No. 7 Ohio State Outlasts Mastodons, Win 3-2

Tuesday, February 20

Columbus, Ohio

7 p.m.

Ohio State

11-3,5-1MIVA

Purdue Fort Wayne

7-7,1-4MIVA

Purdue Fort Wayne

Ohio St.

Photo by: Kirk Irwin

No. 7 Ohio State Outlasts Mastodons, Win 3-2

2/20/2024 9:37:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 7 Ohio State (11-3, 5-1) needed five sets but prevailed against visiting Purdue Fort Wayne (7-6, 1-3) 3-2 at the Covelli Center Tuesday.

Ohio State won by scores of 25-9, 23-25, 29-31, 25-23, 15-9.

Jacob Pasteur led Ohio State in kills with 17. Setter Michael Wright led both squads with 51 assists. Wright and Thomas Poole paced the Buckeyes with seven digs. Wright also added seven blocks.

Daniel Hurley led both teams with seven aces while also recording 10 kills. Ben Putnam (11) and Cole Young (10) also were in double digits in kills.

Buckeyes keep the winning feelings going ??@OhioStateMVB | #GoBucks https://t.co/uW9APzEBGv pic.twitter.com/bdrm8MMW2b
— Ohio State Buckeyes ?? (@OhioStAthletics) February 21, 2024

Redshirt freshman Daniel Hurley had seven aces, including three-consecutive after a kill in Set 1 and then four-consecutive in Set 2 against the Mastodons. The total is the most for a Buckeye since Michael Wright had six at Ball State (April 22, 2023).
Hurley is the first Buckeye to record seven aces in a match since Christian Franceschi against Ball State (4/8/11). The seven aces ties for third-most at Ohio State in a match.
In the series with Purdue Fort Wayne, the Buckeyes own an 86-42 record. Ohio State is 47-12 in Columbus vs. the Mastodons. The Buckeyes have won the last nine meetings in Columbus and 16 of the last 19 matches overall.
After the series with the Royals, Ohio State returns home to complete the season series with both Lewis (Feb. 29/6 p.m.) and Loyola Chicago (March 2/4 p.m.).
Starting with the home match with Lewis, Ohio State will face five-consecutive teams currently ranked in the AVCA Top 15.

How it Happened

Set 1
A Daniel Hurley kill, a big triple block and a Cole Young kill got the Buckeyes out to a 3-0 lead. Jacob Pasteur and Justin Howard each added kills for a 5-2 Ohio State advantage. The Mastodons called timeout after a Pasteur ace and kill put Ohio State up 10-3. Young and Hurley combined for a block to make it 11-4. Hurley then went kill, ace, ace, ace to make it 16-5 Buckeyes. Purdue Fort Wayne called its final timeout after a Mastodon attack error upped the OSU lead to 17-5. Setter Michael Wright then got into the act with a kill, the fifth Buckeye to record a kill in the set, to give the Buckeyes an 18-6 lead. A Ben Putnam kill and Wright ace led to set point at 24-8. A Howard/Pasteur block gave the Buckeyes the win, 25-9. Ohio State hit .722 in the opener. Purdue Fort Wayne hit .000. Hurley led both teams with five kills.

Set 2
Purdue Fort Wayne took a 3-1 lead. A Hurley kill and Pasteur ace tied it at 4-all. The Mastodons took a 7-5 lead on a pair of Ohio State errors. The lead grew to 10-6 on a Purdue Fort Wayne ace. The Buckeyes closed the gap to 10-9 on a service error and back-to-back Ohio State blocks. Ohio State tied it at 13-all on a pair of Mastodon errors. Purdue Fort Wayne went on a 3-0 run to take a 16-13 lead. The Buckeyes called timeout and set Howard for a kill and scored on an Mastodon error to make it 16-15 Purdue Fort Wayne. The Mastodons used a 3-0 run to go back up 19-16. Howard and Pasteur kills cut it to 21-20 Mastodons leading to a Purdue Fort Wayne timeout. The Mastodons then used a 3-1 run for a 24-21 lead. Ohio State called timeout and scored the next two points before Purdue Fort Wayne got the win, 25-23, to even the match at 1-all.

