Ohio State excellence is not exclusive to the football field or the basketball court. Around the Oval is our way of keeping you informed of the amazing things happening with the other 34 varsity sports on campus.
Women's Volleyball Goes 2-1 for the weekend
This weekend the women's volleyball team competed in its first set of home games at the D.C. Koehl Classic at Nationwide Arena. On Friday, the Buckeyes defeated LIU Brooklyn and Wyoming both in three set sweep, to go 5-0 for the year. On Saturday, the number 11 ranked Buckeyes faced the number 10 ranked Cougars but unfortunately lost in a battle of five sets.
Ohio State took an early two set lead against BYU. They dominated the first set 25-19 and pulled out the second one 26-24. However, the Buckeyes couldn't hold on to the lead, as they lost the next three sets.
In spite of this tough loss, some good things did happen for the Buckeyes this weekend. Taylor Hughes and Luisa Schirmer were both named to the All-Tournament team. Hughes had a very impressive weekend which included 10 assists, 15 kills, six aces, and five blocks. Valeria Leon moved up to third on Ohio State's career digs list with 1,342. Look for the senior to take home the Ohio State career digs record soon. Taylor Sandbothe played a great first two sets with 13 kills and a .391 attacking efficiency. However, this was the first non-conference tournament in which Taylor Sandbothe did not obtain All-Tournament honors since her freshman year.
While playing at Nationwide Arena was not necessarily ideal for Ohio State students, it was important for the team because that's were the NCAA Final Four will be held later on this season. According to head coach Geoff Carlston, his team has made it a goal to play in the final four in Columbus in front of Buckeye Nation this year.
women's soccer finishes 1-1 on the road
The number 19 ranked women's soccer team went on a road trip to face number 14 Virginia Tech and number four West Virginia this weekend. The Buckeyes upset the Hokies 2-1 but unfortunately took their first loss of the season to the Mountaineers.
Lindsay Agnew put the Buckeyes on the scoreboard in the victory over Virginia Tech in the 33 minute of the game. The next goal came in minute 58 from Morgan Wolcott to give Ohio State a 2-0 lead. Shortly after, Murielle Tiernan of the Hokies put one past Buckeye goalie Jillian McVicker to cut Ohio State's lead in half. The Buckeyes played outstanding defense to finish out the game and seal the upset. McVicker finished with an impressive seven saves for the day.
Buckeyes knock off No. 16 Virginia Tech, 2-1, behind goals from Agnew and Wolcott and seven McVicker saves! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/AFdTzE39xE
— Ohio State WSOC (@OhioState_WSOC) September 2, 2016
West Virginia scored first at the 20 minute mark in their battle with the Buckeyes, marking the first time Ohio State has trailed this season. Agnew stole the ball at midfield and brought it all the way back to tie the game at the 70 minute mark. Unfortunately, the Mountaineers took the lead back and kept it for good shortly after. In spite of the loss, the Buckeyes still played an impressive game against a really good team. Ohio State played two top 20 teams within a four day period. They are now 5-1-0, which is the team's best start to the season since 2007. Head coach Lori Walker commented on her team's performance and toughness of schedule.
"We put together a challenging schedule for a reason. We had a huge test tonight and we found a really important piece of ourselves in the second half which will help us down the road as we enter Big Ten play. It was important for us to have this challenge to get to where we want to be."
The toughness of schedule obviously paid off for the Buckeyes, as they jumped from 19 to nine in the polls. Not only did the team defeat at top 20 team, but it put up a really good fight against a top five team all in one weekend. Walker believes that her team will learn from this and will only improve as they head into Big Ten play. The team will have just two more non-conference games against Texas and BYU before the Big Ten opener at Wisconsin on September 16.
Some photos of practice earlier today in Morgantown #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/VNz21w2e2o
— Ohio State WSOC (@OhioState_WSOC) September 4, 2016
More Scores from around the oval
- Men's soccer fell 2-0 to Portland at the Portland Nike Invitational on Saturday.
- Field Hockey shutout Ohio University in a 3-0 victory.
what's up next
- 9/9 - Women's soccer vs. Texas
- 9/9 - Men's soccer vs. Northwestern
- 9/9 - Women's volleyball vs. IUPUI and Missouri State in Springfield, Illinois
- 9/10 - Women's volleyball vs. Green Bay in Springfield, Illinois.
Go Bucks!
