Ohio State
14-8, 4-6
Michigan State
17-5, 6-4
No. 19 Buckeyes Earn 3-0 Sweep of No. 11 Michigan State
10/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 23, 2016
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No.19 Ohio State women’s volleyball team defeated the No. 11 Michigan State Spartans 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, and 25-19) on Saturday night in front of 2,969 fans at St. John Arena. The Buckeyes dominated from the first serve of the match. The Buckeyes improved to 14-8 overall and 4-6 in Big ten play. The Spartans fell to 17-5 overall and 6-4 in the Big Ten.
The win was Ohio State’s third over a ranked opponents this season. It previously topped Texas A&M, 3-2, at the North Texas Challenge on Aug. 27 and No. 1 Nebraska, 3-1, on Oct. 1.
A trio of players led the Buckeyes on the offensive side of attack. Luisa Schirmer led the team on the night with a total of 13 kills while hitting .417. Taylor Sandbothe contributed 12 kills and hit .450 on the night. Audra Appold added 10 kills and seven digs for the Buckeyes. Setter Taylor Hughes tallied seven kills on the night and had 37 assists to help the Scarlet and Gray to victory.
Valeria León dominated the defensive side of the ball. Leon had 14 digs for the Buckeyes. In the first set of the match, she became Ohio State’s all-time career leader in digs with 1,573. Leon added to the total making her school record at 1,586 and counting. Camry Halm tallied 8 digs for the Bucks. Appold added seven digs for the Buckeyes to help fend off the Spartans. Six other Buckeyes had at least one dig on the night.
Set 1: Ohio State jumped out to an early lead in the first set 3-1 over the Spartans. The set went back and forth for the next points to reach an 8-9 deficit for the Buckeyes. Ohio State then scored four points in a row to make it 12-9. Ohio State would go on to win the set 25-21 in an up and down first set.
Set 2: Ohio State started out the second slowly falling to a 0-3 deficit. The Buckeyes then turned up the heat to win the next six out of seven points to take the lead at 6-4. The Buckeyes fell to a 16-19 score after a back and forth battle. The Scarlet and Gray went on to win the next nine straight points to take the set 25-19.
Set 3: In the third, the Buckeyes jumped out to an 11-6 lead after a huge kill from Madison Smeathers. The Spartans cut the deficit to four making the score 14-10. The Bucks would win the next 4 out of 6 points to extend the lead to 18-12. The Scarlet and Gray never looked back in the set and won 25-19.
Ohio State takes on Maryland next for a Big Ten Network matchup on Wednesday (Oct. 26) at 6 p.m. ET in College Park, Maryland.
CLEAN SWEEP! No. 19 @ohiostatewvball Takes Down No. 11 @MichStVB in 3 Sets.
Defense gets it done for Match Point! https://t.co/Eivupy9ltJ
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) October 22, 2016
Hear from @ohiostatewvball NEW CAREER DIG LEADER Valeria Leon (@vandrealp3) following her record setting performance https://t.co/4XrTCrYWuF
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) October 23, 2016
FINAL: #Buckeyes knock off No. 11 Spartans in three. Schirmer, Appold, Sandbothe combine for 35 kills. #GoBucks #OSUWVBtribe pic.twitter.com/a00DkiNuBk
— OhioStateWVolleyball (@ohiostatewvball) October 22, 2016
Congratulation to your all-time digs leader in Ohio State history, Valeria Leon! #GoBucks #OSUWVBtribe pic.twitter.com/LNKEBLuYTb
— OhioStateWVolleyball (@ohiostatewvball) October 22, 2016
