Around the Oval: VolleyBucks Inch Closer to History, Men's Tennis Finishes Second at ITA Indoors, and Women's Icers Drop a Close Postseason Set

By TJ Neer on February 27, 2017 at 1:05 pm
Ohio State men's volleyball in Phoenix, Ariz.
Ohio State Athletics.
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Facing off against Grand Canyon twice over the weekend, men's volleyball took home the first matchup in four sets. But on Sunday, the Buckeyes were faced with one of their scariest moments of the season, pulling out a five-set win over unranked Grand Canyon to preserve their win streak and move closer to UCLA's all-time record of 47 consecutive.

Men's Volleyball

The top-ranked men's volleyball team didn't face off against a highly-ranked opponent this week, but they did travel to a hostile environment in Arizona against the Grand Canyon Antelopes.

To begin the two-game weekend, the Buckeyes got a victory in four sets on Friday, led by senior Miles Johnson's 17 kills and four digs. 

On Sunday, the Buckeyes probably weren't anticipating their first five-set win of the season against the unranked Antelopes, but that's exactly what they got. The Buckeyes are 17-0 on the season, including wins over the likes of No. 2 Long Beach State and No. 5 Lewis, but none pushed them to five sets like Grand Canyon was able to do.

The Buckeyes finished the weekend with a 2-0 sweep, despite all the excitement (or anxiety) about a possible upset Sunday. With the two wins, the Buckeyes have tied the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association record for most consecutive wins. The mark was set by Loyola in 2013-15, and the team now sits only seven wins away from the NCAA record of 47 set by UCLA in 1979-80 and 1983-85.

Tennis

After an impressive showing last week, the Buckeyes continued to show their mettle this week, with their only loss coming against top-ranked Virginia at the ITA National Indoors tournament. 

As was mentioned in last week's Around the Oval, and in another piece, junior Mikael Torpegaard is pretty good at tennis. 

Torpegaard was also named the Big Ten athlete of the week.

In this week's ITA Indoors finals, Torpegaard was the only Buckeye to seal a victory, winning his singles match against Virginia's Collin Altimirano. The team loss was the first of the season for the Buckeyes. After the tournament, the Buckeyes moved up to become the second-ranked team in the nation.

After the conclusion of the tournament on Feb. 20, the Buckeyes traveled to take on the No. 10 Florida Gators in another highly-anticipated matchup. The team did not disappoint, capturing a 4-1 victory on the road which featured another impressive singles victory for Torpegaard as he took down No. 6 Alfredo Perez (Florida) in straight sets.

The men's team wasn't alone in racking up the accolades this week, as the No. 2 women's team swept No. 10 Baylor and Miami over the weekend.

In addition, sophomore Francesca Di Lorenzo took home the Big Ten Tennis athlete of the week award for her performances.

Ice Hockey

Women's icers traveled to take on North Dakota to kick off the postseason, and looked like they would have a good series when they captured the first game of the three-game set on Friday 3-2. However, the Bucks dropped their Saturday matchup 4-1 to go even with the Fighting Hawks.

The third game proved to be the most competitive, as both teams knew it was a win-or-go-home scenario. The Buckeyes battled for the entire game, but ultimately succumbed 2-1 in overtime to North Dakota, ending their season.

In the series, the Buckeyes scored five total goals, as opposed to North Dakota's eight, led by two goals in the series from sophomore Maddy Field. 

No. 12 men's icers had a somewhat lackluster weekend when compared to what we've seen recently from the team, as they split a weekend set at home with the unranked Michigan Wolverines.

The Buckeyes began the two-game set with an impressive 4-2 victory on Friday, featuring two goals from junior forward Kevin Miller and senior Nick Schilkey's 24th goal of the season. However, the Bucks were stifled Saturday, losing 1-0 to the Wolverines.

The second game featured plenty of missed opportunities from the Buckeyes, as they had nearly twice as many shots as Michigan, but couldn't connect on any of them. 

Lacrosse

No. 17 men's lacrosse stayed undefeated, taking down the Jacksonville Dolphins 16-8.

