Ohio State
2-0
Texas State
1-1
Buckeyes Sweep Past First Day of 2016 Slate
8/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 26, 2016
RELATED INFO
Denton, Texas — The No. 15 Ohio State University women’s volleyball team outscored Texas State and North Texas by a combined 51 points en route to a pair of sweeps on the opening day of the 2016 season. Ohio State topped the Bobcats 25-16, 25-15, 25-14 before returning in the nightcap triumph over the host Mean Green, 25-23, 25-17, 25-19.
Audra Appold paced all Buckeyes with 25.5 points responsible for by virtue of 24 kills and two blocks, one assisted and one solo swat. Taylor Sandbothe wasn’t far behind with 23.5 points coming on 19 kills at a .405 attacking efficiency, three block assists and two service aces. Ohio State hit .330 overall as a team for the day, led by Kylie Randall’s .619 swinging effort (14 kills, one error, 21 attempts). Fourteen different Buckeyes saw action, including five freshmen.
Ohio State opened the weekend blowing past Texas State, limiting the Bobcats to 16 or less points in each set. The Buckeyes attacked at a .413 rate, racking up 43 kills. Appold accounted for 14 terminations to lead the way. Efficiency-wise, however, it was Randall (.750; 6-0-8) and Sandbothe (.700; 7-0-10) reigning supreme for the Scarlet & Gray.
The latest OSU trailed in any set versus Texas State was 4-3 in the second stanza. A 3-3 tie in the opening act was quickly put aside by a 10-3 run pushing the Buckeyes ahead 13-6. The Bobcats’ 4-3 edge in set number two was countered by a six-point spurt for Ohio State vaulting the Bucks on top for the remainder of the contest.
Host school, North Texas, entered the evening affair following a win in the morning as well. The Mean Green got past Nevada in five sets and went toe-to-toe with Ohio State in the first set. The lead exchanged hands four times and set stalemate on 14 occasions. Consecutive kills from Sandbothe and Appold broke up a 23-23 knot to conclude the first frame, 25-23, though.
Set number two started with four of five tallies going in favor of the Buckeyes. North Texas would battle back to even the ledger at 9-9 before a five-point streak for Ohio State lifted the Buckeyes ahead for good in the 25-17 final score.
Despite a .407-to-.161 attacking efficiency advantage in the third frame, Ohio State struggle to shake the Mean Green. Sandbothe evened the score at 16-16 midway through the session, marking the 13th tied score of the set. A North Texas errant attack then swung the lead back in favor of Ohio State at 17-16 for the eighth lead change of the final frame. The Buckeyes seized eight of the next 11 points to wrap up the night, 25-19.
A Top-20 match-up awaits Saturday afternoon. The 15th ranked Buckeyes are set to face No. 16 Texas A&M (1-0) at 2 p.m. ET.
