Ohio State’s women’s volleyball starting lineup stands together prior to the game against No. 5 Minnesota on Oct. 18. Credit: Rebecca Farage | Lantern Reporter
The Ohio State women’s volleyball team wrapped up the non-conference portion of its season this weekend at the Flyer Invitational in Dayton, Ohio. The team defeated Evansville to begin invitational play, but fell to Tennessee and Dayton on Saturday.
In Friday’s four-set win over Evansville (6-7), the Buckeyes (9-3) overpowered the Purple Aces at the net with 12 team blocks and held them to a .062 hitting percentage.
Evansville suffered seven attacking errors and four service miscues in the first set to kick off an eventual 3-1 Ohio State win.
Offensively and defensively, sophomore middle blocker Lauren Witte was a key player. She connected on 10-of-16 error-free swings with a .625 hitting percentage and contributed a season-high seven blocks.
Freshman outside hitter Mia Grunze recorded nine kills and three blocks.
Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Jordan Fry and junior outside hitter Bia Franklin each recorded four kills.
Sophomore setter Becca Mauer had three service aces in the win against Evansville, recording 25 assists.
On Saturday, Ohio State lost to Tennessee (9-3) in four sets and to Dayton (9-4) in five sets, ending the Buckeyes’ non-conference schedule with two consecutive losses.
Mauer tallied a team-high 26 assists and senior setter Olivia Dailey dished 19 helpers against Tennessee.
Freshman opposite hitter Vanja Bukilic was responsible for a career-high 18 kills against Dayton. Sophomore defensive specialist Hannah Gruensfelder, who was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, posted a match-best 18 digs.
Next up, Ohio State will head to Madison, Wisconsin, to face the Badgers at 7 p.m. on Wednesday to open up its Big Ten schedule.
