Thursday, January 29
Los Angeles, CA
10 p.m.
Ohio State
at
UCLA
Photo by: Kirk Irwin
No. 13 Ohio State Set for Pair of Top 5 West Coast Battles
1/27/2026 12:00:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Buckeyes face No. 1 UCLA Thursday, No. 4 USC Friday
No. 13 Ohio State vs. No. 1 UCLA, No. 4 USC
Dates: Jan. 29/30
Times: 10 p.m. ET (Both Matches)
Venues/Tickets: Pauley Pavilion/Galen Center
Watch: BTN/B1G+
Live Stats: at UCLA/at USC
COLUMBUS, Ohio – After securing its fourth win of the season, No. 13 Ohio State (4-1) travels to Los Angeles to face undefeated Big Ten rivals UCLA (6-0) and USC (4-0) Thursday (10 p.m./BTN) and Friday (10 p.m./B1G+). The match against the Bruins will be contested at Pauley Pavilion before the Trojans host the Buckeyes at the Galen Center.
This is the start of five-of-six matches away from home for the Buckeyes. Ohio State will open the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) season Feb. 5 at first-year member Northern Kentucky. A home match against Central State Feb. 8 sets up a pair league road matches at Queens Feb. 13-14.
Dates: Jan. 29/30
Times: 10 p.m. ET (Both Matches)
Venues/Tickets: Pauley Pavilion/Galen Center
Watch: BTN/B1G+
Live Stats: at UCLA/at USC
COLUMBUS, Ohio – After securing its fourth win of the season, No. 13 Ohio State (4-1) travels to Los Angeles to face undefeated Big Ten rivals UCLA (6-0) and USC (4-0) Thursday (10 p.m./BTN) and Friday (10 p.m./B1G+). The match against the Bruins will be contested at Pauley Pavilion before the Trojans host the Buckeyes at the Galen Center.
This is the start of five-of-six matches away from home for the Buckeyes. Ohio State will open the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) season Feb. 5 at first-year member Northern Kentucky. A home match against Central State Feb. 8 sets up a pair league road matches at Queens Feb. 13-14.
- Ohio State stands firm at No.13 in the AVCA poll after their sweep (3-0) of Lincoln Memorial last week.
- Ohio State and the Bruins have split the last four meetings with the Buckeyes winning 3-2 and 3-1 the last two years at the First Point Collegiate Challenge in Austin, Texas. Ohio State has won eight of the last 10 meetings against the Trojans.
- The last time out, Ohio State defeated Lincoln Memorial in Columbus, 3-0, to improve to 4-1 on the year. Shane Wetzel led with 12 kills, Stanislaw Chacinski added 10. Eliel Salva-Torres, a transfer from LMU, added nine kills and six blocks in the win.
- The Buckeyes are facing four ranked foes in a five-match stretch after a split with No. 20 George Mason (W, 3-0) and No. 2 Long Beach State (L, 3-1) before the LMU match.
- Ohio State handed The Beach its first set loss of the season to take a 1-0 lead in the match before LBSU rallied for the win.
- Wetzel led Ohio State with 31 kills vs. GMU and LBSU while hitting .333. Chacinski added 24 kills, 12 digs and three blocks. Classmate Drew Hudson posted 22 digs, including a career best 12 against the Patriots.
- Following a team vote, Wetzel and Hudson were named captains for the 2026 season. Hudson is the first sophomore to earn captain honors in the history of the program.
- Wetzel currently ranks 13th in Ohio State history with 1,077 kills for his career. He and sophomore Stan Chacinski were named to the 2026 preseason All-MIVA squad.
- Wetzel and Chacinski both were recognized as 2025 AVCA Honorable Mention All-Americans after earning 2025 postseason Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association honors. In addition, the MIVA coaches voted Ohio State in the No. 2 position in the league 2026 preseason poll.
- In his seventh season, Kevin Burch achieved his 100th win as Ohio State's head coach (100-63) with the victory against Lincoln Memorial (3-0). Securing the win last Friday gave Burch win No. 100 to go with one regular-season MIVA title, a pair of league tournament championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
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