Abigail Miner/The LanternOhio State sophomore Allie Schwarzwalder tips the ball during the Nov. 8 match against Northwestern.Katie Dull led OSU (12-18 overall, 3-13 Big Ten) Friday with a match-high 19 points, including 15 kills, an ace serve and three solo blocks. OSU beat Iowa (14-15, 6-11) in three-straight sets (25-20, 25-18, 25-22).
In set one OSU held a 20-15 lead after a Dull kill and an Iowa error gave the Buckeyes two straight points. OSU won set one on a Kailia Calhoun-Allie Schwarzwalder block.
In set two OSU would take advantage of Iowa errors and win the set on a solo block from Dull 25-18. OSU out-hit Iowa in the set .207 to .000.
In set three OSU found itself trailing by four 9-5. OSU cut the lead to one with kills from Kelli Barhorst and Kristen Dozier and an error from Iowa. The set would see multiple ties until OSU won the set and the match with a Hawkeye error and an ace serve from Ashley Hughes.
OSU out-hit Iowa in the match .238 to .106.
Sunday afternoon OSU continued its road trip, losing its match to Minnesota (24-6, 14-4). Katie Dull led the team with 19.5 points in the match, including 16 kills and a match-high seven assist blocks.
In set one OSU and Minnesota traded scores until the score reached 18-18. Two OSU errors and two Minnesota kills would give Minnesota a 22-18 lead. The Buckeyes were unable to come back and lost the set 25-20.
In set two OSU trailed the entire game and ended up losing 25-12. Minnesota out-hit OSU in the set -.031 to .423.
Set three stayed close until OSU took control after an eight-point run that put them up 16-9. OSU held Minnesota for the rest of the set and won 25-18 on a Calhoun kill.
Set four saw eight lead changes in the closest set of the night. OSU held the lead at 18-15. Minnesota responded with a six-point run and won the set 25-22 and the match 3-1.
The inability to stop runs at key times has been a problem for OSU the entire season.
“It just takes one good play to stop those runs,” said coach Geoff Carlston after OSU’s loss to Michigan State last week.
OSU will close its regular season with matches to top-ranked Penn State (30-0, 18-0) on Friday night and Indiana (16-14, 8-10) Saturday night. Both matches start at 7 p.m. in St. John Arena.
Matt Lang can be reached at [email protected].
