Ohio State
6-3,0-0MIVA
UCLA
9-0,0-0MPSF
No. 13 Buckeyes Fall to No. 2 UCLA in a Thriller
2/3/2023 7:03:32 PM | Men's Volleyball
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 13 Ohio State volleyball team had its five-match unbeaten streak snapped by No. 2 UCLA Friday evening at Rec Hall on the campus of Penn State University. The Bruins prevailed, 3-1 (25-22, 25-20, 23-25, 25-23), in a terrific match in the first game of the annual Big Ten/Pac 12 Challenge. Penn State and USC will play in the nightcap.
The Bruins, now 9-0 on the season, had pummeled their first eight opponents, losing just one of 25 sets along the way, but Ohio State gave them everything and more. Ohio State won the third set and then led late in the fourth before surrendering the final two points to fall to 6-3 on the season.
The match featured 25 ties and 12 lead changes. Kills were virtually even with UCLA leading 52-49, and the Bruins also held a slight lead in hitting percentage at .317 to .279. Assists went to the Bruins, 50-48, while Ohio State led, 44-32, in digs.
Samuel Clark and Jacob Pasteur led Ohio State with 17 and 12 kills, respectively. Noah Platfoot had 35 assists.
How it Happened
Set 1
UCLA won the first set, 25-22, despite a 13-6 deficit in kills as Buckeyes Jacob Pasteur and Samuel Clark had five kills apiece as Ohio State hit .542. The Bruins had a balanced attack with four different players recording at least two kills apiece, led by Alex Knight’s five. Ohio State led throughout the first half of the set with a final tie at 12-all. UCLA never led by more than three points the rest of the way and Ohio State got to within one point on four occasions after that last 12-all tie. Three kills by Pasteur closed the Buckeyes to within one at 17-16, 19-18 and 22-21, respectively, and a kill by Clark made it 23-22. The Bruins scored the final two points of the set. Noah Platfoot had nine assists.
Set 2
Set two was as close as set one, with the Bruins prevailing, 25-20, after leading the entire set. Ohio State tied the score at 5-5 on a solo block by Pasteur, at 6-all on a kill by Justin Howard and then for the last time at 7-all. UCLA scored three quick points from there and held at least a three-point lead the rest of the way. The first lead of the match greater than three points didn’t occur until late in the set, 22-18. Statistically speaking, UCLA led in kills, 13-11, and matched its first-set kill percentage of .419. Ohio State had 11 kills but hit .379 after connecting successfully on 60 percent of its kill attempts in the first set.
Set 3
Ohio State grabbed the early lead in Set 3 only to have the Bruins come back to lead virtually the entire set … until the Buckeyes got hot late to irritate UCLA and hand it only its second loss in 27 sets all season, 25-23. UCLA led late in the set, 20-17, but Ohio State took the lead with four consecutive points: a Howard kill; a UCLA service error off a Platfoot serve; a Clark kill and then a block assist by Howard and Pasteur. Ties at 21-, 22- and 23-all set up an all-Buckeye ending. Ohio State regained the lead, 24-23, on a UCLA service error and then won the set on a Pasteur kill. UCLA had 11 kills to Ohio State’s 10, but nine service errors by the Bruins, compared to just four by the Buckeyes, was the difference. It was a terrific, terrific set that featured eight ties and six lead changes.
Set 4
The Buckeyes stayed hot in Set 4, opening up a 4-0 lead that prompted a UCLA timeout. The Scarlet and Gray led throughout until a flurry of four consecutive UCLA points evened the score at 16-all. The teams battled back-and-forth with ties at 17-18-19-20-21-22-23 before the Bruins took the match with the final two points off a service error and a block assist to win the set, 25-23. There were a total of 11 ties and lead changes in the set.
Up Next
Day 2 of the Big Ten/Pac 12 Challenge on Saturday will feature Ohio State and USC in a 4 p.m. match from Penn State’s Rec Hall. MIVA play gets under way next weekend when McKendree arrives in Columbus for a game Feb. 9 at the Covelli Center.
#GoBucks
