Ohio State
2-2
Auburn
2-2
Buckeyes Tally Two Triumphs on Friday – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/6/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 6, 2014
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State Women’s Volleyball picked up a pair of wins to kickstart the 9th Annual Sports Imports D.C. Koehl Classic. Battling sweltering temperatures inside St. John Arena, the Buckeyes made quick work of Auburn in the afternoon contest before getting past Florida Gulf Coast in an entertainment-filled night cap.
Senior Erin Sekinger had it going against the Tigers, terminating 10 of 13 errorless swings for a .769 attack percentage. She contributed throughout the 3-0 sweep as well, putting away multiple kills in all three sets. Tyler Sandbothe and Valeria León led the way defensively, accounting for team-high seven blocks and 13 digs, respectively.
With the score tied at 5-all early in the opening set, Ohio State strung together 10 straight points to surge out front, 15-5. Katie Mitchell had an extended stay at the service line, firing in a pair of aces during her service stint. Kylie Randall came out guns blazing as well, bouncing five balls in the first set alone as OSU cruised 25-14.
The second stanza was much the same with Ohio State piecing together a big stretch (11-3 run) and an identical final ledger of 25-14. The Buckeyes swung .476 in the frame and stuffed five Tiger attack attempts.
Auburn forced an early OSU timeout in the third set, mustering a 7-4 edge. It was virtually all Buckeyes from there, however, as the Scarlet and Gray seized nine of the next 11 points to build a healthy enough advantage to ultimately seal the deal at 25-20 and completed the sweep.
Sandbothe was equally dominant on both sides of the net in the evening bout versus FGCU. The sophomore middle blocker swatted nine blocks (1s, 8a) to go along with a 16-1-31 showing on the offensive attack (.484). Her 21 points nearly doubled anyone else in the match.
The Eagles earned a 25-22 winner in set number one, out-hitting Ohio State by over 70 percentage points.
A slow start for Ohio State’s offense called for a spark, and junior transfer Elizabeth Campbell provided that charge. She was inserted to the match for set two and responded by killing three balls on five swings. Sandbothe matched her offensive stat line in the second stanza, finishing off three kills on five errorless swings as well. León was all over the defensive backcourt, sweeping up eight digs in the second set alone as Ohio State evened the match score at one set apiece with a 25-20 winner.
It looked as if the see-saw battle would stay on course for the third set when FGCU owned a 24-20 edge. The Buckeyes fended off four straight match points, however, and rode the hot hand of Sandbothe’s three kills in the final six points of the 26-24 come-from-behind victory.
The momentum did not fade one bit as the fourth frame got underway. Ohio State swallowed up the first four points and 10 of 11. Dating back to the third set, the overall Buckeye run peaked at a 16-1 margin. Campbell scored on all four of her swings and OSU hit .345 as a team in the clinching 25-18 fourth set.
Ohio State wraps up the weekend with a 2 p.m. ET match on Sunday versus Southern Illinois.
