Buckeyes Come Up Short Against No. 13 McKendree

Saturday, March 7

5 p.m.

Ohio State

9-8,4-5MIVA

McKendree University

10-7,5-4MIVA

McKendree

Ohio St.

Buckeyes Come Up Short Against No. 13 McKendree

3/7/2026 7:05:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

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Ohio State Will Travel to No. 9 Ball State, No. 19 Purdue Fort Wayne Next Week

By: Kaiya Kakita, Ohio State Athletics Communications

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 15 Buckeyes (9-8, 4-5) were defeated by the No. 13 Bearcats (10-7, 5-4) in three sets on Saturday afternoon at the Covelli Center.

The first set was tight between the two teams, ultimately McKendree took it 25-23. The second set went to extra points, the Bearcats took the set 31-29. The third set was won by McKendree in another tough battle, 25-23.

Daniel Hurley and Shane Wetzel led Ohio State in kills with 10 each. Eliel Salva-Torres and Stanislaw Chacinski added eight apiece.

The team put up 20 total blocks over three sets. Ohio State was led by Salva-Torres with six blocks.

Sophomore Drew Hudson led the team in digs with 12. Hurley added 11 digs and four blocks.

Setter Daniel Henwood Rodriguez recorded 31 assists, six digs and four blocks.

Set 1 (25-23, MCK)

Ohio State and McKendree started the match close, with a kill by Shane Wetzel putting the Buckeyes ahead by one-point, 3-2. Eliel Salva-Torres continued the lead with an overpass kill, 5-3. A service ace by Daniel Hurley kept the Buckeyes' lead going, 6-3. Stanislaw Chacinski had a huge kill to preserve the two-point advantage, 8-6. The Bearcats went on a 3-1 run to tie the set at 9-all. Wetzel put up a service ace of his own, 12-10. McKendree went on a 5-1 run for the lead, 14-13. Another service ace by Hurley tied the set at 14-all. A massive backrow kill by Hurley put Ohio State within one-point, 16-15. The Bearcats extended their lead before the Buckeyes called a timeout, 19-16. The Buckeyes went on a 3-0 run to tie the set at 20-all. McKendree took a hold of the lead, 23-21. The Bearcats took the first set, 25-23.

S1 | Dan gets one! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/XahDqL1GqR
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) March 7, 2026

S1 | Eliel Ace! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/XnAq1vnz44
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) March 7, 2026

Set 2 (31-29, MCK)

McKendree started the second set with a 3-1 lead. A massive block by Salva-Torres, Hurley and Chacinski put Ohio State within one-point, 4-3. A kill by Chacinski on the outside tied the set at 6-all. Another huge block by Salva-Torres and Hurley gave the Buckeyes their first lead of the set, 9-8. Hurley put down a kill from the outside for the 11-10 lead. A setter dump by Daniel Henwood Rodriguez extended the Ohio State lead, 12-10. The Bearcats took back the lead with a 5-0 run, 15-12. Another service ace by Hurley continued to close the scoring gap, 15-14. A massive block by Salva-Torres and Henwood Rodriguez tied the set at 15-all. Drew Hudson's hustle saved the play for a block by Salva-Torres and Henwood Rodriguez, 16-15. Another huge kill on the outside from Chacinski gave Ohio State a three-point advantage, 18-15. McKendree took back the lead, 21-20. The Buckeyes took back the lead with a kill by Hurley, 23-22. The set went to extra points following a kill by Salva-Torres, 24-all. Another kill by Wetzel from the right-side gave Ohio State the lead, 26-25. Chacinski gave the Buckeyes another set point with a kill, 27-26. An out-of-system kill by Wetzel kept Ohio State's advantage, 29-28. The Bearcats took set two 31-29.

S2 | Big block to start set 2! #GoBucsk pic.twitter.com/Sjbqv5efcY
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) March 7, 2026

S2 | Kill by Stan! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/XmTxkFyuIR
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) March 7, 2026

Set 3 (25-23, MCK)

A huge backrow kill by Chacinski started the third set strong to tie it at 2-all. A successful challenge by the Buckeyes kept the tie, 3-all. A massive kill by Grimm out of the middle preserved the tie further, 5-5. A service ace by Chacinski gave Ohio State the lead, 6-5. Salva-Torres' seventh kill put the Buckeyes within one-point, 10-9. A huge kill by Hurley from the outside gave Ohio State the advantage, 11-10. Another great block by Chacinski, Salva-Torres and Henwood Rodriguez tied the set at 13-all. The Bearcats took a one-point lead with a 4-2 run, 15-14. Wetzel tied it for the Buckeyes with a kill following the media timeout, 15-all. Another kill from Wetzel continued Ohio State's lead, 18-17. A huge block by Salva-Torres and Wetzel extended the Buckeyes' lead, 19-17. Salva-Torres put down another kill to preserve Ohio State's lead, 20-19. A few service errors from both teams put McKendree up, 24-23. The Bearcats took set three with a score of 25-23.

S3 | AG fires a dart and gets the kill! #GoBucks ?? pic.twitter.com/yGkATWMX8a
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) March 7, 2026

Next up: No. 15 Ohio State will head to Indiana for two matches at 6 p.m. on March 12 at No. 9 Ball State and at 2 p.m. on March 14 at No. 19 Purdue Fort Wayne.

#GoBucks