No. 8 Buckeyes Host Lees-McRae Friday and No. 7 Penn State Saturday – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/11/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Jan. 11, 2012
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The eighth-ranked Ohio State men’s volleyball team opens its home schedule this weekend, hosting Division II Lees-McRae Friday and seventh-ranked Penn State Saturday. Both matches are set for 7 p.m. from St. John Arena.
MATCH BASICS
No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes (1-2) vs. Lees-McRae (0-0)
Schedule:
Friday, Jan. 13 – 7 p.m. ET
vs. No. 7 Penn State (0-0)
Schedule:
Saturday, Jan. 14 – 7 p.m. ET
Live video: OhioStateBuckeyes.com (Buckeye Vision)
Live stats: OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Live audio: OhioStateSports.net (Scarlet and Gray Sports Radio)
Twitter.com/OhioState_MVB
Facebook.com/OhioStateMensVolleyball
DROPPING THE BANNER
Ohio State will recognize the 2011 National Championship team and unveil the championship banner before the Penn State match Saturday. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive a free commemorative national championship poster.
IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
The Buckeyes enter the weekend as the eighth-ranked team in the country, according to the AVCA Division I-II Men’s Coaches Top 15 Poll and the Volleyball Mazagine Men’s Division I-II Top 10 Poll. Two other schools from the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association are ranked in the AVCA poll in Lewis (ninth) and Loyola-Chicago (14th). Lewis is also ninth by Volleyball Magazine.
LAST TIME OUT: UCSB INVITATIONAL
The Buckeyes finished fourth at the UCSB/asics Collegiate Invitational held at UC Santa Barbara, Jan. 6-7. Ohio State opened the season with a rematch of the 2011 NCAA Championship match, facing No. 12 UC Santa Barbara, Jan. 6. The defending national champions pulled off a come-from-behind victory in five sets over the Gauchos. Ohio State followed with a 3-0 loss to No. 3 UCLA and then dropped a heart-breaking 3-2 match to No. 5 Long Beach State.
Leading the team was the senior duo of Shawn Sangrey and Mik Berzins. Sangrey finished with a team-best 58 kills over the weekend, including a 20-kill performance against UCSB. Berzins totaled 35 kills on the weekend and added 19 digs. Junior Grayson Overman had a team-best 13 block assists, while redshirt junior John Tholen tallied three solo blocks and seven block assists.
Seven student-athletes played for the first time in a Buckeye uniform this past weekend in freshman Michael Henchy, redshirt freshmen Peter Heinen, Shawn Herron and Andrew Lutz, redshirt sophomores Danny Baker and Jonathan Newton and junior Chen Levitan.
LEES-MCRAE BOBCATS
The Bobcats kick off their season at Ohio State Friday and are coming off a 16-10 record from last year. The young squad is comprised of two juniors, 10 sophomores and one freshman, returning four starters from last year’s rotation.
Sophomore setter Randy Ramirez finished the season with a 10.14 assists-per-set average, while sophomores John Lucas and Matt Harpenau had a 1.74 and 1.65 kills-per-set average, respectively. Starting 19 matches for the Bobcats was sophomore Chris Flood, totaling 105 kills on the year.
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
The seventh-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions return a wealth of experience this season from a squad that finished the 2011 campaign with a 24-7 overall record and an appearance at the 2011 NCAA Championships.
Among the six starters returning are seniors Edgardo Goas and Joe Sunder and junior Nick Turko. Goas led the team with an 11.03 assists-per-set average, while Sunder had a team-best 4.54 kills-per-set average and Turko averaged 0.93 blocks-per-set.
MIVA RANKINGS
Ohio State was picked to finish second in the MIVA by a vote of the league coaches. Edging out the Buckeyes in first were the Ramblers from Loyola-Chicago, finishing with four first-place votes to Ohio State’s three. Lewis was picked to finish third, with Ball State and Quincy tied for fourth. IPFW was ranked sixth and Grand Canyon rounded out the voting in seventh.
The coaches also selected the 2012 MIVA preseason All-Conference Team comprised of nine players and two liberos. Making the squad from Ohio State were seniors Mik Berzins (OH) and Shawn Sangrey (OPP).
2012 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
The Buckeyes return 11 letterwinners from last year’s championship season and 26-6 overall finish, including three starters in senior opposite and Volleyball Magazine All-American Shawn Sangrey, senior libero Mik Berzins, and junior middle blocker Grayson Overman. Sangrey was also named to the 2011 NCAA All-Tournament team after tallying a match-best 30 kills in the national title game. Joining the trio in experience is senior Anthony Hock and junior Derek Kues, who both came off the bench in the team’s national title match.
The youthful Ohio State team is comprised of three seniors, one redshirt junior, six juniors, three redshirt sophomores, one sophomore, five redshirt freshmen and five true freshmen. Of the 24 student-athletes, only six saw action in 10 or more matches last season.
“This season is going to be different than it has been the last couple years,” Pete Hanson, head men’s volleyball coach, said. “Of the 16 student-athletes that travel, only a handful have seen considerable amount of time on the court. We have a very high level of competition in the gym this year and there will be a lot of movement in the starting group. It’s going to be a fun year.”
HEAD COACH Pete Hanson
Pete Hanson begins his 28th season at the helm of the Ohio State program. He has accumulated a 541-288 record with the Buckeyes and has won 14 MIVA championships, including five-straight titles. Hanson was named 2011 AVCA National Coach of the Year following the program’s first national title. The award was the second of his career with the first coming in 2000. Awarded MIVA Coach of the Year 11 times, his teams have advanced to the NCAA championships 10 times, including four-consecutive appearance from 2008-11.
UP NEXT
Ohio State continues its homestand as the Buckeyes host Sacred Heart, Jan. 17. The match is set for 7 p.m. from St. John Arena. Admission is free.
