No. 13 Ohio State Downed by No. 6 USC, 3-1

Friday, January 31

Columbus, Ohio

7 p.m.

Ohio State

3-4,0-0MIVA

University of Southern California

7-0,0-0MPSF

Southern California

Ohio St.

Photo by: Ohio State Athletics

Photo by: Jay LaPrete

No. 13 Ohio State Downed by No. 6 USC, 3-1

1/31/2025 9:20:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Ohio State takes on No. 3 UCLA Saturday in the final match of the Big Ten Challenge

Shane Wetzel, Grant Strong and Kevin Burch, Ohio State head coach

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- No. 13 Ohio State (3-4) fell 3-1 to visiting No. 6 Southern California (7-0) in the 2025 Big Ten Challenge at the Covelli Center Friday.

The Buckeyes fell by scores of 18-25, 27-29, 25-21 and 20-25.

Shane Wetzel led Ohio State with 20 kills with Kyle Teune adding 11 and Stanislaw Chacinski 10.

Drew Hudson led both teams with seven digs while setter Daniel Henwood Rodriguez added 47 assists.

Prior to the match between the Buckeyes and Trojans, No. 3 UCLA defeated No. 17 Penn State, 3-1.

The Nittany Lions and USC will play at 4 p.m. Saturday followed by the Buckeyes and Bruins at 7 p.m.
Both matches will be streamed live on B1G+.

How it Happened

Set 1 (18-25)
The teams traded points early with neither squad able to gain more than a two-point advantage through the first 12 points scored. After trailing 5-4, the Trojans scored five-consecutive points to take a 9-5 lead, forcing a Buckeye timeout. Coming out of the break, USC kept its lead adding an ace by Guy Genis bringing the score to 15-9. The Buckeyes brought it within five thanks to kill by Tyler Tharpe to make it 19-14, but the Trojans outscored the Buckeyes 6-4 to take the set 25-18.

S1| ACE?? pic.twitter.com/SjTTr0MXXY
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) February 1, 2025

Set 2 (27-29)
The Buckeyes started strong with a 4-2 lead. A Wetzel kill made it 5-3 Buckeyes. Ohio State used a 3-1 run to make it 9-6. The Trojans counted with a 3-0 run to tie it at 9-all. Neither team was able to take an advantage until after the media timeout when the Trojans went up 16-14. The Buckeyes quickly regained the lead at 17-16 on a Wetzel kill and a pair of USC errors. The Trojans called timeout. Kyle Teune put Ohio State up 19-16 with a pair of kills. A Wetzel kill and USC error make it 21-18 Buckeyes. Ohio State called timeout leading 21-20. A Chacinski kill and combo block by Thomas Leahey and Daniel Henwood Rodriguez put the Buckeyes up 23-21. The Trojans called their final timeout of the set before evening the set at 23-all. Ohio State then used its final timeout. A Chacinski kill put the Buckeyes up 24-23 before the Trojans took the lead with consecutive kills, 25-24. A Leahey kill tied it at 25 followed by a Wetzel kill gave Ohio State a 26-25 advantage. The teams traded points before USC won the set 29-27.

S2| It's a block party at Covelli!?? pic.twitter.com/IU8mZGlIhb
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) February 1, 2025

Set 3 (25-21)
Ohio State jumped to a 4-2 lead to start the third, but USC came back to tie it at 4-all after a kill from Tomkinson and a Buckeye attack error. After 3-2 run, an ace from Chacinski gave Ohio State an 8-5 lead. A Wetzel kill brought the score to 10-6 until the Trojans came back within two at 11-9. A Trojan service error and a back-row kill from Teune put the Buckeyes on top 13-9, pushing USC into their first timeout of the set. Coming out of the break, Ohio State took its largest lead of the set at 18-13 after a Trojan net error. USC went on a 6-3 scoring run to bring the score to 21-19, forcing a Buckeye timeout. Ohio State scored consecutively to take a 23-19 advantage before the Trojans took their final timeout of the set. The Trojans survived two Ohio State set points, but an attack error on USC gave the Buckeyes the set 25-21. Wetzel led the Buckeye offense in the third with six kills.

