No. 10 Ohio State Tallies 10th Conference Win of the Season
11/13/2021 5:01:19 PM | Women's Volleyball
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s volleyball team (20-5, 10-5 Big Ten) earned a four-set victory (21-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-16) at Northwestern (11-15, 6-9 Big Ten) on Saturday afternoon in Evanston, Ill.
How it Happened
Following a fire alarm delay, the teams opened the first set tied at five and nine points apiece before Ohio State took a narrow 12-11 lead. Northwestern responded with a 9-2 run to take a 20-14 lead and force a Buckeye timeout. The Wildcats pushed their lead to 23-17 but the Buckeyes responded with four of the next five points to cut into the NU lead, 24-21. The Wildcats scored the next point to take the first set.
Ohio State scored first in the second set while Northwestern took its first lead at 3-2. The teams traded points and spent most of the beginning of the set tied. A 5-0 Ohio State run gave the Buckeyes a 15-10 advantage before the Wildcats broke the scoring streak. Northwestern cut the Ohio State lead to 16-14 and then down to 17-16. NU took a timeout as OSU led 19-16 but tied the set at 19 with the next three points out of the timeout. Ohio State scored three unanswered to lead 22-19 but NU had the next two to force a Buckeye timeout. The Buckeyes earned the 25-23 set victory on a kill from Gabby Gonzales.
The Buckeyes took the first three points of the third set and held the lead until NU tied the set at six and took its first lead at 7-6. OSU took the lead immediately back at 8-7 and forced a Northwestern timeout at 11-8 with a block from Arica Davis and Josie Vondran. The Buckeyes maintained their lead at 14-9 and 17-13 and then 21-16. Emily Londot wrapped up the third set with a service ace as Ohio State won the set by a 25-19 margin.
Ohio State started set four on an ace from Hannah Gruensfelder and the Buckeyes grabbed an early 5-2 lead. OSU forced an NU timeout as the Buckeyes held the 10-6 lead after a block from Londot and Davis. The Wildcats took another timeout as the Buckeyes led by a 15-10 mark. Ohio State increased its lead to 21-14 on a kill from Vondran. A Northwestern error gave OSU the 25-16 set win.
Highlights
S1: Rader/Gonzales/Londot block
S2: Set point (Gabby Gonzales kill)
S3: Arica Davis/Josie Vondran block
S3: Set point (Emily Londot ace)
S4: Emily Londot/Arica Davis block
S4: Match point
Match Notes
- Ohio State reached 20 wins for the first time since the 2016 season.
- The Buckeyes out-hit the Wildcats in every set as well as the overall match (.336-.209).
- Gabby Gonzales led the OSU offense with 15 kills, reaching double figures for the 19th time this season and the 10th-consecutive match.
- Emily Londot reached double-figure kills for the 16th time this season, finishing the match with 13 kills.
- Kylie Murr led all players with 13 digs, reached double figures for the sixth-consecutive match and the 22nd time this season.
- Hannah Gruensfelder totaled 11 digs, reaching 10 for the eighth time this season.
- Arica Davis, Emily Londot, Rylee Rader and Josie Vondran led all players with three blocks apiece.
- Set two: The teams were tied at every point until back-to-back Buckeye points gave OSU the 12-10 advantage.
- Set two: After being tied at 10, the Buckeyes took a lead that would not be relinquished.
- Set three: Ohio State led the entire set from the 8-7 point on.
- Set four: Ohio State hit .500 in the set (13 kills on 26 attacks) and had no errors.
Up Next
Ohio State continues its weekend road trip at No. 25 Illinois on Sunday. The match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on B1G+.
Single-match tickets for all home games are now on sale. Purchase today to see your Buckeyes inside Covelli this season.
The NCAA Final Four will be held in Columbus at Nationwide Arena on Dec. 16 and 18. Visit HERE for more information.
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