Ohio State Headed to Northwestern Sunday
10/26/2018 12:30:38 PM | Women's Volleyball
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – For the third weekend in a row, the Ohio State women’s volleyball team will be playing on Sunday, this time at Northwestern. The Buckeyes and Wildcats are set to face off at 1 p.m. CT/2 p.m. ET.
WEEKLY BASICS
Sunday, Oct. 28 | 2 p.m. ET | Evanston, Ill. | Evanston Township H.S. | Stream: BTN Plus
Ohio State (12-11, 3-8 B1G) at Northwestern (12-11, 2-9 B1G) | Live Stats | Live Stream ($)
HISTORY WITH THE WILDCATS
The Buckeyes own a 56-20 advantage in the all-time series with the Wildcats, dating back to 1975. Ohio State has won the last six meetings, in which it has only given up two sets. The Scarlet & Gray swept the Wildcats in last year’s matchup in Evanston.
SCOUTING REPORT
Northwestern picked up its second win in Big Ten play after getting past Iowa in five on Wednesday. The team’s first conference victory came in a sweep of Michigan State. Nia Robinson has been the leader on offense, averaging 4.06 kills pet set to rank fourth in the league. Britt Bommer’s 8.84 assists per set checks in at No. 11 while Michelle Lee has 3.45 digs per set, which is good enough for 12th.
BUCKEYES LATELY
Ohio State is looking to snap a three-match skid after falling to defending national champion No. 9 Nebraska on Wednesday night. Vanja Bukilic notched her 18th match in double figures behind 11 kills. Bia Franklin got in on the action adding 10 kills, followed by Lauren Witte with seven. Becca Mauer chipped in 29 assists, six digs and three blocks. Camryn Moeller earned career highs in kills (4) and service aces (3). Defensively, Audra Appold had a match-best 14 digs while Bukilic and Adria Powell tallied two rejections each.
B1G STATS
Lauren Witte has the ninth-best hitting percentage in the Big Ten with a .363 clip. Becca Mauer averages 7.12 assists per set and Hannah Gruensfelder has 3.38 digs per set for both to come in 13th in their respective categories.
CAREER WATCH
Junior middle blocker Madison Smeathers is steadily approaching the 500-kill milestone. She currently has 453 kills through 73 career matches.
BLOCK PARTY
Ohio State has out-blocked its opponents 11 times, including a season-high 17.0 rejections at Dayton. However, the Buckeyes have had fewer blocks in eight of their 11 Big Ten matchups.
FAREWELL ST. JOHN ARENA, HELLO COVELLI CENTER
The 2018 campaign is the final season for the Buckeyes inside St. John Arena. The women’s volleyball team will be moving to the Covelli Center, which is set to be complete in time for the 2019 season. The state-of-the-art facility is part of the new Ohio State Athletic District and will span over 100,000 square feet in total and include a locker room and coaching suite designed specifically for the women’s volleyball program.
