Men’s volleyball: Ohio State rolls over Saint Francis in straight sets

Aliyyah Jackson
Mon, 23 Jan 2017 14:58:03 +0000
Sports, Volleyball, Blake Lesson, Christy Blough, Nicolas Szerszen, Ohio state men's volleyball, Pete Hanson, Saint Francis

Then-junior setter Christy Blough (5) sets the ball during a match against Ball State on Feb. 6, 2016.
Credit: Courtesy of OSU Athletics

The momentum kept rolling Friday night as the No. 1 Ohio State men’s volleyball team added another win to its current 29-game streak, this time at Saint Francis University. The Buckeyes won in straight sets 25-23, 25-18, 25-18.

The win puts OSU at 6-0 on the season while Saint Francis falls to an even 3-3. The game marks the 30th win for the Buckeyes over the Red Flash in the teams’ 31-game history.

OSU has now won 87 of the last 105 sets with a sweep over Saint Francis. The Buckeyes are within striking distance of matching the school record 32-game win streak that was set during OSU’s 24-0 run to end the 1969 season and the first eight games of the 1970 season.

Senior opposite Miles Johnson led the Buckeyes in kills with 11, while junior outside hitter Maxime Hervoir had eight kills on 12 errorless attempts, notching a .667 hitting percentage.

Senior opposite Jeff Hogan was the Red Flash’s team leader in kills with 13, but had 6 attacking on the night. Redshirt junior outside hitter Stephen Braswell followed Hogan in kills with seven of his own.

Neith team in the first set accumulated much of a lead with a total of 15 ties. Eventually, OSU pulled away with kills from redshirt sophomore middle blocker Blake Lesson and junior outside hitter Nicolas Szerszen, as well as a combined block by Hervoir and Lesson, to seal the deal for the Buckeyes to win 25-23.

The Buckeyes thoroughly dominated the second set with a couple timely runs. Five straight points put OSU up 10-5, then a six-point run built the lead to 24-15. Lesson’s kill closed the set at 25-18.

After a seven-all start, OSU went on another six-point streak in the third set. The Buckeyes were nearly perfect in their attacking with only one hitting error, swinging at .560 percent. OSU’s offensive efforts were complimented by senior libero Gabriel Domecus’ match high six digs to help the Buckeyes win 25-18.

Ohio State plays again Tuesday night in St. John Arena in a Big Ten clash against No. 15 Penn State at 7 p.m.