It will be a long trip from Columbus to San Diego, both figuratively and literally, for the No. 13 Ohio State women’s volleyball team if it hopes to make the Final Four of the NCAA tournament.
The Buckeyes (25-3) begin their quest this weekend when they host first and second round games of the 64-team tournament at St. John Arena. Robert Morris, Cincinnati, and Xavier will come to town looking to steal a regional berth.
OSU coach Jim Stone will be taking his Buckeyes to their 13th consecutive tournament appearance. In that time span, they were able to reach the round of four twice, in 1991 and 1994. Last year, they were eliminated in the Sweet 16 by the eventual national champion, Nebraska.
“There is a lot of excitement for the players and the coaches,” Stone said. “Every year feels like the first.”
Robert Morris will be the Buckeyes first round opponent. The Colonials come into the contest with a 30-6 overall record and were able to earn an automatic bid by winning their third consecutive Northeast Conference tournament. Today’s match will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.
Stone said the Buckeyes will have to approach this game with a different mentality than their regular season games, because little is known about their opponent.
“Scouting reports aren’t going to be that extensive, so there’s going to have to be a lot of on the fly adjustments,” Stone said.
The scouting report on the Buckeyes has been the same all season long. The lethal Canadian combination of senior Anne Botica and freshman Stacey Gordon has been the backbone of the OSU offense. Both outside hitters were named to the All-Big Ten team, and combined, they average more than nine kills a game.
Another all-conference selection, junior Katie Virtue, will distribute the ball. She led all Big Ten setters with more than 14 assists per game. She says the Buckeyes will continue to stick with what has made them successful.
“We just need to keep playing the way we have been all year long,” Virtue said.
The Colonials will be led into the first-round matchup by sophomore middle blocker Karla Barhorst and junior outside hitter Katie Noble. Each averages more than three kills a game. Barhorst had 33 total kills while leading RMU to their conference tournament title.
Freshman setter Darcey Miller will engineer the Colonial offense. She has had a spectacular rookie campaign, averaging more than 11 assists and two digs per game. She has also tallied 47 aces on the season.
In the other match to be played today, Conference USA champion, Cincinnati, will take on cross-town foe Xavier. The Queen-city rivals faced off a week ago in the Conference USA/Atlantic 10 challenge with the Bearcats getting the best of the Musketeers, 3-0.
The winner of the two matches tonight will square off tomorrow night for the right to play in the regional semifinals to played at a site yet to be determined.
Stone said if the Buckeyes can avoid an unlikely upset on Friday to RMU, an match against an in-state opponent would be intriguing.
“I think any time we play a team from Ohio, there’s that added dimension,” Stone said.
Playing at home will provide the Buckeyes with a very useful advantage. In last year’s tournament, all 16 teams that hosted first and second round matches qualified for the Sweet 16.
“It’ll be nice to have the home crowd and all of the obvious advantages that come with it,” said junior Suzie Stiling, an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection.
If the home-court trend holds true for the Buckeyes, they will likely take on either Duke (22-4) or USC (22-3) in the round of 16.
Stiling said the Buckeyes aren’t worried about who they play, because they feel they have the ability to beat any team in the tournament.
“I think we can play with any of the top five teams in the country,” Stiling said. “I feel like we’re definitely capable of going to the Final Four.”
The weekend kicks off at 5 p.m. today with the UC/Xavier match, followed by the OSU/RMU contest at 7 p.m. tomorrow night’s second round game is scheduled for 7 p.m. All matches are at St. John Arena.
