Ohio State
9-4, 0-1Big Ten
Minnesota
11-1, 1-0Big Ten
Ohio State Pushes No. 17 Gophers to Fifth Set in Minneapolis – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/24/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 24, 2014
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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – It took 140 minutes and five sets to determine a winner in the Big Ten opener featuring Ohio State Women’s Volleyball on the road facing #17 Minnesota (11-1). The match saw a total of 34 tied scores and 14 lead changes as the two schools exchanged blows inside the Sports Pavilion. Ohio State (9-4) won the first and fourth sets before coming up just short in the fifth and final frame (25-21, 23-25, 20-25, 29-27, 12-15).
Junior outside hitter Katie Mitchell, fresh off an all-tournament performance at last weekend’s Miami Invitational, maintained her hot streak with 19 kills on 37 swings with five errors (.378) offensively and nine digs with four blocks (1s, 3a) on the defensive side of the reticulum. Tyler Richardson and Alyssa Winner impeded the Gopher offensive attack as well, recording nine blocks and 14 digs, respectively.
A seven-point winning streak in the opening set turned Ohio State’s 9-6 deficit into a 13-9 advantage, powered by a pair of services aces from Taylor Sherwin. Minnesota answered with a three-point spurt of their own to close the gap at 13-12. The score would even back up at 16-all before a kill from Erin Sekinger ensued, giving OSU the lead for good.
Minnesota took the next two sets, due in large part to a combined 11 blocks to limit the OSU attack. The Buckeyes then flipped the script in set number four, putting up six blocks and holding the Gophers to a .205 hitting percentage. Ohio State would eventually stare five match points in the face, denying defeat each time and ultimately forcing a fifth set. Mitchell and Kylie Randall combined for 11 kills, two errors on 23 swings in the set, including Randall’s set-clinching stroke for 29-27.
Despite Ohio State’s offense climbing to a .316 attacking efficiency in the fifth, the Gophers got it going as well swinging at a .429 clip. Minnesota held an 8-7 edge as the teams swapped sides of the net. Mitchell immediately got to work mounting a comeback, starting with back-to-back kills to push OSU ahead 9-8. Another Buckeye put-away came next, persuading the Gophers to a burn a timeout at 10-8. From there, Minnesota quickly regrouped and captured seven of the next nine points to reach 15 first and clinch the contest at 15-12.
Ohio State takes on another top-25 squad this weekend, traveling to Wisconsin to play the #5 Badgers on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. The all-time series with Wisconsin is locked up at 34-34 entering the weekend.
