Resilient Buckeyes Fall to No. 1 UCLA, 3-0

Thursday, January 29

Los Angeles, CA

10 p.m.

Ohio State

4-2,0-0MIVA

UCLA

8-0,2-0MPSF

Ohio St.

UCLA

Photo by: Kirk Irwin

Resilient Buckeyes Fall to No. 1 UCLA, 3-0

1/30/2026 12:10:00 AM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

Ohio State remains in LA, face No. 4 USC Friday

By: Kaiya Kakita, Ohio State Athletics Communications

COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 13 Ohio State (4-2) fell in the first of two-consecutive matches against Top 5 foes at No. 1 UCLA (8-0) Thursday at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. The Bruins won 3-0 in a tightly contest battle.

Ohio State takes on No. 4 Southern California Friday.

The Bruins won by scores of 25-21, 48-46, 25-20). The score in the second set established an NCAA record for most points in a set at 94. The previous record was 88 points in a 45-43 win (3-0) by No. 9 Grand Canyon over No. 1 BYU Feb. 25, 2021, in Phoenix, Arizona.

Ohio State was led in kills against the Bruins by Shane Wetzel with 19. Stanislaw Chacinski added 11. Daniel Henwood Rodriguez recorded 48 assists and six digs. Wetzel led the Buckeyes in digs with 10.

The Buckeyes are in a five-match stretch with four against ranked teams. Three of those games are against Top 5 foes. Ohio State started with a 3-0 win over No. 20 George Mason before a 3-1 loss to No. 2 Long Beach State in Columbus. The Buckeyes will face No. 4 Southern California Friday (10 p.m./B1G+).

The match at UCLA was the first in a five-game stretch of road matches for the Buckeyes.

Set 1 (UCLA, 25-21)
The Buckeyes scored first with an Eliel Salva-Torres kill. After a short lead by the Bruins, Stanislaw Chacinski ripped a kill to tie the game at 3-all. Owen Pickering cut into another small lead by the Bruins with a kill on the outside to make it 7-6 Bruins. A smart play by Shane Wetzel that ended in a kill by Aaron Grimm kept the Buckeyes within one, 9-8. A net violation by UCLA tied the set at 10-all. The Bruins went on a 4-1 run to make the score 17-14. Kills by Grimm and Pickering started closing the scoring gap again at 19-17. Another kill by Pickering kept Ohio State within three at 22-19. UCLA then won the set on its second set-point attempt, 25-21. Ohio State hit .591 in the opening set while UCLA hit at a .667 clip.

S1 | Hustle play by Drew leads to another kill by Owen!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/lHNDceXLcW
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) January 30, 2026

Set 2 (UCLA, 48-46)
Two Bruin net violations gave the Buckeyes an early 2-0 lead. A huge block by Pickering shut down UCLA for the first block of the match and a 3-0 advantage. The Bruins went on a 4-1 run to tie the game at 4-all. A kill by Wetzel gave Ohio State a 6-5 lead. Another big time kill by Wetzel gave the Buckeyes a two-point lead, 10-8. Great block coverage by Ohio State and another net violation tied the game at 11-all. Wetzel took the lead for the Buckeyes with another kill, 12-11. A smart swing by Chacinski made the score 15-13 Ohio State. UCLA called their first timeout after a kill by Grimm gave the Buckeyes a three-point lead, 17-14. A great serve reception by Drew Hudson set up Wetzel for the kill and a 19-16 edge. The Buckeyes were first to 20 points after a Salva-Torres kill, 20-18. The Bruins tied it at 22-all. Another kill by Grimm gave Ohio State their first set point, 24-23. UCLA took it to overtime with a kill to make it 24-all. The Buckeyes got their third set point after a Wetzel kill, 26-25. A successful joust by Daniel Henwood Rodriguez gave the Buckeyes set point No. 4, 27-26. The Bruins responded to every Buckeye set point until they got a set point of their own at 29-28. Mutual service errors tied the set at 30-all. The Bruins found themselves with their fourth set point, until a kill off the block by Chacinski tied it at 32-all. Grimm tied it at 35 with another kill. A skilled set by Henwood Rodriguez set Wetzel up perfectly for the kill to make it 36-all. The Buckeyes tied it at 40 all with a Chacinski kill. The teams then set an NCAA record for most extra points in a single set after the Bruins took the set 48-46 (94 points over 58 minutes). Ohio State had seven chances at set point while the Bruins finished with 17. The previous record for points in a set was in a 45-43 win by No. 9 Grand Canyon over No. 1 BYU in February of 2021.

S2 | Shane's still going in set 2!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/ASVqeGv9Gz
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) January 30, 2026

S2 | Eliel ties it at 43!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/WJ6S7zFEeV
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) January 30, 2026

Set 3 (UCLA, 25-20)
Grimm gave the Buckeyes a great start with a kill and ace to go up 2-0. Another kill by Pickering made it 4-1. The Bruins went on a 6-0 run that gave them the lead at 10-5. Great defense by Hudson gave Wetzel the foundation he needed for a kill to cut it to 12-10 Bruins. A backrow kill by Chacinski kept the Buckeyes in it at 13-11 Bruins. A small run by the Bruins led to an Ohio State timeout at 19-13. A setter dump by Henwood Rodriguez kept the Buckeyes close at 19-17 Bruins. UCLA was first to 20 points at 20-17. The Bruins got to their first match point on a Buckeye service error (24-19). The Buckeyes made ti 24-20 with the block but the Bruins took the set 25-20 to win the match.

S3 | Stan gets us going in Set 3!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/MDgqAQtgXe
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) January 30, 2026

S3 | Block by Owen!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/YIuIGT2TwL
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) January 30, 2026

Up Next:
Ohio State remains in Los Angeles for a match at No. 4 Southern California Friday. Match time is set for 10 p.m. ET with B1G+ providing the live stream.

#GoBucks