No. 12 Ohio State Drops Four-Set Battle Against No. 11 Georgia Tech

Friday, September 1

Columbus, Ohio

7:00 PM

Ohio State

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No. 11 Georgia Tech

3-0,0-0ACC

Georgia Tech

Ohio St.

No. 12 Ohio State Drops Four-Set Battle Against No. 11 Georgia Tech

9/1/2023 10:22:00 PM | General, Women's Volleyball

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The Buckeyes came up short in the home opener against the Yellow Jackets.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 12 Ohio State Buckeyes (3-1) fell in four sets (25-20, 19-25, 15-25, 25-27) against No. 11 Georgia Tech (3-0) in the 2023 home opener on Friday night inside the Covelli Center.

The first set was tight early and the Buckeyes trailed 16-12 before a 6-0 run gave them a lead they would not relinquish on the way to a 25-20 set win. The Yellow Jackets evened the match with a 25-19 win in the second set after a small run midway through gave them the advantage they needed. Georgia Tech led the third set from start to finish, winning by a 25-15 margin to take the match advantage. Ohio State overcame an early deficit in set four but GT clawed its way back to win by a 27-25 margin.

Chelsea Thorpe was the first Buckeye to reach 10 kills, doing so in the second set and finishing with 11 kills. Emily Londot kept up her streak of 10+ kills in every match this season with 19 kills. Mia Tuman earned her second double-double of the season with 39 assists and 12 digs. Sydney Taylor (14) and Grace Egan (15) both recorded double-figure digs with Egan's being her career-high and Taylor's one shy of her career. Sarah Sue Morbitzer tied her career-high four service aces.

How it Happened
Thorpe opened the match with a kill before the teams traded points. Georgia Tech used a 3-0 lead to take its first lead of the match at 8-7 and extended that to 11-8. The Yellow Jackets extended their lead to as much as 16-12 amidst an OSU timeout. Ohio State went on a 6-0 run, including a trio of blocks from Thorpe and Rylee Rader, to tie the set at 17 and take a 20-16 lead and forcing a pair of GT timeouts. Thorpe strung together three-straight kills and Londot ended the set with the Buckeyes on top 25-20.

Georgia Tech scored first in the second set, which was tight early. Ohio State built an 8-5 lead but GT tied the set at eight. The Buckeyes scored the next two but a 4-0 run from the Yellow Jackets forced an OSU timeout trailing 12-10. Ohio State got within one multiple times before back-to-back points put Georgia Tech up 19-16 and forced a Buckeye timeout. The Yellow Jackets had the advantage to end the set and evened the match with a 25-19 set win.

The Yellow Jackets started quickly in the third set, building an early 5-1 lead and forcing a Buckeye timeout. GT extended its lead to 7-1 out of the timeout before OSU trimmed the deficit to 7-5. Georgia Tech scored six of the next seven points to build its lead to 13-6 and prompt a second OSU timeout. GT extended its run to 6-0 and its lead to 15-6. Georgia Tech earned a 25-15 set win to gain the 2-1 advantage in the match.

In the fourth set, Georgia Tech took an early 6-1 lead to prompt an Ohio State timeout. After trailing 7-1, the Buckeyes scored the next five points to get within one at 7-6 and then tied the set at eight. GT responded with three-unanswered points before a trio of kills from Londot and a pair of aces from Sarah Sue Morbitzer (5-0 run) gave Ohio State a 13-11 advantage, its first lead of the set. The Buckeyes led 15-12 and kills from Londot and Rader extended OSU's lead to 19-15, forcing Georgia Tech to take a timeout. The Yellow Jackets scored three-unanswered points to trim the Buckeyes' lead to 23-21 and force an Ohio State timeout. Georgia Tech tied the set at 23 out of the timeout as the score was tied again at 24 and 25 before the Yellow Jackets won the set 27-25.

Highlights

Introductions
S1: Chelsea Thorpe kill
S1: Grace Egan/Eloise Brandewie block
S1: Chelsea Thorpe/Rylee Rader block
S1: Set point
S2: Rylee Rader kill
S2: Grace Egan kill
S3: Sarah Sue Morbitzer ace
S3: Eloise Brandewie kill
S4: Sarah Sue Morbitzer ace
S4: Grace Egan dig/kill/celebration

Match Notes

Mia Tuman recorded her second double-double of the season with 39 assists and 12 digs.
Emily Londot has totaled at least 10 kills in all four matches this season, finishing with 19 kills tonight. Her 1,248 career kills ranks 14^th in program history.
Chelsea Thorpe reached double-figure kills for the second time this season, as she was the first Buckeye to double figures and finished with 11 kills.
Sydney Taylor recorded 10 or more digs for the third-straight match, totaling 14 digs, just one shy of her career-high. She surpassed 100 career digs.
Grace Egan totaled at least 10 digs for the second time this season, finishing with a career-high 15 digs.
Sarah Sue Morbitzer tied her career-high four service aces.
Rylee Rader moved up to 16^th in program history in career blocks as she now owns 294 career blocks total.
S1: Ohio State hit .312 as a team and forced Georgia Tech to hit .108.
S4: This is the Buckeyes' first set of the season to need extra points.

What They Said

Head Coach Jen Flynn Oldenburg: "I think we learned that we have to make a consistent effort. With our team as young as we are, we have to stick to the game plan. We had a solid one but didn't execute at times or in positions. You hate to lose but it's a good learning experience for this group playing at a high level against a really good team. For tomorrow, we have to dial in on the details and make sure it's sustainable over the course of the match and not just in moments. I think they had better moments than we did tonight and tomorrow we have a chance to respond."
Senior Emily Londot on what she says in the huddle through the ups and downs of the match: "We have to stay focused on our side. Whoever is on the other side of the court, we have to play our own game, stay aggressive and keep playing hard."
Freshman Grace Egan on her defensive game: "I think trusting our block and where they're placing the block is easier to go off of for defensive play. I think trusting them and stepping into the seams is key."

Up Next
Ohio State and Georgia Tech meet again on Saturday at 6 p.m. in a match broadcast live on B1G+. Fans are asked to wear black to make the Buckeyes' new black uniforms and stay after the match for a meet and greet.

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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