Coming off losses at Indiana and Purdue last weekend, the Ohio State women’s volleyball team got a much-needed win against Iowa Friday night at St. John arena to stay in the Big Ten hunt.
“It was definitely a really important win,” senior Sarah Mignin said. “We just tried to come out with a lot of intensity and a lot of energy.”
Coming into Friday, the Buckeyes had been struggling in Big Ten play, but knew that a couple of quick wins would bring them right back into the clustered Big Ten race.
“This conference is ridiculous,” OSU coach Geoff Carlston said. “Every team in this conference has a chance to make the tournament.”
OSU took the momentum early and didn’t give it back the rest of the match, finishing off the Hawkeyes, 3-0 (25-10, 25-16, 25-17).
“Iowa is a good team, so it’s good to come out and finish them off 3-0,” senior outside hitter Katie Dull said.
Junior middle blocker Kelli Barhorst led the team in scoring with 18 points and also recorded a match-high with 14 kills.
The Buckeyes seemed to have the Iowa defense confused all night and Iowa was never able to adjust.
“I thought our setters did a nice job of distributing the ball,” Carlston said. “We’ve been too predictable and tonight we did a nice job of spreading the offense out.”
The win pushed the Buckeye’s conference record to 3-4 on the season.
“A lot of it is just focusing on our side of the net,” Dull said. “In the Big Ten, everybody is good so it is just about taking care of your business.”
The Buckeyes carried their momentum for Friday’s win right into Saturday, defeating 19th-ranked Minnesota, 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-17).
Barhorst led the Buckeyes for the second straight night, recording match highs in points, 14.5, and kills, with 11.
The win evens the Buckeyes’ Big Ten record at 4-4 and improves their overall record to 16-5.
The Buckeyes take on Penn State Wednesday at 7 p.m. at St. John Arena.
