Call it whatever you want. Call it a rebound, call it a bounce-back, even call it a comeback if you choose.But whatever you do, call it a statement.Coaches generally dislike rankings, as they prefer to establish themselves on the court. However, when the No. 9 Ohio State men’s volleyball team topped No. 7 Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne – one week after falling to perennial power Stanford – coach Pete Hanson was happy.”We played pretty well,” said Hanson. “We came out feeling good and we kept the pressure on for the first two games.”The Buckeyes threatened to make the Mastodons extinct early, as they rolled to matching 15-9, 15-9 wins in the first two games. However, the Mastodons roared back, taking a 15-11 win in the third before falling 16-14 in the fourth and final game.”We backed off some, and let the momentum swing to their side,” said Hanson. “They got going and we had to fight to get it back.”And fight they did. The Buckeyes staved off four Mastodon attempts at game point, finally pulling out a 16-14 thriller. “They served for game four times, but we sided out,” said Hanson. “We tied it, and made two good plays to win it.”The Buckeyes jumped out early. OSU blew out to an 8-2 lead in the first set before the Mastodons battled back to 8-6. The Buckeyes pushed it out to 13-8 when Javier Escobar put one down to cut it to 13-9.IPFW would get no closer. OSU setter Angel Aja served up an ace and Rene’ Esteves pounded a kill for game point.The Buckeyes once again blasted off early in game two. OSU leaped to a 13-6 lead before the Mastodons cut it to 13-9. Again, however, IPFW would get no closer as the Buckeyes closed it out on a kill by Phil Kerewich and a block by Esteves and Kerewich.Game three was a war, as the two teams battled to a 9-9 tie before the Buckeyes took a 10-9 lead. However, the Mastodons bounced back to take a 12-10 lead and hang on for the win.In the fourth game, the two teams again waged battle, as the Mastodons held the upper hand at 14-13 with a chance to serve game point and send the match to a fifth game. The Buckeyes held off three game-winning attempts by the Mastodons before Kerewich hammered one down to give the Buckeyes serve. The Buckeyes closed out the stubborn Mastodons with Koterba and Esteves combining on back-to-back blocks to end it.Hanson was thrilled with the play of Aja – who dished out 70 assists – and Koterba – who hammered down 21 kills.”Both had great games. Koterba has responded and Angel did a good job of sticking to the plan and balancing out the chances.”