Ohio State then-sophomore middle blocker Lauren Witte attempts for a hit after an assist by senior setter Olivia Dailey against Northwestern on Nov. 4 at St. John Arena. Ohio State lost to Northwestern in four sets. Credit: Colin Gay | Former Sports Editor
Ohio State finished its first week of Big Ten play on a low point after dropping three straight sets to Michigan.
After a promising win against Maryland Wednesday, the Buckeyes (8-6, 1-1 Big Ten) took a five-game win streak to Ann Arbor, but it wasn’t enough to stop Michigan (9-3, 2-0) from taking the game in three (14-25, 17-25, 19-25).
Freshman outside hitter Gabby Gonzales had a team-high 11 kills with sophomore outside hitter Adria Powell trailing at eight. The Ohio State middle blockers remained relatively quiet, with senior Elle Sandbothe and junior Lauren Witte collecting just eight kills in total.
Michigan’s outside hitters, senior Sydney Wetterstrom and sophomore Paige Jones, countered with 24 kills collectively.
The Wolverine defense finished with 45 digs to stymie any surges of the Ohio State offense.
Ohio State had 33 digs, with nearly half of them coming from freshman libero and Big Ten digs-leader Kylie Murr, but it wasn’t enough to stave off the Michigan offense.
The match took Michigan up to the No. 4 spot in the Big Ten standings with a three-match win streak while Ohio State sits in the middle of the pack at No. 7.
Ohio State will have another shot to knock off its archrival this Sunday, but first it will take on Michigan State at the Covelli Center Friday at 7 p.m.
