Ohio State Earns First Non-Conference Top-Three Win in Program History at No. 3 Louisville
9/4/2022 4:57:45 PM | Women's Volleyball
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes (1-3) beat No. 3 Louisville (5-1) in four sets (17-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-17) at the Cardinal Classic in Louisville, Ky. on Sunday, snapping the Cardinals’ 24-match win streak at home and handing them their first loss of the season. This is the first time in program history that the Buckeyes have beaten a top-three team that isn’t in the Big Ten.
Ohio State kept the first set close until a 4-0 Louisville run ended the set with the Cards on top, 25-17. The Buckeyes won the second set by a 25-15 margin, using a 7-1 after being tied at 10 to even the match. Ohio State led the majority of the third set and held off a Louisville comeback near the end to win the set 25-23. The fourth set was close until an 8-1 OSU run ended the match with a fourth-set 25-17 victory.
How it Happened
Louisville began the match with back-to-back points before Ohio State got on the board with a kill from Adria Powell. The Cards got out to an early 5-2 lead, but a 3-0 Buckeye run tied the set at five. Louisville responded with the next three points and extended the lead to 10-6. OSU responded to get back within one at 12-11 but trailed 15-11 at the media timeout. Rylee Rader laid down a solo block as the Buckeyes trailed 16-15. The Cards forced an OSU timeout with a 4-1 run to lead 20-16. Louisville ended the first set with a 4-0 run to win the set by a 25-17 mark.
Rader had her second solo block of the match to begin the second set and led the Buckeyes to an early 4-1 lead. The Cardinals tied the set at five and six and took their first lead of the set at 7-6. OSU built a 10-8 lead but Louisville tied the set again at 10. The Buckeyes scored five of six points to lead 15-11 at the media timeout. Kylie Murr scored on a dig and kill out of the media timeout. Louisville called timeout after a block from Mac Podraza and Rader gave OSU the 17-11 advantage. Following a pair of points by the Cards, the Buckeyes responded with a 3-0 run to extend the lead to 20-13 and force another Louisville timeout. Ohio State evened the match at one set apiece with a 25-15 set win, ending the set on a 5-1 run.
The Cardinals scored first in the third set, but the Buckeyes used three-straight points to take a 4-2 lead on back-to-back kills from Emily Londot. OSU held the narrow lead until Louisville tied the set at eight and then forced a Buckeye timeout with four-unanswered points to take a 12-9 lead. Ohio State went on a 6-1 run out of the timeout, including kills from five different players, to take a 15-13 lead and force a Louisville timeout. The teams traded points until back-to-back Louisville points cut the OSU lead to one at 20-19 and then tied the set at 23. A kill from Rader sealed the 25-23 set win and put the Buckeyes up two sets to one.
Louisville scored first again in the fourth set, but Ohio State responded immediately with a 4-0 run. The Cardinals tied the set at five and six before taking the lead back at 7-6. The Buckeyes used three-unanswered points and a 5-1 leading into the media timeout with a 15-12 lead. The Cardinals cut the Buckeyes’ lead to 17-16, but four-unanswered points forced a Louisville timeout with Ohio State ahead 21-16. The Buckeyes ended the match on a 4-0 run, including three-straight kills from Jenaisya Moore and an ace from Londot to seal the win.
Match Notes
- Ohio State’s victory in Louisville breaks the Cardinals’ 24-match home win streak.
- This is the Buckeyes’ fourth win against a top-three team in program history with three of those wins coming on the road. This is the first top-three win against an opponent outside of the Big Ten.
- Louisville’s last regular-season loss was on Oct. 23, 2020 at Pitt.
- Ohio State hit a season-best .372 throughout the match.
- Emily Londot and Kylie Murr were named to the All-Tournament team.
- Sarah Sue Morbitzer finished the match with a career-high 10 digs.
- Jenaisya Moore and Rylee Rader each recorded their first 10-kill match of the season as Moore finished with 15 kills and Rader finished with 14 kills.
- Londot has had at least 10 kills in each of the four matches this season. She registered her second double-double of the season, finishing with 15 kills and a season-high 12 digs.
- Murr has totaled at least 10 digs in all four matches so far this season, tying her season-high 13.
- Set one: Moore had six kills in the set, just one shy of her highest match total of the season so far.
- Set two: Louisville hit -.034 in the second set, while Ohio State hit .481 during the set. The Buckeyes had only one attack error in the set, compared to the Cards’ seven.
- Set three: Trailing 13-11, the Buckeyes scored five-unanswered points to take a lead that would not be relinquished.
- Set four: Ohio State had a one-point lead at 17-16 but finished the match on an 8-1 run, hitting .500 during the set.
Up Next
Ohio State travels to Atlanta next weekend to play No. 5 Georgia Tech and No. 7 BYU. The Buckeyes begin the weekend against BYU on Friday at 7 p.m. and conclude with a match against Georgia Tech on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Be sure to come cheer on Ohio State women’s volleyball inside the Covelli Center this fall. Season tickets, a four-match mini plan option and single-match tickets are available HERE. Applicable service fees will apply to all tickets. For group tickets and any questions, contact an account representative at 1-800-GO-BUCKS or via email at athletic.tix@osu.edu.
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