven kills in seven attempts in game three. Down by as many as five points (25-20), Klein had a kill in a four-point OSU run to cut the lead to 25-24. He scored OSU’s next three points to keep OSU in the game at 28-27. A Carthage error tied the game at 28. Klein’s fifth ace serve of the match gave OSU a 29-28 lead. OSU won the game, 32-30. Klein then had six kills in nine attempts in game four to help end the match. In the final two games, Klein hit .813 (13-16). His five ace serves in the match ties for third on the OSU match record list. As a passer, he had a .940 serve reception percentage handling 50 of 53 serves in the two matches (11 with no errors against Rutgers-Newark and 36 of 39 against Carthage). For the two matches Klein averaged 6.29 points, 5.00 kills, 1.00 aces, 1.43 digs and .57 blocks per game while hitting .344.
BUCKEYES HIT SECOND-BEST PERCENTAGE AGAINST MSOE AT .619
Ohio State opened the 2007 season by hitting .619 against MSOE with 44 kills, five errors in 63 attempts. This marks the second best hitting performance in the history of the program. The Buckeyes set the record of .671 at Mercyhurst in 1997. Against MSOE, OSU hit .579 (12-1-19) in game one, .435 (14-4-23) in game two and finished with a .857 (18-0-21) in game three. The Buckeyes had five of six starters hit .600 or better in the match.
OSU TIES FOR SECOND IN ACE SERVES IN A MATCH WITH 15
Behind a career-high four ace serves from Layne Dreven, Ohio State recorded 15 ace serves in the MSOE match. The 15 aces tie for second the most ace serves in a match for the Buckeyes. OSU had 15 ace serves against Clarke in 2005 and at Pacific in 2001. The OSU record is 17 against Thomas More in 1995. Also contributing aces in the match were Dan Meske and Sam Stevens with three, Daniel Mathews with two and Robbie Klein, Brett Versen and Brian Kues with one each.
OHIO STATE PICKED SECOND IN MIVA SHONDELL/DUNLAP DIVISION PRESEASON POLL
Ohio State has been picked to finish second in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Shondell/Dunlap Division preseason poll by a vote of the division coaches. IPFW, picked to be the favorite, received five first place votes with Ohio State receiving two. Loyola was picked to finish third with Ball State fourth and Lewis fifth. Rounding out the division was Quincy at sixth and Mercyhurst, seventh. In 2006, Loyola won the division with an 11-1 record with IPFW finishing second at 9-3. The 2006 MIVA Tournament was won by IPFW.
TWO BUCKEYES NAMED TO PRESEASON MIVA SHONDELL/DUNLAP DIVISION ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
The Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Shondell/Dunlap Division coaches have selected the 2007 Preseason All-Conference Team. Ohio State had two players named to the team in sophomore middle hitter John Albertson and junior setter Daniel Mathews. Also named to the team were IPFW’s Colin Lundeen, Josh Stewart and C.J. Macias, Loyola’s James Gunst and Brian Guntli, Ball State’s Nick Meyer and Ian Peckler and Lewis’ Jared Dayton.
BUCKEYES PLAY TOUGH PRESEASON EXHIBITION SCHEDULE
Ohio State, in preparation for the 2007 season, played seven exhibition matches in November and December. The Buckeyes played the first three matches at home losing 3-2 (26-30, 17-30, 30-15, 30-24, 16-14) to Penn State on November 11. OSU then dropped 3-1 decisions to UC Irvine on Dec. 16 (30-24, 30-21, 28-30, 30-23) and Dec. 17 (30-22, 30-26, 26-30, 30-23). Ohio State closed out exhibition play at the 2006 Cay Clubs Invitational in Clearwater, Fla. In pool play the Buckeyes lost to Alberta, 3-2 (22-25, 25-15, 24-26, 25-22, 15-7) on Dec. 28, defeated McMaster 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 28-26, 25-14) Dec. 29 and defeated Regina 3-1 (25-22, 25-13, 23-25, 26-24) Dec. 30 to advance to the Bronze Medial match against Manitoba. The Buckeyes defeated Manitoba 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-19) to finish third in the eight-team Invitational. OSU’s Daniel Mathews was named to the All-Tournament Team.
