Ohio State vs. King — NCAA Opening Round
Date: April 30
Time: 6 p.m. (ET)
Venue: EagleBank Arena (George Mason University – Host)
Tickets: Order Here
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: gomason.com
Game Notes: Ohio State | King | MIVA
Rosters: Ohio State | King
Season Stats: Ohio State | King | MIVA | NCAA
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State (22-9) will open the 2023 NCAA Tournament against the King University Tornado (16-15) Sunday at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia. Match time is set for 6 p.m. with ESPN3 streaming the action live. the winner will face Penn State at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN3) May 2.
- The Buckeyes are making their 22nd appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State last appeared in the event in 2018 when the Buckeyes advanced to the finals before falling to Long Beach State.
- Overall, the Buckeyes are 16-23 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with at least two wins in each of the last four appearances. Ohio State won NCAA titles in 2011, 2016 and 2017.
- Ohio State won its 18th MIVA Tournament title with its 3-1 win at top-seeded Ball State in Muncie April 22. Redshirt junior Michael Wright was named the tournament MVP. He joined junior Jacob Pasteur and freshman Shane Wetzel on the all-tournament team.
- Wright was credited with 147 assists, six kills, four aces, 15 digs and six blocks in the three MIVA Tournament wins.
Wetzel led the Buckeyes with 52 kills while hitting .347. He also added a pair of aces, 14 digs and seven blocks. Pasteur had 19 kills in the finals and finished with 49. He hit .367 with four aces and 17 digs.
- As a team, the Buckeyes hit .409 in the MIVA Tournament while opponents hit . 252. Ohio State also held the advantage in kills (173-119), assists (160-113) and digs (99-69).
- Wetzel led the Buckeyes with 17 kills and eight digs in a 3-0 win in the MIVA quarterfinal win over Lindenwood at the Covelli Center. The win gave the Buckeyes their 20th win of the season.
- Ohio State has 34 seasons with 20 or more wins.
- Pasteur was named the MIVA Player of the Year by the league coaches. Wetzel earned Newcomer of the Year and was named to the All-MIVA Second Team. Both Pasteur and sophomore Cole Young earned All-MIVA First Team honors.
- The 3-0 win over visiting Loyola Chicago April 8 gave the Buckeyes a share of the 2023 MIVA Regular Season title, the 28th overall for Ohio State and the first for Kevin Burch as head coach of the Buckeyes.
- At the 2023 OSU Scholar Athlete Banquet earlier in April, 17 members of the Ohio State men’s volleyball team were recognized for their efforts in the classroom.
- Ohio State has swept five of its last eight opponents and won 25 of the last 28 sets on its way to a share of the 2023 MIVA regular-season and postseason tournament title.
- The Buckeyes are on an 11-match win streak. The last time the Buckeyes won 10 or more consecutive matches was in 2017 when Ohio State opened the season with 19-victories before a loss. The Buckeyes also ended the year on a nine-match win streak in earning the NCAA Title with a 37-2 record.
- The Buckeyes are 2-0 vs. King all-time. Ohio State won 3-0 in the 2008 NCAA Tournament Play-In Match at St. John Arena in Columbus. The Buckeyes swept the Tornado in 2020 at the Covelli Center, 3-0.
- Pasteur earned his third overall and second-consecutive MIVA Offensive Player of the Week honor April 4 after leading the Buckeyes to a pair of road wins in league play. He hit .308 with 32 kills in the wins over Lewis (3-0) and McKendree (3-1).
- Pasteur owns the No. 13 spot all-time at Ohio State with 1,058 career kills. He has 432 this year in 30 matches. Andy Cole is No. 12 (2003-06) with 1,155. Senior Samuel Clark is 20th all-time with 818 kills. Former teammate Martin Lallemand is 19th with 819, Jose Rivera (1996-00) sits in the No. 18 spot with 900.
- Pasteur was named the AVCA National MVB Player of the Week March 28. He and classmate Thomas Poole swept the MIVA weekly offensive and defensive player of the week awards, respectively, as well after the Buckeyes went 3-0 the previous week. Pasteur had 46 kills and hit .521 for the week while Poole recorded a career-best 11-digs in the win at No. 1 Penn State.
- The then-No. 15 Buckeyes traveled to No. 1 Penn State and came away with a 3-2 win in State College. Freshman Shane Wetzel, who was named the MIVA Offensive Player of the Week earlier in the day (March 21), led Ohio State with 15 kills and three aces.
- The last time Ohio State defeated a No. 1 team also occurred in State College when the No. 2 Buckeyes swept No. 1 BYU for the 2016 NCAA Title.
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