S1| Dare I say another ace!? pic.twitter.com/sHkH3SMY41
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) February 21, 2024

S1| Michael Wright joins the club for another Buckeye ACE! That's 6 in the first set! pic.twitter.com/DStBdEOT7N
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) February 21, 2024

Set 3
Down 6-3 early, Ohio State used a 4-0 run to take a 7-6 lead. Tied at 8-all, a Putnam kill followed by a Purdue Fort Wayne error and four-consecutive Hurley aces put Ohio State up 14-8. After a Mastodon timeout, Purdue Fort Wayne used a 3-0 run to make it 16-13 Buckeyes. A pair of Putnam kills kept the lead at 19-15 for the Buckeyes. The Mastodons edged back on a 3-0 run to make it 20-18 Buckeyes. Ohio State called timeout and got a Young/Hurley block and Mastodon error to go back up 22-18. The Buckeyes called timeout after a 3-0 Purdue Fort Wayne run made it 22-21. Pasteur sent it to set point with a kill to make it 24-22. The Mastodons scored the next two points to send it to overtime. Tied at 29-all, Purdue Fort Wayne scored on a kill and ace to win the set, 31-29. Pasteur led the Buckeyes with 11 kills after three sets with Hurley next with nine. Hurley also had seven aces to lead both teams.

Set 4
The set see-sawed until before an Ohio State block and Wright ace put Ohio State up 13-11, the first lead of more than a point in the set. The Mastodons quickly tied it again at 13-all. Shane Wetzel made his first appearance and got a kill ahead of a Young blast from the middle to put Ohio State up 16-14. Another Young effort made it 17-15 Buckeyes. Purdue Fort Wayne tied it at 19-all with a block. The Buckeyes called timeout and scored the next three to take a 22-19 lead. The Mastodons called timeout and tied it at 22-all with a 3-0 run. Ohio State took its final timeout and set Howard for a kill and a 23-22 lead. A Pasteur kill made it 24-23 Buckeyes before the Mastodons called their final timeout. Purdue Fort Wayne was then called for a net violation to give the Buckeyes the win, 25-23, to even the match at 2-all.

S4| Set point Bucks!?? Timeout Ft. Wayne pic.twitter.com/40W94TDvvr
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) February 21, 2024

S4| Kill from Howard puts the Bucks on ?? pic.twitter.com/65k1j3aqxl
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) February 21, 2024

Set 5
In the race to 15, Young put Ohio State up 2-1 with a kill and ace. A Pasteur kill and Purdue Fort Wayne error put Ohio State in the lead, 4-1. The Mastodons called timeout and the teams traded points to keep Ohio State out front at 5-2. Wright and Howard kills made it 7-2 Buckeyes. The teams switched benches after Pasteur got the kill to make it 8-3 Ohio State. Wright set Young for a quick kill in the middle for a 10-4 lead for the Buckeyes. Wetzel and Putnam then made it 12-6 Ohio State with consecutive kills. Purdue Fort Wayne called its final timeout and scored the next two before a Putnam kill made it 13-8 Buckeyes. A Mastodon attack error made it 14-8 Buckeyes. At match point, the Buckeyes got the 15-9 win after a Purdue Fort Wayne service error.

S5| Putnam tools off the block!?? Timeout PFW pic.twitter.com/YWJ2AQTtiB
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) February 21, 2024

S5| Bucks are rolling! pic.twitter.com/fPRJZjMWUx
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) February 21, 2024

Up Next:
Queens University of Charlotte is the newest member of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association after joining the league in July. The Royals will play host to the Buckeyes this weekend for a pair of conference matches. The teams meet at 6 p.m. Friday (ESPN+) and then again at 5 p.m. Saturday (ESPN+).

#GoBucks