No. 3 Ohio State Advances to MIVA Finals

Wednesday, April 23

Lebanon, IL

8 p.m.

Ohio State

18-10,11-5MIVA

McKendree University

20-8,13-3MIVA

Ohio St.

McKendree

No. 3 Ohio State Advances to MIVA Finals

4/23/2025 9:43:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

The Buckeyes knocked off No. 2 McKendree, 3-0, will play in 29th MIVA Finals

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- No. 3 seed Ohio State (18-10) advanced to the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament Finals with a 3-0 win over No. 2 McKendree (20-8) Wednesday at the Melvin Price Convocation Center in Lebanon, Illinois.

Ohio State has played in the MIVA title match 28 times previously with 19 postseason tournament MIVA titles. The Buckeyes have won the last to MIVA tournament titles.

The Buckeyes will next face the No. 1 seed Loyola Chicago Ramblers Saturday in Chicago. Game time is set for 7 p.m. ET. The match will be streamed on ESPN+. Loyola Chicago defeated No. 4 seed Lewis, 3-1, to advance.

Against the Bearcats, Ohio State won by scores of 25-22, 25-19, 25-19.

First Team All-MIVA Shane Wetzel led the Buckeyes with 10 kills in the win to lead both teams. Wetzel also added seven digs, tied with setter Daniel Henwood Rodriguez, and a three aces.

Freshman Stanislaw Chacinski, a MIVA first teamer and league newcomer of the year, finished with nine kills, six digs and three blocks.

DHR, a second team All-MIVA honoree, paced the Buckeyes with 28 assists.

S3| Buckeyes win???????? pic.twitter.com/pTk2a1EOZH
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) April 24, 2025

How it Happened

Set 1 (OSU, 25-22)
The teams avoided separation until the Bearcats took a brief 6-4 lead. McKendree maintained a two-point edge. A Thomas Leahey ace tied it at 9-all. The Bearcats responded with two scores but a Shane Wetzel kill evened it at 11-all before a Stanislaw Chacinski back-row kill put the Buckeyes on top 12-11. A 4-1 run by the Buckeyes made it 17-14 after a pair of Chacinski kills. Daniel Henwood Rodriguez added an ace for an 18-14 lead. The Bearcats called timeout before an Ohio State service error made it 18-15. A Kyle Teune kill upped the lead to 20-16. The Bearcats scored the next three points to cut the Ohio State lead to one before an Ohio State timeout. The Buckeyes returned from the break and went up 24-19 after a McKendree error, a Wetzel kill and ace combo and another Bearcat error. McKendree then went on a 3-0 run. Ohio State called its final timeout before getting the win 25-22 on a McKendree service error. Chacinski led the way with five kills.

S1| BLOCKED.?? pic.twitter.com/Qfr5bFmctC
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) April 24, 2025

S1| Kyle Teune with the cross court kill?? pic.twitter.com/3gQZXmWGiZ
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) April 24, 2025

S1| Blocked by Chacinski?? pic.twitter.com/9dNZxugCFs
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) April 24, 2025

Set 2 (OSU, 25-19)
Wetzel started the second with an ace and a kill for a 2-1 Ohio State lead. The set remained tight through the first eight points before kills by Leahey and Chacinski and a Chacinski ace made it 7-4 Buckeyes. The Bearcats called their first timeout after a 4-1 Ohio State run. After an Ohio State service error, the Buckeyes scored the next four on a pair of Kyle Teune kills and two Bearcat errors for an 11-5 lead. After a McKendree kill, the Buckeyes scored four of the next five points for a 15-7 advantage. A Chacinski kill made it 17-9 Ohio State. Leahey, playing in his 100^th career match, got a solo block to double the lead to 18-9. The Bearcats called their final timeout of the set but the Buckeyes maintained pressure in building a 19-10 on a Leahey kill. After a Wetzel kill, McKendree used a 4-0 run to make it 20-15. Ohio State called timeout and came out to get kills by Chacinski and Cole Young to make it 22-16. A setter kill by DHR led to set point (24-17). The Buckeyes got the win, 25-19 after a short rally ended with a Bearcat error. Chacinski remained the Ohio State leader with nine kills ahead of seven from Wetzel.

S2| Ohio State wins the second 25-19! Buckeyes leading the match 2-0?? pic.twitter.com/wYo05LcvfM
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) April 24, 2025

S2| Buckeyes win the rally with a setter dump from Henwood-Rodriguez! pic.twitter.com/K177ONBlLt
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) April 24, 2025

S2| Shane Wetzel ace?? pic.twitter.com/DgC1dh92KV
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) April 24, 2025

Set 3 (OSU, 25-19)
An early 4-1 run by the Buckeyes put the Buckeyes up 4-2 and then another 3-1 run made it 8-5 Buckeyes after kills by Teune and Wetzel. Another Teune kill led to a Bearcat timeout with Ohio State leading 9-5. A Wetzel kill maintained Ohio State's lead at four, 12-8. Young added a kill and combined with DHR for a block for a 14-9 Buckeye lead. McKendree used a 3-0 run to make it 14-12. Another Leahey solo block follow by a kill from the middle upped Ohio State's lead to 18-14. The Buckeyes were the first to 20 after a couple Bearcat errors made it 20-16. McKendree called timeout after a kill by Young made it 22-16 Buckeyes. Ohio State then got the match (3-1) and set victory (25-19) to advance to the MIVA title match Saturday.