Ohio State
18-10, 9-7B1G
Michigan
12-14, 7-9B1G
Visiting Buckeyes Drop Road Contest at Michigan – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 15, 2014
RELATED INFO
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Despite shielding off six consecutive match points in the fourth set, Ohio State Women’s Volleyball’s comeback effort fell just short in a 3-1 road loss to Michigan. The 17th-ranked Buckeyes (18-10, 9-7) strung together a half dozen straight points to nearly climb out of a 24-17 hole in the fourth. The Wolverines (12-14, 7-9) snuck out the victory 25-22, 25-14, 21-25, 25-23.
Senior setter Taylor Sherwin recorded her seventh double-double of the season, accumulating 42 assists and 10 digs. The vast majority of her assists went in the direction of Elizabeth Campbell, Taylor Sandbothe or Erin Sekinger; each of whom totaled 12 or more kills. Sekinger paced the group with 14 terminations and a .346 (14-5-26) attacking efficiency. Valeria León cracked statistical double digits as well, doing so with 12 digs.
Defense was at a premium in the opening set as both squads put away 14 or more kills while swinging at clips of .320 (Ohio State) and .400 (Michigan). A 6-1 Wolverine run broke up the 5-5 tie and put Michigan ahead for good. The Buckeyes would close the gap to two points several times before eventually falling 25-22.
The script was flipped in set number two, as both offenses bogged down considerably. Michigan was able to win the second set dogfight, 25-14, and go to the locker rooms owning a two-sets-to-none advantage.
Ohio State revved back up following the short break in action and attacked at a .333 rate (15-5-30) in the third frame. The Buckeyes came from all angles with five different players drilling multiples kills in the set. Sherwin dished out 13 assists and OSU put up three blocks en route to a 25-21 triumph. The set was truly a see-saw battle with 17 tied scores. At 16-16, neither team had owned an edge of more than a lone point. That’s when the Buckeyes went on their run, however, extending their run to four straight points and a 19-16 lasting lead.
The Buckeyes kept it coming by snaring the first two tallies of the fourth set as well. Michigan then scored 15 of the next 20 though and slowly extended to a 24-17 lead. That’s when Sandbothe tried to put the squad on her back, blasting kills on five points in a row as the Buckeyes fended off six match points in total to pull within 24-23. Michigan was finally able to close it out on a kill from Caroline Knop, making it 25-23. It’s back to St. John Arena for the Scarlet & Gray this upcoming week, hosting two Big Ten matches. Ohio State faces Iowa Wednesday (Nov. 19) and the Badgers of Wisconsin on Friday (Nov. 21). Both contests start at 7 pm.
