No. 14 Ohio State Starts 2026 with 3-0 Win over Central State

Thursday, January 8

7 p.m.

Ohio State

1-0,0-0MIVA

Central State University

0-1,0-0SIAC

Central St. (OH)

Ohio St.

Photo by: Kirk Irwin

No. 14 Ohio State Starts 2026 with 3-0 Win over Central State

1/8/2026 8:35:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Buckeyes back at home Friday vs. NJIT

COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 14 Ohio State (1-0) opened the 2026 season Thursday at home with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-22, 25-16) win over Central State (0-1) at the Covelli Center.

The Buckeyes were led in kills by Shane Wetzel and Daniel Hurley with six each.

Sophomore Daniel Henwood Rodriguez recorded 22 assists to go with six digs. Classmate Drew Hudson also contributed with six digs.

Hurley returned to action after missing the majority of the 2025 season with injury. He also had a pair of aces in the opener.

Eliel Salva-Torres made his Ohio State debut following a transfer from Lincoln Memorial. He was in the starting lineup at middle blocker.

Freshmen Christian Teresi and Brady Jones also saw their first action as Buckeyes.

Buckeyes win in 3!

GoBucks pic.twitter.com/1BJ2hL1HaO
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) January 9, 2026

Set 1 (OSU 25-13)
After a 3-all start, Ohio State scored on kills by Daniel Hurley kill and Shane Wetzel for a 5-3 lead. Consecutive Hurley aces upped the lead to 8-4 Buckeyes. Kills by Wetzel and Hurley ended a 5-1 Ohio State run with the Buckeyes leading 11-5. A Stanislaw Chacinski ace and Wetzel kill made it a double digit lead at 17-7. Ohio State reached 20 points on a Marauder error and finished the match on a Central State error to win 25-13.

Hurley with the kill! Buckeyes up after set 1#GOBUCKS pic.twitter.com/TtcYyDyLEi
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) January 9, 2026

Set 2 (OSU, 25-22)
The Marauders built a 5-4 lead before an Aaron Grimm/Chacinski block evened the match at 5-all. The Buckeyes built a 17-12 lead on a Chacinski kill. The Marauders closed the gap at 19-17 Buckeyes on a Wetzel error. The Buckeyes increased the lead to 22-17 on three-consecutive Central State errors before a Marauder timeout. Central State scored out of the break on kill by Jaedyn Harris and made it 23-21 Buckeyes with an ace. An Eliel Salva-Torres kill and the set-winning kill by setter Daniel Henwood Rodriguez put Ohio State up, 2-0, with a 25-22 second-set victory.

Buckeyes on top 2-0!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/wm1S4VkWUd
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) January 9, 2026

Set 3 (OSU, 25-16)
An Owen Pickering ace put the Buckeyes up early 6-0. A Brady Jones ace made it 9-1 Ohio State. Jack O'Riordan and Salva-Torres added a block for a 10-1 advantage. An O'Riordan kill ended a Marauder 4-0 run to make it 11-5 Buckeyes. A tip kill by Henwood Rodriguez upped Ohio State's advantage to 15-8 at the media timeout. A Pickering kill and Christian Teresi ace increased the lead to 17-9 Buckeyes. The Marauders scored the next two before a CSU error and Tyler Tharpe/Brady Jones block along with another Marauder error made it 20-11 Buckeyes. Ohio State finished off the set, 25-16, to win the match 3-0.