No. 12 Ohio State Opens Weekend at NKU, Host Central State Sunday

No. 12 Ohio State vs. NKU and Central State
Dates: Feb. 5/8
Times: 7/3 p.m. ET
Venues/Tickets: Regents Hall/Covelli Center
Watch: ESPN+/B1G+
Live Stats: at NKU/vs CSU

COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 12 Ohio State (4-3) opens Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association play on the road Thursday (7 p.m./ESPN+) at Northern Kentucky (1-3) before returning to the Covelli Center Sunday (3p.m./B1G+) to host non-conference foe Central State (1-5).

The match against the Norse, the first for NKU as a member of the MIVA, will be held at Regents Hall on Northern Kentucky's campus.

After hosting the Marauders Sunday, the Buckeyes will hop back on the road to take on MIVA rival Queens University of Charlotte Feb. 13, 15. The next Ohio State home game will be Feb. 19 against Ball State.
Ohio State moves up to No. 12 in the AVCA poll after putting up a fight but coming up short in both matches to No. 1 UCLA and No. 4 USC.
This is NKU's inaugural season, and the first time the Norse will face the Buckeyes. Ohio State is 4-0 against Central State all-time and has not lost a set in the previous four outings.
Ohio State showed resilience in an NCAA record-breaking 48-46 set 2 at UCLA. The Buckeyes gave the Trojans their first five-set match of the season as well.
Shane Wetzel led Ohio State with 34 kills and added 18 digs vs. UCLA and USC. Stanislaw Chacinski had 33 kills and 14 digs. Classmate Drew Hudson posted 19 digs in the two matchups, including a career-best 14 against USC.
Owen Pickering earned a starting spot and had a career high of 12 digs vs. USC with seven more added against UCLA.
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 13^th in Ohio State history with 1,111 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 (100-65) with the victory against Lincoln Memorial (3-0). Securing the win against the Railsplitters 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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