No. 16 Buckeyes Face Ball State, Purdue Fort Wayne This Week

Kevin Burch, Ohio State head coach

No. 16 Ohio State at No. 11 Ball State, vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
Dates: Thursday/Saturday, Feb. 27/March 1
Times: 7/4 p.m.
Venues: Worthen Arena/Covelli Center
NCAA Championships Tickets: Here
Live Streams: ESPN+/B1G+
Live Stats: Ball State/Purdue Fort Wayne
Rosters: Ohio State | Ball State | Purdue Fort Wayne
Season Stats: Ohio State | Ball State | Purdue Fort Wayne | MIVA | NCAA
Match Notes: Ohio State | Ball State | Purdue Fort Wayne

Note: Justin Howard (2021-24) is a native of Pacific Palisades, California, who completed his eligibility with the Buckeyes last year. He and his family lost their home in the recent fires that devastated his hometown. For more on what Justin is doing to help with recovery efforts, go to: palisadesforever.com. Click HERE to hear from Howard on his foundation's efforts.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- No. 16 Ohio State (6-7, 3-2)) travels to battle No. 11 Ball State (10-5, 3-2) and play host to Purdue Fort Wayne (6-7, 1-5) in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association matches this week. The Buckeyes take on the Cardinals at 7 p.m. Thursday in Muncie, Indiana, before returning home to take on the Mastodons at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Covelli Center. Ohio State welcomes its alumni to the match Saturday.

Each Ohio State home match is streamed live on B1G+ ($). A link to live stats for all matches is available at OhioStateBuckeyes.com on the Men's Volleyball schedule page with each individual match listed.
Kevin Burch, head coach of the Buckeyes, added assistant coach Steven Duhoux to the staff Feb. 24 to fill a vacancy left by Luke Wood Maloney, who left Ohio State to pursue family professional opportunities in Minnesota. Duhoux coached the last two seasons with the Arizona women's volleyball program.
Against Lindenwood the last time out, Ohio State was led in kills by both Shane Wetzel and Stanislaw Chacinski with 17 each. Redshirt freshman Aaron Grimm made his first career appearance with a start at middle blocker. He had six kills, including the match-winner in the fourth set.
Wetzel's effort in wins at Purdue Fort Wayne and at home vs. Lindenwood led to him earning the MIVA Offensive Player of the Week award. He hit .458 in wins over the Mastodons (3-0) and Lions (3-1).
The Buckeyes split the opening weekend in league play. Following a home loss (1-3) to No. 7 Loyola Chicago, the Buckeyes earned a road win at Purdue Fort Wayne (3-0).
Shane Wetzel earned a spot on the 2025 Big Ten Challenge All-Tournament team with a combined 32 kills against No. 6 USC (L, 1-3) and No. 3 UCLA (L, 1-3) Jan. 31-Feb. 1 in Columbus.
With 13 kills against the Bruins, Wetzel eclipsed 700 career kills at Ohio State (799). He averages 3.30 kills per set over his career. Cole Young reached 600 kills with seven against UCLA. He has 627 from the middle in 102 career matches played.
Ohio State's seven losses this season have come to teams currently ranked among the Top 10 nationally.
Ohio State traveled to Austin, Texas, to face No. 11 Stanford (L, 3-0) and No. 1 UCLA (W, 3-1) in the 2025 First Point Collegiate Challenge (Jan. 17-18). Ohio State played in the fourth-annual event for the second-consecutive season. The Buckeyes defeated both No. 13 USC and No. 1 UCLA by scores of 3-2 at the event in 2024.
With the win over the top-ranked Bruins Jan. 18, Ohio State has defeated a team ranked No. 1 in the AVCA Coaches Poll in each of the last three seasons. The Buckeyes knocked off No. 1 Penn State in 2023 on the road before taking down No. 1 UCLA in each of the last two seasons in Austin, Texas.
Middle blocker Cole Young hit 1.000 with 10 kills on 10 swings to tie an Ohio State record for hitting percentage in a match (vs FVSU, Jan. 11). The last Buckeye to end a match with 10 or more kills without an error was Ethan Talley with a 10-0-10 effort March 1, 2019 at home against McKendree in a 3-1 win.
In the series with Ball State, Ohio State is 104-93 all-time with wins in three of the last four meetings. In the series with Purdue Fort Wayne, Ohio State is 87-43 all-time with wins in six of the last seven meetings. The Buckeyes are on a nine-match home wins streak against the Mastodons.

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