No. 8 Ohio State Drops 3-0 Road Match to Mastodons

Saturday, March 16

Fort Wayne, IN

7 p.m.

Ohio State

15-7,8-4MIVA

Purdue Fort Wayne

11-9,5-6MIVA

Ohio St.

Purdue Fort Wayne

Photo by: Kirk Irwin

No. 8 Ohio State Drops 3-0 Road Match to Mastodons

3/16/2024 8:48:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- No. 8 Ohio State (15-7, 8-4) fell 3-0 at Purdue Fort Wayne (11-9, 5-6) Saturday at the Gates Sports Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The Buckeyes downed the Mastodons earlier this season in Columbus, 3-2.

Ohio State fell by scores of 18-25, 23-25, 23-25.

Shane Wetzel led the Buckeyes with 15 kills while hitting .370.

Noah Platfoot was credited with 29 assists while Kyle Teune led the way with four digs. Cole Young also had four digs while adding seven kills and six blocks.

The Buckeyes were without All-American Jacob Pasteur, who was unavailable with a lower body injury. Setter Michael Wright also was not available for the majority of the match after suffering a lower body injury in the first set against Ball State the last time out.

How it Happened

Set 1
The Buckeyes started with a quick 4-0 run before the Mastodons closed the gap with a 3-0 run to tie it at 4-all. Purdue Fort Wayne used another run (5-1) for a 9-6 lead. Ohio State called timeout and scored three of the next four points to make it 11-9 Mastodons. A Kyle Teune kill, a Purdue Fort Wayne error and a Ben Putnam kill tied it at 13-all. The Mastodons built the lead to three, 18-15, on a 4-1 run. The Buckeyes called its final timeout of the set after Purdue Fort Wayne took a 20-16 lead. The Mastodons then finished off the set with a 4-0 run to take it 25-18.

Set 2
Ohio State again got out in front, 3-1, and stayed with the advantage until the Mastodons tied it at 5-all with a 3-1 run. The squads began to trade points until Purdue Fort Wayne used a 4-1 run to take a 12-9 lead. Ohio State then tied it at 13-all on a Shane Wetzel kill and Mastodons error. Purdue Fort Wayne went back up 15-13 at the media timeout. Ohio State then called timeout after the Mastodons took an 18-15 lead. The Buckeyes used their final timeout down 21-17. Purdue Fort Wayne called a timeout after Ohio State, behind a pair of Wetzel kills, made 23-21 Mastodons. Justin Howard and Wetzel combined for a block before an Owen Pickering kill tied it at 23 all. Purdue Fort Wayne called its final timeout after Ohio State's 5-1 run evened the set. The Mastodons scored the next two for the 25-23 win. Wetzel led the Buckeyes with 10 kills after two sets.

Set 3
The teams alternated points before the Buckeyes scored three-consecutive points to take a 7-5 lead. The Mastodons tied it at 7-all before a back-and-forth stretch over the next 15-combined points led to the media timeout with Purdue Fort Wayne leading 15-14. The teams continued to trade points until a 3-1 run put Purdue Fort Wayne up 19-17. Ohio State called a timeout down two and then its final timeout with the Mastodons up 23-20 after a 3-1 run. The Buckeyes scored the next two points to prompt Purdue Fort Wayne call time out up 23-22. Ohio State then tied it at 23 on a Wetzel kill. The Mastodons scored the next two to win the set 25-23 and the match, 3-0.

Up Next:
The Buckeyes will have an opportunity to even the season series with No. 13 Ball State next Thursday in Muncie, Indiana. Match time is set for 7 p.m. with ESPN+ providing the live stream.

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