Nationally ranked men’s volleyball teams from around the country invaded St. John Arena this weekend in an NCAA preview tournament. Including Ohio State, four teams participated in the event, Indiana-Purdue, Southern California and Stanford, the number one team in the nation.OSU split their two matches between Stanford and Southern California.’We had some good competition for the first time this year,’ said OSU middle hitter Gary Wrobel. ‘It’s good for us to see teams like this from out West.’In Saturday’s match against number one ranked Stanford, the Buckeyes came out and played hard all the way though losing in four sets, (7-15, 15-7, 12-15, 5-15).’For a team that is ranked number one, we we’re hanging with those guys out there,’ Wrobel said. ‘We can definitely play with these guys. We’re going to use this as a stepping stone.’The crucial part of the match took place in the third game. OSU opened up to a 10-5 lead, but Stanford scored five straight to tie the game at 10. The two teams swapped points back and forth to make it 12-12, but the Buckeyes lost the momentum when middle hitter Eduardo Marxuach went out with an ankle sprain.’That was a big loss for us,’ said OSU setter Orlando Herrero. ‘We we’re all excited and playing really well, then all of a sudden that injury came up and knocked us down.’In Friday’s match, OSU defeated nationally ranked Southern California in five sets, (16-14, 6-15, 15-13, 11-15, 15-11) in a match that lasted three hours and 14 minutes. In the victory, OSU set a school record for kills with 136. OSU outside hitter Dan Michacevich led the way for the Buckeyes with 43 kills. ‘We have had our ups and downs, but this team is a little more focused,’ said OSU outside hitter Angel Aja. ‘With more practice we can be very good.’OSU, 6-2 on the season, had good depth, with numerous players from the bench that played.’This year we’re going to be a very powerful team,’ said outside hitter Phil Kerewich. ‘We have a lot of young kids and a lot of old kids. Count on us being in the Final Four.’