Ohio State
5-3
Ohio
5-3
Buckeyes Drop Back-and-Forth Battle With Ohio – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 13, 2014
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CINCINNATI, Ohio – Ohio State and Ohio split of pair of extended sets which went past the standard 25-point mark, but it was the Bobcats (5-3) who captured the other two stanzas to secure a 3-1 victory (28-26, 25-22, 24-26, 25-21). The Buckeyes (5-3) play again Saturday night, facing the host Xavier Musketeers (6-2) at 7 p.m. inside the Cintas Center.
Luisa Schirmer and Valeria León each picked up 18 digs in the contest to lead the Buckeyes. The OSU trio of Erin Sekinger, Taylor Sandbothe and Katie Mitchell all racked up double-digit kills while swinging .300 or better, combining for 41 of Ohio State’s 56 kills in the match. Sandbothe and Sekinger were joined by Tyler Richardson atop the blocks ranking, each registering four rejections.
The opening set was a see-saw affair which included 14 tied scores and four lead changes. Ohio State’s final charge came when trailing 21-16 and a timeout was called. The Buckeyes followed by winning eight of the next 11 points and surging ahead 25-24 powered by three Sandbothe put-aways. Ohio’s Abby Gilleland then took over though. The Bobcat setter assisted on two kills and took care of two more herself as OU grabbed a 28-26 triumph.
Ohio State won the race to 15 points in set number two, jumping ahead 15-11. The Bobcats clawed their way back into it at 20-20. The next four points were split, setting up a 22-22 even score. Two Buckeye errors and an OU kill followed, putting the Bobcats on top two sets to none.
Sekinger went off in the third frame, terminating seven of nine swings and getting in on two blocks. Her stellar efforts allowed the Buckeyes to stay even at 22-22 once again. This time Ohio State made the short spurt to the finish line, going on a 4-2 run to win 26-24 and extend the match into a fourth set.
The number of tied scores crept above into double digits once again in the fourth as another tightly-contested set unfolded. The final stalemate came at 18-18 before an OSU service error ignited a 6-1 Bobcat run and gave them the lead for good.