REVIEWING THE LAST MATCH
Ohio State 3, Ball State 1
The seventh-ranked Ohio State (16-1, 5-0 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) men’s volleyball team, with five players scoring double-figure points, defeated 15th-ranked Ball State (10-7, 4-2), 3-1 (30-21, 28-30, 30-26, 30-23) Friday night in St. John Arena. The Buckeye win gives Ohio State a two-match lead in the conference. OSU’s Robbie Klein scored a match-high 19.5 points for the Buckeyes with Layne Dreven adding 17.5. Klein had 17 kills (.312), a solo block and three assists in the match while Dreven had 13 kills (.524), an ace serve and seven assist blocks. Ball State’s Nick Meyer posted a team-high 18.5 points with Matt McCarthy adding 12.5. Meyer had 17 kills (.294), an ace serve and an assist block while McCarthy recorded 11 kills (.450), a solo block and an assist block.
From a 2-2 tie in game one, Ohio State used a Sam Stevens kill and a Ball State error to take a 4-2 lead. The Buckeyes took the lead to four at 11-7 with a Brett Versen kill. Three Buckeye errors cut the lead to one at 11-10. Ohio State, with five straight points, opened a 16-11 lead. The run began with a Versen kill and a Cardinal error. Two John Albertson kills and a Daniel Mathews – Albertson block competed the run. Ball State trailed, 23-17 when a 3-1 Cardinal run cut the margin to four at 24-20. Kills by Klein and Mathews and a Mathews-Albertson-Klein block made it 27-20. Two Ball State errors set game point at 29-20. A McCarthy kill stopped the game point at 29-21. A Ball State error ended the game at 30-21. The Buckeyes hit .383 for the game to .161 for the Cardinals.
Game two saw several lead changes and ties before the Buckeyes took a 27-25 lead off a Ball State error and a Klein kill. Two kills from Eric Schulte tied the game at 27. A solo block by Ryan Clark and an ace serve by Mark Rumschik set game point for Ball State at 29-27. An error by the Cardinals stopped the game point at 29-28. Ball State won the game, 30-28, with a Meyer kill to tie the match at one game each. Ohio State hit .345 in the game to .290 for Ball State.
After 16 ties in game three the score was tied at 24. A kill from Stevens, a Versen – Dreven block and kills from Versen and Klein gave Ohio State a 28-24 lead. An OSU error made it 28-25. A Versen kill set game point at 29-25. A Buckeye error stopped the game point at 29-26. Ohio State won the game with a kill from Stevens to win, 30-26, and take a 2-1 lead in the match. Ohio State hit .250 for the game to .231 for Ball State.
The Buckeyes broke a 2-2 tie in game four with kills from Albertson and Stevens and two ace serves from Versen to take a 6-3 lead. An OSU error and Ball State kills by Jeff Schmitz and Rumschik cut the lead to one at 6-5. At 8-7, a Dreven kill, a Dreven-Versen block and a Klein-Dreven block gave Ohio State a four-point lead at 11-7. Two Meyer kills cut the lead to 11-9. At 19-17, OSU kills from Versen and Dreven and a Ball State error gave the Buckeyes a 22-17 lead. A Meyer kill and an OSU error cut the margin to 22-19. Kills by Dreven and Versen and an Albertson-Versen-Stevens block opened the lead to 25-19 for the Buckeyes. A Schulte kill and a Ball State error made it 26-20. A Schmitz solo block and a Cardinal error made it 27-21. A McCarthy kill and a Ball State error made it 28-22. A Buckeye error made it 28-23. Ohio State reached match point at 29-23 with a Dreven kill. Dreven and Versen combined for the block to close out the game at 30-23 and gave the Buckeyes a 3-1 win in the match. Ohio State hit .344 for the game to .074 for Ball State.
Ohio State hit .352 for the match to .195 for Ball State. The Buckeyes had a 67-55 margin in kills and a five to three edge in ace serves. OSU’s Versen recorded a match-high two. OSU gave up 15 service errors to 14 for Ball State. Defensively, the Buckeyes had a 33-31 edge in digs with Ball State’s Rumschik collecting a match-high 10. At the net, Ohio State had a 17 to eight advantage in team blocks. OSU’s Albertson had a match-high eight assist blocks with Versen and Dreven recording seven assists each. Buckeye setter Mathews had 51 assists in the match while Schmitz had 46 for Ball State.
