No. 14 Buckeyes Fall 3-2 to No. 9 Grand Canyon

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No. 14 Ohio State vs. George Mason

Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 14 Ohio State (1-2) went five sets with No. 9 Grand Canyon (2-0) Saturday but fell to the Antelopes 3-2 (25-23, 18-25, 23-25, 15-18, 10-15) at the Patriot Invitational in Fairfax, Virginia.

Ohio State will face host George Mason at 3 p.m. Sunday (ESPN+).

Junior Jacob Pasteur led the Buckeyes with 20 kills with senior Samuel Clark next with 17. Pasteur also led the way with eight digs. Junior Michael Wright led both teams with 53 assists.

Set One

The Buckeyes took a 5-4 lead and kept the advantage to lead 15-13 at a media timeout. Ohio State upped the lead to 17-14 prompting an Antelopes timeout. Grand Canyon tied the match at 18-all before the Buckeyes went back up 19-18 on a Jacob Pasteur kill. Another Pasteur kill made it 22-20 Buckeyes. At set point, Grand Canyon called its second timeout after Pasteur and Samuel Clark kills made it 24-22 Buckeyes. Ohio State then closed out the set to win, 25-23. The Buckeyes hit .538 in the first set with Pasteur and Clark leading with six kills each.

Set Two

Grand Canyon got out to a 3-1 edge. The Lopes upped the lead to 6-2. Ohio State chipped away and drew to within 12-10 GCU on a Clark kill after a Lopes service error. Grand Canyon then scored three of the next five points for a 15-12 lead at the media timeout. Down 18-14, Ohio State called timeout but the Buckeyes could not get closer than four points the reminder of the set in a 25-18 loss that evened the match at 1-all. The Lopes hit .616 in the second set while Ohio connected at a .278 clip. Pasteur and Clark headed to the third set with seven kills each for the match to lead the Buckeyes.

Set Three

The Antelopes got out in front in the third set 3-1 and held a lead of no more than two points until taking a 10-7 advantage. The Buckeyes called timeout after GCU took a 12-8 lead. A kill by Kyle Teune and a block by Michael Wright and Cole Young cut the Antelope lead to 14-12. The Buckeyes then cut it to one at 15-14, on a Pasteur kill and GCU error. The Lopes regained a cushion of 19-15 after a 4-1 run, leading to an Ohio State timeout. Grand Canyon continued to build on its lead before the Buckeyes cut it to 24-23 before the Lopes went on to win the third set, 25-23. Pasteur had 13 kills after three sets to lead both teams. Ohio State owned the edge in hitting overall, .403 to .393.

Set Four

Ohio State got out in front 3-1 on a pair of Pasteur kills and another by Ben Braun. Grand Canyon battled back to take a 7-6 lead but the Buckeyes regained the advantage at 8-7 on a Pasteur kill after an GCU service error. Neither team was able to gain separation until the Buckeyes went up 12-10 after a 3-0 run. The Buckeyes led 15-13 at the media timeout. A Clark ace gave the Buckeyes their biggest lead of the set at 16-13. Kills by Justin Howard and Clark made it 20-16 Buckeyes, which led to an Antelope timeout. The Buckeyes scored the next two points after the timeout to lead 22-16. GCU then called its final timeout of the set before Ohio State went on to even the match at two sets apiece with the 25-18 win. Ohio State hit .636 in the set while GCU hit .217. Pasteur led with 19 total kills with Clark next at 16.

Set Five

Pasteur’s 20^th kill of the afternoon got the Buckeyes out to the early lead in the race to 15 in the fifth set. Grand Canyon then scored the next four points for the 4-1 lead. Ohio State then called timeout. The Lopes increased their lead to 8-4 and the Buckeyes were not able to get inside of three points the rest of the way in dropping the set 15-10 and the match, 3-2.

Up Next

Ohio State remains in Fairfax, Virginia, to face George Mason, host of the Patriot Invitational, at 3 p.m. Sunday. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.

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