No. 16 Ohio State Rallies to Down Mastodons in Five-Set Thriller

Saturday, March 1

Columbus, Ohio

4 p.m.

Ohio State

7-8,4-3MIVA

Purdue Fort Wayne

6-9,1-7MIVA

Purdue Fort Wayne

Ohio St.

Photo by: Ohio State Athletics

Photo by: Ohio State Athletics

No. 16 Ohio State Rallies to Down Mastodons in Five-Set Thriller

3/1/2025 5:29:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Buckeyes were down 2-1 before staging a comeback

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- No. 16 Ohio State (7-8, 4-3) battled back from down two sets to one to win 3-2 against Purdue Fort Wayne (6-9, 1-7) Saturday in a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association at the Covelli Center. It was the second-consecutive five-set match for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State won by scores of 23-25, 25-16, 13-25, 27-25, 15-6.

Shane Wetzel led the Buckeyes with 23 kills. Kyle Teune added 14 kills and 12 digs for the double-double.

Wetzel moved into the Top 20 in Ohio State history with 824.

Daniel Henwood-Rodriguez recorded 45 assists.

How it Happened
Set 1 (PFW, 25-23)
The first set started back-and-forth until a Buckeye block and an ace from Daniel Henwood-Rodriguez gave Ohio State a 5-3 lead. Purdue Fort Wayne stayed close, but after a tie at 9-all, the Buckeyes went on a 7-0 run, taking the score to 16-9 and forcing the Mastodons to use both of their timeouts. Purdue Fort Wayne score four-consecutive points out of the huddle, leading the Buckeyes into taking their first timeout of the set leading 16-13. After the break, Ohio State kept the Mastodons at a distance, taking a 21-17 lead following a pair of Purdue Fort Wayne errors. The Mastodons came back within one, trailing 21-20 when Ohio State took its final timeout of the set. Purdue Fort Wayne took a 23-22 lead following a block from Lyons. The Buckeyes tied it at 23, but the Mastodons scored the next two to take the set 25-23. Kyle Teune led the Scarlet and Gray with five kills in the set.

S1| Kyle Teune?? pic.twitter.com/4h6VPCxDAk
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) March 1, 2025

S1| Another Buckeye BLOCK! pic.twitter.com/WshDPdGflm
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) March 1, 2025

Set 2 (OSU, 25-16)
The Buckeyes jumped to a 6-2 lead to start the second after a Mastodon attack error and a kill from Henwood-Rodriguez. Ohio State kept a steady lead, and a kill from Teune and a Mastodon error brought the score to 11-5 and forced Purdue Fort Wayne into its first timeout. After the break, the Mastodons went on a 6-2 run, taking the score to 13-11 Ohio State and forcing the Buckeyes into their first timeout. Coming out of the huddle, the Scarlet and Gray took the score to 17-13 following a 4-2 run. The Mastodons then took their second and final timeout of the set trailing 20-15. The Buckeyes came out of the timeout and scored three consecutively thanks to a kill from Stanislaw Chacinski and a pair of Mastodon errors. A kill from Wetzel gave the Buckeyes the set 25-16 and tied the match at 1-1. Wetzel let Ohio State with five kills in the set and Chacinski added three.

S2| Buckeyes win set ?? pic.twitter.com/lHyj3B51xt
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) March 1, 2025

S2| Stanislaw Chacinski bringing the heat?? pic.twitter.com/hSlwas2mt8
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) March 1, 2025

S2| Serve's in?? pic.twitter.com/QYhE5In8fk
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) March 1, 2025

Set 3 (PFW, 25-13)
The third set started point-for-point, and neither team could gain more than a two-point advantage until a pair of Ohio State errors and a kill from Casey Lyons gave the Mastodons a 14-11 lead, taking the Buckeyes into their first timeout. Coming out of the huddle, Purdue Fort Wayne scored consecutively, and Ohio State took its final timeout, trailing 16-11. The Mastodons didn't stop after that, and a triple block took Purdue Fort Wayne's lead to 20-11. A service error capped the Mastodon's 13-0 run and took the score to 24-12 Purdue Fort Wayne. A kill from Caleb Lipscomb gave the Mastodons the set 25-13 and a 2-1 advantage in the match.

S3| Teune with a cross court rip?? pic.twitter.com/axiu4T11Df
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) March 1, 2025

Set 4 (OSU, 27-25)
The Mastodons leaped to a 5-2 lead to start the set following a double block from Muir and Lipscomb. Purdue Fort Wayne kept a steady lead, and a kill from Peter Soczewka took the Mastodon lead to 9-5. A kill from Wetzel brought the Buckeyes back within one, trailing 10-9. Kills from Wetzel and Teune tied the score at 13-all. Heading into a media timeout, the Mastodons led 15-14, and a kill from Chacinski tied it at 16-all after the break. Trailing 18-16, the Buckeyes took their first timeout. After the huddle, the Mastodons continued their run, leading 20-16 and forcing Ohio State into its second and final timeout of the set. Purdue Fort Wayne took a 22-18 lead following a Buckeye service error, but Ohio State went on a 3-0 run to force the Mastodons into taking a timeout leading 22-21. Coming out of the huddle, the Buckeyes tied it at 23 following a kill from Teune. A Wetzel kill tied it again at 24. After a tie at 25, a Mastodon error forced Purdue Fort Wayne into taking its final timeout of the set. A kill from Chacinski gave Ohio State the set 27-25 to force a fifth set.

S4| Fight til the end! Buckeyes come back to take it to set ??? pic.twitter.com/3q7g5zDp60
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) March 1, 2025

S4| Wetzel earns another? pic.twitter.com/d8MWkmctgx
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) March 1, 2025

S4| Stanislaw Chacinski? pic.twitter.com/Dp3rGpH1bA
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) March 1, 2025

Set 5 (OSU, 15-6)
Ohio State started the fifth set hot, jumping to a 4-1 lead after a pair of kills from Chacinksi and one from Wetzel. The Scarlet and Gray kept going, taking an 8-3 advantage after an ace from Aaron Grimm and another Wetzel kill. A Mastodon error gave Ohio State an 11-4 lead, forcing Purdue Fort Wayne into taking a timeout. The Buckeyes kept their momentum after the huddle, scoring on a service ace to take a 12-5 advantage. Ohio State then went on a 3-1 run to take the set 15-6 and the match 3-2.

S5| That's a Buckeye win?? pic.twitter.com/rVvVkWg2k8
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) March 1, 2025

S5| Kyle Teuneeee pic.twitter.com/Kp870bkx05
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) March 1, 2025

S5| Wetzel over the block?? pic.twitter.com/8VVbhxorvS
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) March 1, 2025

Up Next:
Ohio State travels for a pair of matches March 7-8 at NJIT to complete a stretch for the Buckeyes playing five of six on the road. The opening match starts at 6 p.m. and will be streamed by ESPN+. The second match starts at 7 p.m. on American East TV.

#GoBucks