Ohio State Meets Loyola Chicago for 2025 MIVA Title Saturday

No. 15/3-seed Ohio State at No. 6/1-seed Loyola Chicago
Date: Saturday, April 26
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Gentile Arena
NCAA Championships Tickets: Here
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Rosters: Ohio State | Loyola Chicago
Season Stats: Ohio State | Loyola Chicago | MIVA | NCAA
Match Notes: Ohio State | Loyola Chicago

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- No. 15 Ohio State (18-10) will battle for its third-consecutive Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament Title with it takes on No. 1 seed Loyola Chicago at 7 p.m. Saturday in Gentile Arena on the Ramblers campus. Ohio State is the No. 3 seed and has won each of the last two league tournament crowns as the third seed.

The winner of the match Saturday will be the MIVA automatic qualifier into the 2025 NCAA Championships. Ohio State will be the host of the NCAA Tournament May 8-12 at the Covelli Center in Columbus.

The Buckeyes will be playing for their third-consecutive MIVA Tournament title when they face No. 1 seed Loyola Chicago Saturday. Ohio State, the No. 3 seed, defeated No. 2 McKendree last Wednesday 3-0 to advance.
Ohio State was the No. 3 seed in the 2024 MIVA Tournament after finishing third in the regular-season league race with an 11-5 record. The Buckeyes won their 19th overall MIVA Tournament Title with a 3-1 win over No. 4 seed Lindenwood April 20, 2024.
This is Ohio State's 29 MIVA Tournament title match appearance.
Ohio State played in the MIVA finals in consecutive seasons (2023-24) for the first time since the Buckeyes won three-consecutive titles from 2016-17-18. The Buckeyes defeated Ball State on the road for the 2023 championship. Ohio State has won consecutive MIVA Tournament titles 10 times its history.
In Ohio State's last nine appearances in the MIVA Title match, the Buckeyes are 9-0 and have won 12 of the last 13 title match appearances.
Setter Michael Wright was named the MVP of the 2024 MIVA Tournament. He, along with senior Jacob Pasteur and Shane Wetzel, earned spots on the 2024 All-MIVA Tournament team. Wright also won MIVA Tournament MVP in 2023.
The Buckeyes advanced to the semifinals of the 2025 MIVA Tournament with a 3-1 win over No. 6 Lindenwood in the quarterfinals last Saturday in Columbus.
Most recently against the Bearcats, Shane Wetzel led with 10 kills with Stanislaw Chacinski next with nine.
Wetzel led the Buckeyes with 16 kills, good enough for 1,000 for his career, in the win against Lindenwood. He also had 11 digs, four aces and a pair of blocks.
Four Buckeyes were recognized for their 2025 seasons by Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Coaches with all-league awards. Senior Cole Young, junior Shane Wetzel and freshman Stanislaw Chacinski were all named First Team All-MIVA. Freshman setter Daniel Henwood Rodriguez was placed on the All-MIVA Second Team. Chacinski claimed the Newcomer of the Year award.
Buckeyes have earned MIVA Newcomer of the Year award seven times. Wetzel was the last to claim the honor in 2023.
Ohio State has won its last seven matches, including four vs. Top 15 opponents, heading into the 2025 MIVA Final match against No. 6 Loyola. In addition, the Buckeyes own 12 victories in the last 14 outings.
Ohio State earned wins over No. 10 McKendree (3-2), No. 15 Ball State (3-1) and No. 14 Lewis (3-1) before a road sweep in two matches at Quincy prior to the start of MIVA tournament action.
Wetzel was named the MIVA Co-Offensive Player of the Week along with the league's defensive player of the week after the regular-season ending wins at Quincy. Against the Hawks, Wetzel recorded 40 kills, two aces and 20 digs.
Wetzel recorded 38 kills, eight aces and 20 digs in the wins over Ball State and Lewis to end the regular-season home schedule. The effort earned him the AVCA National Player of the Week and the MIVA Offensive Player of the Week. Buckeyes have won the weekend AVCA honor 23 times all-time. Jacob Pasture was the last to earn the honor in 2024.
Ohio State reached 10 wins in league play for the third-consecutive season. Ohio State won 11 MIVA matches in both 2023 and 2024. The Buckeyes won the MIVA postseason tournament in each of the last two years to advance to the NCAA championships. In all, Ohio State has won 10 or more matches during regular-season conference play 26 times.
Several Buckeyes are putting together successful seasons statistically. Below are some individual milestones reached last weekend and on the horizon as well as positions on career records charts entering play this week.
DHR's effort against the McKendree in Columbus earned him the MIVA Defensive Player of the Week. He also added five kills, 50 assists, an ace and two blocks in the win.
The victory over then No. 10 McKendree was the first over a Top 10 opponent in Columbus since a 3-0 win over No. 10 Loyola Chicago April 8. 2023.
Chacinski led the Buckeyes with 21 kills against the Bearcats, a career-high.
In the regular-season home finale against Lewis April 5, Ohio State recognized its seniors during pregame ceremonies. The careers and contributions of Kohl Kutsch, Thomas Leahey, Hudson Harris, Grant Strong, Kyle Teune and Cole Young were celebrated.
Kevin Burch, head coach of the Buckeyes, added assistant coach Steven Duhoux (Doo-HOE) 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.
Wetzel moved into the Top 20 in career kills with 25 total at Ball State and Purdue Fort Wayne. He has 1,010 career kills in 297 sets for an average of 3.40 per set. His career kills total ranks 17th in the Ohio State record book. He is the 18th Buckeye all-time to reach 1,000 career kills.
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).
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.
Cole Young reached 700 kills with six at Quincy April 11. He has 719 from the middle in 117 career matches played.
Ohio State's losses this season have all come to teams currently ranked among the Top 18 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 Loyola Chicago, the Buckeyes own an overall record of 44-31 with a road record of 12-20. The Ramblers won both regular-season meetings in 2025 by 3-1 scores. Wetzel hit .324 with 36 kills in those matches with Chacinski adding 33 kills while hitting .407.

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