No. 16 Ohio State Goes Distance, Drops 3-2 Match to No. 11 Ball State

Thursday, February 27

Muncie, IN

7 p.m.

Ohio State

6-8,3-3MIVA

Ball State University

11-5,4-2MIVA

Ohio St.

Ball St.

No. 16 Ohio State Goes Distance, Drops 3-2 Match to No. 11 Ball State

2/27/2025 9:38:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

Buckeyes return home for Alumni Night Saturday against Purdue Fort Wayne

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- No. 16 Ohio State (6-8, 3-3) traveled to battle No. 11 Ball State (11-5, 4-2) in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association match Thursday and fell 3-2 at Worthen Arena in Muncie, Indiana.

It was the first five-set match for the Buckeyes this season. Ball State is 2-4 in matches that have gone the distance to date this year.

Ohio State lost by scores of 25-23, 20-25, 22-25, 25-15, 12-15.

Stanislaw Chacinski led Ohio State with 15 kills by Aaron Grimm, in just his second career start, added 13. Chacinski also added nine digs.

Daniel Henwood Rodriquez reached 400 (427) career assists with 45 against the Cardinals. He entered the match with 382.

With his first kill of the night, Shane Wetzel reached 800 for his career. He finished with two kills in limited action.

Kyle Teune reached 300 career kills with seven against the Cardinals.

How it Happened

Set 1 (OSU, 25-23)
The Cardinals started with a 4-0 lead before kills by Cole Young and Stanislaw Chacinski got the Buckeyes on the board. Ball State made it 8-3 with a 4-1 run before an Ohio State timeout. Aaron Grimm earned a kill from the middle to make it 9-6 Cardinals. Ball State used a 3-1 run to make it 14-8. Kills by Chacinski and Grimm cut the lead to 16-12 after an Ohio State 3-1 run. Grimm added another kill followed by an ace to make it 18-15 Cardinals. The Buckeye block combo of Young and Daniel Henwood Rodriguez rejected a BSU effort to cut the lead to 19-17 before a Ball State timeout. A BSU attack error after the break made it 19-18 Cardinals. A Young kill then tied it at 20-all after a 5-1 run. The teams traded points before a Ball State timeout after a Grimm kill tied it at 23-all. Another Grimm kill put the Buckeyes up for the first time 24-23 after the break. The Buckeyes then took the set 25-23 after a Shane Wetzel solo block ended the set. Grimm led both teams with five kills and combined with four from Young, the Buckeyes had nine kills from their middles. Ohio State finished the set on a 3-0 run to earn the win.

S1| Buckeyes at set point!?? pic.twitter.com/mGUpV6ZyFt
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) February 28, 2025

S1| AARON. GRIMM.?? pic.twitter.com/nbO5v3N8Pg
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) February 28, 2025

Set 2 (BSU, 25-20)
Chacinski and Wetzel earned the first kills of the set for the Buckeyes for a 2-1 lead. The kill for Wetzel was the 800^th of his career. Ball State then used a 5-1 run to go up 6-3. Kills by Kyle Teune and Grimm cut it to 8-6 Cardinals. The BSU lead increased to 12-7 after a 4-1 run. The Buckeyes called timeout and got a kill from Chacinski out of the break. Ball State countered with a 4-1 run to go up 16-9. Ohio State took its final timeout of the set before BSU scored two of the next three for an 18-10 advantage. Ohio State went on a 5-1 run to cut into the lead to make it 20-16. Ball State called timeout and finished off the set to win 25-20. Chacinski took over the lead in the match after two sets with 10 kills.

Set 3 (BSU, 25-22)
Back-to-back blocks by the Buckeyes before a Tyler Tharpe put Ohio State up 5-2. Grimm then won a joust at the net to cap a 5-0 run for a 6-2 lead before a Ball State timeout. Another Grimm kill out of the break upped the advantage to 7-2. Kills by Teune and Young gave the Buckeyes a 10-4 lead. The Cardinals scored the next three before a BSU error made it 11-7 Buckeyes. The teams went back-and-forth before consecutive points by Ohio State made it 16-11. The Cardinals called their final timeout of the set down five. A backrow kill from Chacinski after the break made it 17-11. Ohio State called a timeout after a Cardinals 5-1 run made it 18-15 Buckeyes. The Cardinals tied it at 19-all before an Ohio State timeout. Ball State went up 20-19 after the stoppage but a Tharpe kill evened it at 20-all. The Buckeyes reclaimed the lead after a BSU error, 21-20. The Cardinals went back up 24-22 on an ace and a kill. BSU then got the win, 25-22, with a set-winning kill.

S3| Tyler Tharpe puts it away! pic.twitter.com/HEYLer3qkq
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) February 28, 2025

Set 4 (OSU, 25-15)
After consecutive Ball State aces to open the set, Ohio State scored the next four. The teams traded service aces to for a 5-3 lead for the Buckeyes. Ohio State held the lead and extended the advantage to 10-7 on a Chacinski ace. A Teune blast kept the Buckeyes up three at 12-9. Grimm and Chacinski combined for a block to up the lead to 14-10 Buckeyes. A DHR ace put the Buckeyes up 15-10 at the media timeout. Ohio State benefited from a pair of BSU errors after the break for a 17-10 lead. Ball State called timeout. A kill by Grimm and a Chacinski ace made it 19-11 Buckeyes leading to the Cardinals final timeout of the set. Another Grimm kill, Chacinski ace after the break put Ohio State up 10, 21-11. The Buckeyes then evened the match at 2-all with a 25-15.

S4| Aaron Grimm defending the net!?? pic.twitter.com/KaCH3gZif1
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) February 28, 2025

S4| Monster block?? pic.twitter.com/vOD5gGQBbl
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) February 28, 2025

S4| What an up from Leahey, finished off at the net by Henwood Rodriguez! pic.twitter.com/J64aaxStwz
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) February 28, 2025

Set 5 (BSU, 15-12)
The Buckeyes started out with a 2-0 lead on a BSU service error and Grimm/Chacinski block. A Grimm kill made it 3-1. A Cardinals service error and Tharpe kill made it 5-2 Buckeyes. Ball State scored the next two before a Grimm kill made it 6-4 Buckeyes. Ball State tied it at 6-all after a kill and Ohio State attack error. At the break, Ohio State led 8-6 after a BSU error and Young kill. After the teams switched sides in the race to 15 points, Ball State scored the next two to even the set at 8-all. Chacinski made it 9-8 with a kill. BSU took a 10-9 lead after a pair of kills to force an Ohio State timeout. Tharpe tied it at 10-all with a kill but the Cardinals added back-to-back kills to go back on top 12-10. Ohio State called its final timeout and got a kill out of the break by Chacinski. Ball State struck again with two kills for a 14-11 lead. The Cardinals call a timeout after a BSU error made it 14-12. The Cardinals then earned the match victory, 3-2, with a kill to win the final set 15-12.

Up Next:
The Buckeyes return to Columbus for a 4 p.m. match at the Covelli Center against Purdue Fort Wayne Saturday. Ohio State will recognize its Alumni at the match.

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