No. 16 Buckeyes Fall to No. 10 Cardinals in Four Sets

Thursday, March 12

Muncie, IN

6 p.m.

Ohio State

9-9,4-6MIVA

Ball State University

17-3,8-2MIVA

Ohio St.

Ball St.

No. 16 Buckeyes Fall to No. 10 Cardinals in Four Sets

3/12/2026 8:22:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

Ohio State Continues Indiana Road-trip at Purdue Fort Wayne Saturday

By: Kaiya Kakita, Ohio State Athletics Communications

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 16 Buckeyes (9-9, 4-6) dropped their match against No. 10 Ball State (17-3, 8-2) on Thursday night at Worthen Arena.

Ball State took an early lead in the first set, Ohio State fought back to tie it, but the Cardinals took the first set 25-20. The Buckeyes held the lead during the majority of the second set, winning it in extra points, 28-26. Ball State took sets three and four with scores of 25-18 and 25-23.

Stanislaw Chacinski led Ohio State in kills with 13 to overtake his milestone of 500 career kills (511). Daniel Hurley followed close behind with 12 kills.

Aaron Grimm recorded four blocks to lead the team, and 10 kills, hitting .833 in the match.

Shane Wetzel totaled 11 kills in this game and 1,199 in his career. He also added seven digs for the Buckeyes.

Set 1 (25-20, BSU)

The two teams started the first set close, 1-1. The Cardinals went on a 4-0 run that gave them a small advantage, 5-1. A massive block by Eliel Salva-Torres and Stanislaw Chacinski started to close the scoring gap, 5-3. A kill by Chacinski continued to close the scoring gap, 13-8. The Cardinals held the lead going into the media timeout, 15-10. Consecutive kills by Daniel Hurley kept the Buckeyes in it, 17-14. A huge service ace by Daniel Henwood Rodriguez moved Ohio State closer to the Cardinals, 17-15. A service ace by Hurley put Ohio State within one-point and forced a Ball State timeout, 18-17. Another kill by Hurley tied the first set at 18-all, overcoming a five-point deficit. The Cardinals went on a short run for a four-point lead, 22-18. Shane Wetzel tooled off the block for the kill, 22-19. Ball State took the first set, 25-20.

Set 2 (28-26, OSU)

Aaron Grimm started the second set strong with a kill, 1-0. Skilled attack placement by Owen Pickering continued the Buckeyes' lead, 3-1. Great block coverage by Ohio State and a kill by Hurley preserved the two-point lead, 6-4. Consecutive kills by Grimm extended the Buckeyes' lead, 8-5. Two back-to-back blocks by Hurley and Grimm, then Tyler Tharpe and Grimm, gave Ohio State a five-point advantage, 10-5. An overpass kill by Salva-Torres kept the Buckeyes in the lead, 14-10. A huge backrow attack by Chacinski gave Ohio State back the five-point advantage, 15-10. Phenomenal effort in a long rally ended in a kill by Tharpe, 16-10. The Buckeyes extended their lead to seven-points with another kill by Tharpe, 18-11. Ball State chipped away at Ohio State's lead, 21-18. The Cardinals tied set two at 21-all. A kill by Wetzel put the Buckeyes up by one-point, 23-22. Another kill by Chacinski gave Ohio State their first set point, 24-23. In multiple extra points, a kill by Chacinski won the second set for the Buckeyes, 28-26.

Set 3 (25-18, BSU)

Ball State went on a short run to start the third set, 3-0. Salva-Torres put Ohio State on the scoreboard, 3-1. A kill by Wetzel kept the Buckeyes in it, 6-3. The Cardinals continued their lead, 9-5. Hurley put up a massive backrow kill that started to close the scoring gap, 11-7. Another backrow kill by Chacinski inched Ohio State closer to Ball State's lead, 15-10. A kill by Salva-Torres kept the energy alive for the Buckeyes, 20-14. Wetzel put up another kill that continued to close the scoring gap, 24-18. The Cardinals took the third set, 25-18.

Set 4 (25-23, BSU)

Hurley started the fourth set with a kill, 1-0. Grimm kept Ohio State in the lead with an overpass kill, 2-1. A second service ace by Henwood Rodriguez extended the Buckeyes' lead, 4-1. An out-of-system attack by Chacinski kept Ohio State's advantage, 5-4. A kill by Henwood Rodriguez on an overpass extended the advantage to four-points, 10-6. Another skilled attack by Chacinski preserved the lead, 11-9. Wetzel put down a deep corner shot that continued Ohio State's advantage, 12-10. Ball State held a one-point advantage going into the media timeout, 15-14. A massive block by Grimm and Hurley put the Buckeyes within one-point, 20-19. Hurley tied the set at 20-all with another kill. The Cardinals took set four, 25-23.

Up Next: The Buckeyes will play again at 2 p.m. ET Saturday at Gates Sports Center against another MIVA rival, No. 19 Purdue Fort Wayne (9-6, 4-4).

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