Ohio State Falls to Grand Canyon in NCAA Quarterfinals

Tuesday, April 30

Long Beach, California

10:30 p.m.

Ohio State

22-9,11-5MIVA

Grand Canyon University

26-4,10-2MPSF

Ohio St.

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Don Liebig/ASUCLA

Photo by: Don Liebig

Photo by: Don Liebig

Photo by: Don Liebig/ASUCLA

Ohio State Falls to Grand Canyon in NCAA Quarterfinals

5/1/2024 12:19:00 AM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Ohio State Press Conference

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State (22-9), the No. 6 seed in the 2024 NCAA Championships, fell 3-0 to No. 3 seed Grand Canyon (26-4) at Walter Pyramid on the campus of Long Beach (Calif.) State University Tuesday in the quarterfinals.

The Buckeyes lost by scores of 23-25, 20-25, 21-25.

Ohio State's Shane Wetzel (12) and Jacob Pasteur (11) combined for 23 kills. Setter Michael Wright finished with 37 assists. Tommy Poole finished with nine digs.

Grand Canyon advances to the NCAA Semifinals against No. 2 Long Beach State (26-2) match at 9:30 p.m. Thursday.

How it Happened

Set 1
The Buckeyes scored first on a GCU service error. Shane Wetzel and Michael Wright then went back-to-back with kills for a 3-1 Ohio State lead. Jacob Pasteur then got going with a pair of kills for a 6-4 Buckeye advantage. Justin Howard added a kill from the middle before the Lopes tied it at 7-all. Cole Young's first kill and a Wetzel ace put Ohio State on top 10-9. A Wetzel kill and GCU hitting error kept the Buckeyes up 12-11. Grand Canyon went up 14-12 before Wetzel and Pasteur evened things up at 14-all with consecutive kills. Match went to the media timeout with GCU leading 15-14. The Lopes came out of the break and took a 17-14 before an Ohio State timeout. Pasteur then ended the GCU 3-0 run with a kill. A Pasteur kill and ace combo and a GCU error tied it at 18-all. Grand Canyon went back up on a 4-1 run for a 22-19 lead. Ohio State called its final timeout of the set. The Buckeyes scored the next two before a service error made it 23-21 Lopes. At set point for GCU, the Lopes took a timeout leading 24-22. Ohio State got the next point on a Young kill. GCU took its final timeout up 24-23. The Lopes then got the match winner down the left side for a 25-23 win. GCU hit .423 ahead of Ohio State's .324 in the opener. Wetzel led both teams with six kills ahead of Pasteur's five. With an ace in Set 1, Pasteur took sole possession of No. 2 in Ohio State history with his 161st career ace.

Set 2
Down 4-2, Howard and Pasteur tied it with a pair of kills. The Lopes took another two-point lead before a Howard kill and GCU error knotted it at 7-all. The squads traded points until GCU scored twice for a 12-10 lead. The Lopes led 15-13 at the media timeout. The Buckeyes called timeout down 17-14. Grand Canyon built the lead to 21-17 before Ohio State used its final timeout of the set. GCU did not give up the lead the rest of the way to take the second set, 25-20.

Set 3
Ohio State took a 4-3 lead on a GCU error and Howard/Ben Putnam block. A Wetzel kill and Putnam solo block gave the Buckeyes a 6-4 cushion. The Lopes scored the next two for a 6-all tie. The Buckeyes used a 3-0 run for a 10-8 lead. The Lopes responded to take a 13-11 advantage. At the media timeout, GCU was up 15-13. The Buckeyes called a timeout trailing 17-14 after 3-1 Lopes run. Ohio State called its final timeout of the set after GCU took a 19-14 lead. Grand Canyon called a timeout with a 24-20 lead after a couple Pasteur kills. The Lopes then took the set (25-20) and match, 3-0.

The AVCA announced its All-America teams Monday. The Buckeyes were represented by Jacob Pasteur (2^nd team), Cole Young (honorable mention), Shane Wetzel (honorable mention) and Michael Wright (honorable mention).
Against Grand Canyon, Ohio State is 16-4 all-time. The only other neutral-site meeting was a year ago at George Mason Jan. 14, 2023. The Antelopes won that one, 3-2.
The Buckeyes have made 23 appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State last appeared in the event in 2023.
Overall, the Buckeyes are 17-25 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State won NCAA titles in 2011, 2016 and 2017.