S3| ACE from Owen Pickering!?? pic.twitter.com/QVSvPkhuqj
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) February 1, 2025

S3| Wetzel cross court!?? pic.twitter.com/qvx0zlQdT0
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) February 1, 2025

Set 4 (20-25)
The score was back-and-forth once again to start the fourth, but a string of Ohio State attack errors put the Trojans up 8-5, forcing an Ohio State timeout. Coming out of the break, two kills apiece by Chacinski and Wetzel lifted the Buckeyes to a 9-8 advantage. Both teams traded kills until the score was tied 11-all. The Trojans went on a 6-3 run, bringing the score to 17-14 and pushing the Buckeyes into their second and final timeout of the set. Ohio State kept it within three, bringing the score to 20-17 after a USC blocking error. The Trojans outscored the Buckeyes 5-3 to end the set 25-20 and take the match 3-1.

S4| Leahey buries it!?? pic.twitter.com/RkE8GczXcT
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) February 1, 2025

In the opening match of the event, the third-ranked Bruins of UCLA (5-1) topped No. 17 Penn State (0-5) 3-0. UCLA swept the Nittany Lions for the second time this season, this time by scores of 28-26, 25-22 and 25-15.

Junior outside Cooper Robinson of UCLA led all scorers with 15 kills while senior outside Will Kuhns notched 11 for Penn State. UCLA's Andrew Rowan added 36 assists and two digs on the night.

How it Happened

Set 1 (UCLA 28-26)
Neither team could score consecutive points to start the set, going back-and-forth until the Bruins took a 6-4 lead after an ace from Cooper Robinson. Penn State took its first timeout of the set at 15-8 after a 5-1 run by the Bruins. The Nittany Lions scored consecutive points after the break thanks to two Bruin errors, but UCLA kept them at a steady four-point gap until Penn State took its final timeout at 20-14. The Nittany Lions went on a 3-0 run after the timeout, taking the score to 20-17, forcing the Bruins to take their first timeout of the set. PSU closed the gap to one after a block from Matthew Luoma and Owen Rose, leading the Bruins took their final timeout of the set at 22-21. An ace from Gaige Gabriel and a kill from Will Kuhns gave Penn State the lead at 23-22, before a Bruin kill tied it at 23. After a UCLA kill evened the score at 24. After trading points to 26-all, the Bruins scored on back-to-back kills from Rama and Robinson to put UCLA on top 28-26 to give them the first set.

Set 2 (UCLA 25-22)
The second set was point-for-point again, with neither team able to gain more than a two-point advantage. After trailing 3-2, PSU went on a 7-2 run to take the score to 9-5. A kill by Sean Harvey took Penn State's lead to 11-6, pushing the Bruins into taking their first timeout of the set. The Nittany Lions kept a safe distance throughout the middle of the set, but PSU took its first timeout after a Bruin ace brought the score to 16-14. UCLA then tied it at 17 after an ace by David Decker. The teams went back-and-forth to bring it to 21-all, but another kill by Robinson gave the Bruins a 22-21 advantage. After Penn State's final timeout, UCLA went on a 3-1 run and took the set 25-22 on a PSU service error.

Set 3 (UCLA 25-15)
The Bruins went on a 6-3 run to take the score to 8-5 after a kill by Robinson. Penn State brought the score to 8-3, but three-consecutive points by UCLA forced PSU into its first timeout of the set at 11-6. The Bruins outscored the Nittany Lions 5-3 coming out of the timeout, taking the score to 16-9, where PSU called another timeout. UCLA kept a steady margin throughout the set, leading by at least six, before taking the set 25-15 and the match 3-0.

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