Big Buckeye Block Leads Sweep of Terrapins

Sunday, October 1

Columbus, Ohio

12:00 PM

Ohio State

5-8,2-2Big Ten

Maryland

12-4,2-2Big Ten

Maryland

Ohio St.

Photo by: Ohio State Athletics

Big Buckeye Block Leads Sweep of Terrapins

10/1/2023 3:09:00 PM | General, Women's Volleyball

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Ohio State had a season-high 15 blocks as its defense forced Maryland to hit in the red throughout the match.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 22 Ohio State Buckeyes (5-8, 2-2 B1G) earned a sweep (25-23, 25-22, 25-12) against Maryland (12-4, 2-2 B1G) on Sunday afternoon inside the Covelli Center.

Ohio State fought off a late Maryland push in the first set to earn a 25-23 set win. The Buckeyes won the second set by a 25-22 margin after a successful challenge on set point. After trading points early in the third set, the Buckeyes sealed a sweep with a 25-12 set win.

The Buckeyes put together a team-high 15 blocks, led by Eloise Brandewie's career-high seven blocks and Rylee Rader's season-high six blocks. Lauren Murphy also contributed a career-high four blocks as the OSU defense forced Maryland to hit in the red (-.098) during the match. Emily Londot led the match with 12 kills, her 12^th match with at least 10 this season. Sarah Sue Morbitzer had a season-high 13 digs to lead the match and Kaitlyn Hoffman reached 10 digs for the sixth time.

How it Happened
Ohio State scored the first two points of the match before Maryland took an early 4-3 lead on a 3-0 run. The Buckeyes immediate regained the lead and used a 5-0 run to take an 11-6 lead and force a Terps timeout. Ohio State used a 4-0 run to take a 16-10 lead but Maryland responded with the next four points to get within two at 16-14, forcing a Buckeye timeout. OSU scored back-to-back points out of the timeout and had back-to-back blocks to increase the lead to 22-16 and force a Maryland timeout. The Terrapins used a 4-0 run to cut the Buckeyes' lead to 23-20, forcing an OSU timeout. Maryland scored out of the timeout and got within one twice but Ohio State earned the 25-23 set win.

The Terrapins scored first in the second set but the Buckeyes used a pair of 3-0 runs to take an early 6-3 lead. Maryland used a 3-0 run of its own to take an 8-7 lead. The set was tied at points eight through 11 before four-consecutive OSU points gave the Buckeyes a 15-11 lead and forced the Terps to call timeout. Maryland got within one out of the timeout but a 4-1 OSU run forced a Terrapin timeout with the Buckeyes leading 19-15. The Terps chipped away to tie the set at 20 and 21 before the Buckeyes scored four of the final five points to close a 25-22 set win, clinching on a successful challenge.

Ohio State opened scoring in the third set as the teams traded points and were tied at the first five points. An extended 7-1 Buckeye run gave OSU an 11-6 lead, forcing a Terrapins timeout. Two more OSU points forced a second Terps timeout as Ohio State held the 13-6 advantage. The Buckeyes increased their lead to as much as 20-7 and capped the 25-12 set win with back-to-back kills from Lauren Murphy.

Highlights

Run-out
S1: Sarah Sue Morbitzer ace
S1: Lauren Murphy kill
S1: Rylee Rader/Lauren Murphy block
S1: Set point
S1: Highlights
S2: Rylee Rader solo block
S2: Chelsea Thorpe/Eloise Brandewie block
S2: Set point
S3: Emily Londot kill
S3: Anna Morris appearance
S3: Match point
S3: Team celebration

Match Notes

Ohio State totaled a season-best 15 blocks.
This is the Buckeyes' second sweep of the conference season and fourth overall.
For the first time this season, the Ohio State defense forced its opponent to hit in the red for the match as Maryland hit -.098 this afternoon.
This is the eighth match of the season that Sarah Sue Morbitzer and Kaitlyn Hoffman have each recorded a service ace.
Anna Morris made her collegiate volleyball debut.
Eloise Brandewie tied her career-high five blocks in the second set and finished with seven blocks.
Kamiah Gibson had an Ohio State career-high 21 assists and four digs.
Lauren Murphy finished with a career-high four blocks.
Emily Londot had her 12^th match with 10+ kills this season, finishing with a match-high 12 kills. She also moved up to 17^th on the program's all-time list for total blocks (293) after four block assists today.
Rylee Rader totaled a season-best six blocks.
Sarah Sue Morbitzer recorded 10+ digs for the second time this season, finishing with a season-high 13 digs.
Hoffman had her sixth match of the season with at least 10 digs.
S1: Ohio State's defense forced Maryland to hit -.032 during the set. The Buckeyes did not trail after trailing 4-3 in the set.
S2: The Buckeyes did not surrender their lead after trailing 1-0 to begin the set.
S3: Ohio State forced Maryland to hit -.321 in the third set.

What They Said

Head Coach Jen Flynn Oldenburg:
- "Overall, to out-block a team like Maryland who's statistically been in the top of the Big Ten the last couple years, it's always a good thing. We've been spending a lot of time on blocking in practice – it's a big area of focus for us. To see it translate into a match is really good."
- "As you get settled in and you're winning big points at the end of the first two sets and you have the lead, some of the pressure is off but you still want to go out and compete. I feel like we settled in a little bit better [in the third set]. We played a little bit looser because we knew we can handle a little bit more. I think it's a testament to our focus and the intent in that last set."
Junior outside Anna Morris:
- "I'm really grateful to help in any way that I can and was really excited for the opportunity. I'm ready to keep working and contribute in any way that I can."
- "We do a really good job of keeping settled no matter what is going on with the score or what the other team is doing. Focusing on ourselves and wanting to finish strong was a big focus and we were able to do that."
Freshman middle Eloise Brandewie:
- "In the beginning of the season, we were struggling a little bit with blocking but we got in the gym and started working on it a lot. To see the results, it's really cool because we've been practicing it and getting better at it every single day."
- "Kamiah Gibson did a great job in setting the block up so it make it easy for me. I'm a freshman so it feels good to finally come through with that."

Up Next
Ohio State is on the road next weekend for a pair of matches. The Buckeyes face Rutgers on Friday at 7 p.m. on B1G+ and No. 15 Penn State on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on BTN.

Tickets for the Buckeyes' 2023 home season are now available. Single match tickets can be purchased HERE and mini plans can be purchased HERE. Applicable service fees will apply to all tickets. Fans with ticketing questions and group ticket requests (10+ tickets and in advance only) should call the Ohio State Ticket Office at 1-800-GO-BUCKS or email?athletic.tix@osu.edu.

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