Ohio State
4-3,0-0MIVA
University of Southern California
5-0,1-0MPSF
No. 13 Ohio State Drops 5-setter to No. 4 USC
1/31/2026 1:15:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Buckeyes open MIVA season at Northern Kentucky Feb. 5
COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 13 Ohio State (4-3) completed its West Coast travels at No. 4 Southern California (4-0) Friday with a 3-2 loss at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.
The Buckeyes fell by scores of 19-25, 25-21, 27-25, 25-27, 11-15.
Ohio State was led in kills by Stanislaw Chacinski with 22, a career high. Shane Wetzel chipped in with 15. Daniel Henwood Rodriguez was credited with 47 assists.
Drew Hudson set a career high with 14 digs. Owen Pickering added 10, also a career high.
The Buckeyes completed a five-match stretch with four against ranked teams. Three of those games were 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. No. 1 UCLA defeated the the Buckeyes 3-0 Thursday before the match at No. 4 USC.
Set 1 (USC, 25-19)
A kill by Daniel Henwood Rodriguez put the Buckeyes on the board early to make it 1-all. A successful challenge by Ohio State gave the Buckeyes the lead at 3-2. The Trojans went on a small run at took a 6-3 advantage. A couple of kills by Stanislaw Chacinski kept the Buckeyes close at 7-5 Trojans. Owen Pickering's kill got Ohio State within one at 11-10. Another mini run by the Trojans stretched their lead to 14-11. A kill by Shane Wetzel started to close the gap at 16-14 USC. The Trojans were first to 20 points before an Ohio State timeout at 20-15. A kill by Eliel Salva-Torres gave the Buckeyes a strong start out of the timeout to make it 20-16 Trojans. USC then finished off the match to win 25-19. Chacinski led the Buckeyes with six kills in the opening set. S1 | Eliel gets up!@GoBucks pic.twitter.com/OvpssXnMkf
Set 2 (OSU, 25-21)
A kill by Chacinski gave the Buckeyes a great start to the second set with a 2-1 lead. Three more kills by Chacinski gave Ohio State the lead at 8-5. A 4-1 run by the Trojans tied the set at 9-all before another kill by Chacinski gave the Buckeyes the edge at 10-9. Henwood Rodriguez's service ace put the Buckeyes up 13-11. USC tied it at 13-all before another strong kill by Chacinski put Ohio State up 16-15 after the media timeout. A fourth successful challenge by the Buckeyes continued the built Ohio State's lead to 19-17. A kill by Aaron Grimm gave Ohio State a 20-18 lead. Another kill by Wetzel forced a Trojan timeout with Ohio State leading 22-19. A kill by Grimm led to set point for the Buckeyes leading 24-20. Ohio State won the set 25-21 on a kill by Brady Jones. S2 | DHR gets the Ace!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/kncNXXjANM
Set 3 (OSU, 27-25)
Brady Jones tied the set early at 2-all with a kill. A kill by Wetzel kept it within one at 5-4 Trojans. A free ball by USC set the Buckeyes up perfectly for a Chacinski backrow kill to tie it at 5 all. A service ace by Wetzel put the Buckeyes in the lead to force a USC timeout at 9-7. Jones upped the Ohio State lead to 11-8 with another kill. A setter dump by Henwood Rodriguez kept Ohio State's edge at 12-10. Wetzel increased the lead with an overpass kill (14-11). Wetzel forced another USC timeout with Ohio State ahead 19-16. A few unforced errors by USC upped the Buckeye lead to 21-18. A huge block by Jones and Henwood Rodriguez made the score 22-19. A service error by the Trojans gave Ohio State their first set point at 24-22. USC scored to send the set to overtime before a Buckeye timeout at 24-all. Another Wetzel kill gave Ohio State their second set point at 25-24. The Buckeyes then took the set, 27-25.
S3 | Shane gets the clutch kill! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/iyrZSsBOZ6
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) January 31, 2026
S3 | Ace by Shane puts the bucks up 9-7!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/QtdEPzUawu
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) January 31, 2026
Set 4 (USC, 27-25)
Ohio State won the first marathon point of the set to take a 2-1 lead. Another huge Buckeye block by Chacinski and Jones upped the advantage to 3-1. Hudson contributed a pair of strong digs that kept the Buckeye energy alive with a 6-4 edge. Another gritty play by Ohio State ended in a kill by Jones kept the Buckeyes ahead 8-7. Another huge dig by Hudson gave the Buckeyes the opportunity for another Chacinski and Jones block with USC leading 11-10. A kill by Pickering and a service ace by Grimm gave Ohio State the lead at 16-15. The Buckeyes and Trojans alternated points with Grimm adding a kill that tied the set at 23-all. A USC service error sent the set to overtime before a Trojan timeout at 24-all. The Trojans rallied and took the set, 27-25.
S4 | Owen's turn!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/raiZuyenJU
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) January 31, 2026
Set 5 (USC, 15-11)
The Trojans started the fifth set with a 2-0 lead. Another successful Buckeye challenge put Ohio State on the board to make it 2-1. Chacinski kept the Buckeyes in it with another kill before a much-needed kill by Pickering kept Ohio State within two at 7-5 USC. A few unforced errors by Ohio State gave the Trojans a 10-6 lead. Wetzel kept the Buckeyes within three points at 11-8 Trojans with a big kill. Chacinski fought to close the scoring gap with two-consecutive kills to cut it to 12-10 USC. The Trojans then finished off the send and the match with a 15-11 set five victory.
S5 | Kill by Stan!
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) January 31, 2026
##GoBucks pic.twitter.com/J3P6gkmNcU
Up Next:
Ohio State opens the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association season at Northern Kentucky Thursday (7 p.m./Fanduel SN). This is the first season for the Norse playing as a member of the MIVA.
#GoBucks
