The Ohio State women’s volleyball team celebrates after defeating then-No. 4 Penn State in four sets on Sept. 23, 2018 Credit: Miranda Lipton | Former Lantern Reporter
Following a win against Maryland to kick off Big Ten play, Ohio State women’s volleyball heads to Ann Arbor to take on rival Michigan.
The Buckeyes (8-5) have now won five in a row and on Sunday, will take on a Michigan team (8-3) that has won four-of-five on the road.
Even with the added pressure of being on the road for the first round of Big Ten matches, senior outside hitter Bia Franklin said the Buckeyes are heading into the weekend with a positive attitude and readiness to take on the added challenge.
“We talk a lot about being road warriors so it’s awesome playing in a new court and makes it easy to get really excited and pumped with the fans,” Franklin said. “But we’ve been talking about going on the road and getting those wins because they’re really important.”
Michigan sophomore outside hitter Paige Jones has accumulated a team-best 129 kills of the Wolverines’ 527 kills this season, and Franklin said the focus is on preparing for that power.
“We can expect them to be aggressive, very physical with some big hitters and very talented players,” Franklin said. “So just knowing that they’re going to bring their A-game and make sure we bring ours.”
Freshman setter Cecilia Rocafort said the Buckeyes are spending practice trying to mimic the playing style of the Wolverines in order to better anticipate what they will encounter come game time.
“On the other side, we wear pinnies with the numbers of the other players so that whoever is on the starting lineup they know what to expect,” Rocafort said. “So, we play with their tendencies to prepare better for the game.”
These practices are paying off for the Buckeye defense, as demonstrated by freshman libero Kylie Murr, who is leading the Big Ten with 250 digs. Murr received Big Ten Defensive Player and Co-Freshman of the Week on Monday.
In addition to providing a stable defense, the Buckeyes are looking to reaffirm their efforts in decreasing errors while staying aggressive, which will prove to be important in these first conference games, Franklin said.
If the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry didn’t provide enough tension for the matchup, Rocafort will have the added motivation of taking on her sister, Michigan senior setter Katerina Rocafort.
“I’m just really excited to see her play because I’ve only seen her play on TV,” Rocafort said. “I want to see what she can do with her team, and I want to see what I can do for my team and I want to compete.”
The competition between the Big Ten rivals will start at 2 p.m. Sunday at Michigan.
