Ohio State
3-1
Northern Illinois
3-2
OSU Grabs Two Wins Over #14 Florida State and Northern Illinois – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 5, 2015
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 22 Ohio State University women’s volleyball team picked up not one, but two victories on Saturday (Sept. 5). Ohio State began the 11th annual Sports Imports D.C. Koehl Classic by sweeping Northern Illinois (25-21, 25-18-25-14) in the opener before a five-set winner over No. 14 Florida State in the nightcap (21-25, 25-19, 20-25, 25-19, 15-11).
The Buckeyes (4-1) battled back twice against Florida State (3-2), rebounding from an opening set loss and a two-sets-to-one deficit. It was a defensive slugfest as the two squads combined for 29 blocks and 157 digs, limiting the offenses to attacking efficiencies of .110 (OSU) and .102 (FSU). Ohio State libero Valeria León racked up a career-high 32 digs, marking the fourth-highest match total in school history and tops since rally scoring was instituted in 2001.
Elizabeth Campbell, Kalisha Goree and Taylor Hughes each dug 11 or more balls as well. Campbell’s 20 kills and Hughes’ 42 assists earned both of them double-doubles. Taylor Sandbothe was a force upfront, stuffing the Seminoles seven times (including three solo blocks). She added 17 kills and two service aces to pace the team with 24 points.
Hughes and Sandbothe paired up for four blocks in the second set, driving the Seminoles into a negative-.054 hitting percentage for the frame. Campbell provided much of the offense, blasting six kills as the Buckeyes evened the match at a set apiece.
Campbell and Sandbothe formed a two-headed monster in set number four, both registering five kills. Goree frustrated Florida State to the tune of seven digs and Ohio State re-evened the sets tally once again with another 25-19 winning tally.
The fifth and final set was one of ups and downs for the Scarlet and Gray. It started with back-to-back attack errors to dig a two-point hole. The lead stretched to three moments later at 5-2 following yet another attacking blunder. Ohio State was able to even the score at 7-7, but the Seminoles regained an edge at 8-7 when the teams swapped ends of the court. From there, it was an upward trend for the Buckeyes, however. A kill from Tyler Richardson knotted the ledger at 8-8 to jumpstart an 8-3 match-clinching run for Ohio State.
Northern Illinois was defeated in under 90 minutes to open the day. Ohio State outscored the Huskies by 22 total points. The Buckeyes never trailed in sets one and three while going ahead for good at 18-17 in the second stanza. Trailing 17-14, Ohio State rattled off 11 of next 12 points to overcome the lone deficit of the afternoon tilt.
Ohio State is back at it again Sunday night, taking on Florida State in a 7 p.m. ET rematch.
