No. 3 seed Ohio State (22–9) knocked off No. 1 seed Ball State (20–9) Saturday in Muncie, Indiana, to claim the program's 18th MIVA tournament championship and first since 2018.
The Buckeyes topped the Cardinals, 27-25, 25-17, 19-25, and 25-19, dispatching the defending MIVA tournament champions on their home court to secure OSU's 11th consecutive win, the longest such streak for Ohio State since the 2017 team opened the season with 19 straight wins on the way to claiming the national championship.
The win gives the Bucks the rubber match as the two teams split with each other in the regular season. Ball State topped Ohio State in Muncie 3-0 on March 15, while the Buckeyes answered with a 3-2 win in Columbus three days later. The Buckeyes are 103–92 against Ball State all-time.
The Buckeyes claimed a share of the MIVA regular season title with Ball State thanks to a 3-0 win over Loyola two weeks ago. It was the 28th regular season championship in program history and the first for head coach Kevin Burch, who took over the program in 2019.
“This is a special group of young men that has put together an incredible run,” Burch, now in his fourth season at Ohio State as head coach, said. “I am extremely proud of their accomplishments but even more proud of how they did it. We have work to do but I have all the confidence in the world these guys will be ready for Fairfax next week.”
Ohio State setter Michael Wright was named tournament MVP and was joined on the all-MIVA tournament team by his teammates Jacob Pasteur, an outside hitter, and opposite hitter Shane Wetzel.
Behind MIVA Tourney MVP Michael Wright, Ohio State defeated BSU 3-1 Sat. to claim the 2023 MIVA Tourney Title. Ohio State earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. For the recap, photos, stats & how to watch NCAA selection show, go to:https://t.co/0pwe486Ct2#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/8qYD7S6uns
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) April 23, 2023
Wright was credited with a team-high nine digs and 54 assists against the Cardinals, while Pasteur led the Bucks with 19 kills, and Wetzel added 16 of his own.
The Buckeyes earned the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association's automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Tournament and will face King University (16–15) at 6 p.m. on April 30 at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia. Ohio State is 2–0 all-time against King, who punched a ticket to the tournament by winning the Conference Carolinas Men's Volleyball Tournament.
Should Ohio State advance, it will face Penn State (26–3) in the quarterfinals at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 2.