In the process of doubling up the Dolphins, junior attacker Colin Chell tallied four goals on seven shots, and redshirt senior goalie Tom Carey had eight saves while only allowing three goals in just over 45 minutes of action. 

Women's lacrosse split their two-game weekend, dropping a Friday matchup against No. 20 Stanford 19-9 before getting back on track with a 14-8 win over California.

Freshman midfielder Liza Hernandez continues to be a force for the Buckeyes, as she tallied five goals in the two games.

Softball/Baseball

Softball went 2-2 in a four-game weekend tournament in California, notching wins over St. John's and LIU Brooklyn in a doubleheader Saturday, but losing their Friday and Sunday matchups against No. 9 Washington and California.

On Friday against the Washington Huskies, sophomore utility player Emily Clark mashed a three-run home run. In the double header Saturday, junior Taylor White hit two homers in the first game, while senior pitchers Lena Springer and Shelby Hursh combined to only allow one run on the day.

The Buckeyes dropped the final match against Cal 5-4, but sophomore Lilli Piper had an impressive day, going 3-3 with a home run and three RBI.

Baseball had four games, beginning on Thursday, in Surprise, Ariz. for the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenger, and finished 1-3 on the weekend. Their only win came against Oregon State on Friday. The Buckeyes lost on Thursday and Saturday to Utah, and dropped their Sunday matchup with Oregon State 5-1.

The team also took time over the weekend to visit Goodyear Ballpark, a.k.a. the Spring Training location for the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians.

Gymnastics

No. 20 women's gymnastics faced one of its toughest tests of the season against No. 10 Denver, and ultimately lost by less than two points. The final score of the match in St. John Arena was 196.900-195.225.

Junior Alexis Mattern impressed, finishing third in the all-around title with a score of 38.125 and tied for first on the floor exercise with a 9.900.

The Buckeyes posted three Buckeyes in the top four on vault, with a 9.850 from junior Stefanie Merkle (tied career best, second) and a 9825 from Mattern and senior Jaine VanPutten (tied for third).

Other Events

Men's swimming tied for second at the Big Ten Championships.

Women's track finished third while men's track finished seventh at Big Ten Championships. Sophomore Sade Olatoye claimed Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week with an impressive showing.

Both the No. 1 men's and No. 6 women's fencing teams finished in first place at the Midwest Championships in Columbus.

Women's golf finished fourth out of 13 at the Westbrook Spring Invitational in Peoria, Ariz.

Upcoming Events

March 3

  • Women's Lacrosse vs. Duquesne
  • Pistol, NRA Air Sectionals (Columbus)
  • No. 2 Men's Tennis vs. Notre Dame
  • Baseball @ Campbell (Buies Creek, N.C.)
  • No. 12 Men's Ice Hockey vs. Michigan State
  • No. 1 Men's Volleyball vs. Saint Francis
  • No. 17 Men's Lacrosse @ Marquette

March 4

  • Pistol, NRA Air Sectionals
  • No. 3 Men's Gymnastics, Arnold Challenge (Columbus)
  • No. 2 Women's Tennis vs. Pepperdine (Tempe, Ariz.)
  • Baseball @ Campbell
  • No. 20 Women's Gymnastics @ No. 10 Denver
  • No. 12 Men's Ice Hockey vs. Michigan State
  • Synchronized Swimming, U.S. Collegiate North Regional (Columbus)
  • No. 4 Wrestling, Big Ten Championships (Bloomington, Ind.)
  • Women's Ice Hockey, WCHA Final Face-Off (Minneapolis, Minn.)

March 5

  • No. 2 Men's Tennis vs. Oklahoma
  • Women's Soccer vs. Kent State
  • Baseball @ Campbell
  • No. 17 Men's Lacrosse vs. Bellarmine
  • No. 2 Women's Tennis @ Arizona State
  • No. 4 Wrestling, Big Ten Championships (Bloomington, Ind.)
  • Women's Ice Hockey, WCHA Final Face-Off (Minneapolis, Minn.)
  • Men's Swimming, Last Chance (Columbus)
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