No. 11 Ohio State Drops Opener to No. 6 BYU, 3-1

Friday, January 3

Columbus, Ohio

7 p.m.

Ohio State

0-1,0-0MIVA

Brigham Young University

1-0,0-0MPSF

BYU

Ohio St.

Photo by: Jay LaPrete

No. 11 Ohio State Drops Opener to No. 6 BYU, 3-1

1/3/2025 9:13:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Rematch set for 7 p.m. Saturday in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 11 Ohio State (0-1) won the opening set of the season before No. 6 BYU (1-0) took the next three Friday in the season opener for both teams at the Covelli Center (1,292).

The Buckeyes fell by scores of 25-19, 20-25, 18-25, 18-25.

The Buckeyes were led by junior Shane Wetzel with 12 kills with freshman Stanislaw Chacinski reaching 11 in his debut. Redshirt sophomore contributed 10 kills while hitting .389 in the match.

Freshman setter Daniel Henwood Rodriguez led both teams with 37 assists to go along with six digs.

How it Happened

Set 1
Shane Wetzel earned a kill for the first point of the season for the Buckeyes and a 1-0 lead. The Cougars earned the next three points before the Buckeyes rallied to tie it at 4-all on a Dan Hurley kill. A Wetzel ace tied it again at 6. The teams traded points before Stanislaw Chacinski put Ohio State up 9-8 on a kill and assist block with Thomas Leahey. Another Chacinski/Leahey block put the Buckeyes up 11-10. The Buckeyes took their first lead of more than a point on a Chacinski kill and a pair of BYU errors for a 16-13 lead. BYU called a timeout and the Buckeyes scored the next two on a Wetzel ace and kill by Cole Young (18-13). An Ohio State error and BYU ace cut the lead to 18-15. A Chacinski kill put the Buckeyes back up five, 20-15. BYU called another timeout after Chacinski/Leahey block put the Buckeyes up 22-16. Ohio State scored three of the next six points to win the opening set 25-19. Chacinski, in his Ohio State debut, lead with five kills in the opener.

S1| After a BYU timeout, Wetzel keeps the momentum going with a Buckeye ACE!!! pic.twitter.com/Amndrkbgls
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) January 4, 2025

S1| Chacinski puts it away to end the rally! pic.twitter.com/A1OdQb3YI9
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) January 4, 2025

S1| Access DENIED?? Timeout BYU. pic.twitter.com/ypWodN4uoM
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) January 4, 2025

Set 2
Chacinski and Wetzel started the Buckeyes off with consecutive kills and a 2-0 lead. BYU went on a 3-0 run to take a 10-7 lead. Hurley made it 10-8 Cougars with a kill. Daniel Henwood Rodriguez got a kill at the net from his setter spot before a BYU error made it 11-10 Cougars. The Buckeyes kept it close with a Hurley kill to make it 17-16 BYU. The Cougars kept its lead the rest of the way and won the second set, 25-20.

S2| Fight. Til. The. End.?? pic.twitter.com/E7DupQw7Z1
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) January 4, 2025

Set 3
BYU took a 9-6 lead on a 5-1 run early in the third. Ohio State called timeout after the Cougars built a 12-8 advantage. The Buckeyes went on a 3-0 run to make it 15-12 on kills by Wetzel, Young and Hurley. BYU countered with a 3-0 run of its own to go back up 17-12. Ohio State called timeout after a BYU ace made it 20-14. The Buckeyes used a 4-1 run to cut it to 21-18 BYU. The Cougars then took the set 25-18.

S3| Hurley hits the cross court shot! pic.twitter.com/Ep07XqiQbE
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) January 4, 2025

Set 4
Chacinski started the Buckeyes off with a kill to open the set. Ohio State took a 4-2 on lead on a pair of BYU errors and then 5-3 after a rally and block by Young and Hurley. The Cougars took a 10-7 lead with a 6-1 run. The Buckeyes called timeout and tied it at 12-all on consecutive kills by Young to cap a 4-1 run. Tyler Tharpe got a kill from Kohl Kutsch at setter to tie the set at 14-all. BYU got the next two points before a Young kill made it 16-15 BYU. Ohio State called its final timeout of the set with the Cougars leading 18-15. BYU scored the next three after the break to go up 21-15. Kills by Chacinski and Wetzel closed the gap to 21-17. BYU then earned the 3-1 victory with a 25-18 win in the set.