No. 19 Buckeyes’ Comeback Falls Short in Five Sets at No. 18 Baylor

Friday, September 15

Waco, Texas

8:00 PM

Ohio State

3-6,0-0Big Ten

No. 18 Baylor

5-4,0-0Big 12

Ohio St.

Baylor

Photo by: Ohio State Athletics

No. 19 Buckeyes’ Comeback Falls Short in Five Sets at No. 18 Baylor

9/15/2023 11:21:00 PM | General, Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Ohio State wrapped up its non-conference schedule on Friday night in Waco.

Box Score | Season Stats

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 19 Ohio State Buckeyes (3-6) put together an impressive comeback but fell just short in five sets (22-25, 19-25, 25-18, 25-23, 8-15) at No. 18 Baylor (5-4) on Friday evening to wrap up the non-conference schedule.

Ohio State came back from an early deficit in the first set to get within one, but Baylor earned the 25-22 set win. The Bears built an early lead and the Buckeyes could get no closer than four down the stretch of the second set, falling by a 25-19 mark. The third set was close midway through the set before the Buckeyes finished off a 25-18 set win on an extended 10-3 run. Ohio State forced a fifth set with a 25-23 win in the fourth set, leading start to finish despite Baylor getting within one multiple times. The Bears closed the match with a 15-8 win in set five, scoring the final three points.

Emily Londot was the first in the match to reach 10 kills, doing so in the second set on her way to 23 kills total – making it into double figures in all nine matches this season and surpassing 20 kills for the fourth time. Londot added 14 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. Lauren Murphy finished with career-highs in kills (11) and digs (11) for her first career double-double. Kaitlyn Hoffman extended her streak of matches with an ace to five and Murphy extended her streak to three. Hoffman was the first Buckeye to reach 10 digs, finishing with 12 digs on the night. Zaria Ragler had her first career ace in addition to career-highs in digs (3), blocks (3) and points (6.5).

How it Happened
Baylor scored the first two points of the match and got off to an early 6-2 lead before Ohio State tied the set at six. The Buckeyes called timeout after a 4-0 Bears run put OSU in a 10-6 deficit. Baylor increased its lead to as big as 17-10 before Ohio State responded with the next three points. The Buckeyes strung together four-unanswered points to get within two at 19-17, forcing a Bears timeout. OSU scored out of the timeout to get within one and the teams traded points until back-to-back Baylor points forced a Buckeye timeout trailing 23-20. Ohio State's comeback fell short as Baylor took the set by a 25-22 margin.

The Bears scored first again in the second set and built an early 7-2 lead before the Buckeyes called timeout. Ohio State called a second timeout as Baylor's 5-0 run extended its lead to 15-5. The teams traded points out of the timeout until four-straight OSU points saw the Buckeyes down 20-14. Back-to-back Buckeye points trimmed the deficit to 21-16 and forced a Bears timeout. Ohio State got as close as four trailing 22-18 but fell 25-19.

Ohio State opened scoring and a 6-2 lead to prompt a Baylor timeout. The Buckeyes scored out of the timeout but the Bears used a 5-0 run to take a 9-8, forcing an OSU timeout. The score was tied at every point from eight to 15 until a 3-0 Buckeye run gave Ohio State the 18-15 lead. Back-to-back OSU points extended the lead to 21-17, forcing a Baylor timeout. The Buckeyes scored the final three points to earn a 25-18 set win.

The Buckeyes scored the first two points in the fourth set. Ohio State used a 3-0 run to take a 6-2 lead and four-unanswered points to increase that lead to 11-4, forcing a Baylor timeout. OSU maintained its seven-point advantage at 15-8, but a 3-0 Bears run forced the Buckeyes to take a timeout leading by a 15-11 mark. Baylor chipped away at Ohio State's lead to get within one at 19-18, prompting a Buckeye timeout. OSU held onto the lead despite the Bears fighting off a pair of set points to force a fifth set with a 25-23 set win.

Baylor scored the first three points in the fifth set and built a 5-1 lead to force an Ohio State timeout. A Bears' won challenge increased the Buckeyes' deficit to 7-2. After a pair of OSU points, the teams traded points until back-to-back Baylor points increased its lead to 12-7, forcing another Buckeye timeout. The Bears scored the final three points to cap a 15-8 set win.

Match Notes

This was the Buckeyes' sixth-consecutive match against a ranked opponent.
Ohio State is 1-1 in five-set matches this season, previously beating Bowling Green during opening weekend in five.
Emily Londot was the first in the match to reach 10 kills, continuing her streak of doing so in every match this season and notching 20+ for the fourth time. She finished with 23 kills and added 14 digs for her fourth double-double of the season.
Londot moved up to 12^th in program history in career kills as she now owns 1,342.
Lauren Murphy earned career-highs in both kills (11) and digs (11) for her first career double-double and has an ace in three-straight matches.
Kaitlyn Hoffman extended her streak to five-consecutive matches with an ace and three-straight matches with at least 10 digs, finishing with 12 digs tonight.
Zaria Ragler had a career-high in digs (3), blocks (3) and points (6.5) as well as her first ace.
S3: The set had eight ties and four lead changes.
S4: Ohio State led the set from start to finish despite Baylor getting within one point on multiple occasions.

What They Said

Head Coach Jen Flynn Oldenburg:
- "It was a good battle tonight against a Baylor team who competes hard. We got exposed in some areas that we will need to shore up as we head into conference play. Our defense needs to continue to improve but I liked the fight I saw in our eyes tonight. Back to work on Monday to start strong in the B1G."

Up Next
Ohio State opens Big Ten play on the road next weekend, facing No. 4 Nebraska on Friday at 9 p.m. ET and Iowa on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

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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