February 25, 2011

COLUMBUS, OH - No. 5 and MIVA-leading Ohio State used a steady attack to bury the Mastodons early, as they cruised to a three-set sweep, 25-13, 25-21, 25-23.

A steady Buckeye attack in the start of the opening set gave the Buckeyes a 4-1 advantage early. An IPFW service error, followed by an overpass, allowed Ohio State to grow that lead to 10-5 early. The Mastodons' attack percentage would fall to .000 as the fifth-ranked Buckeyes took a ten-point advantage at 18-8.

After an Ohio State ace pushed the lead to 22-10, the Mastodons made a brief charge to cut the lead to 11 at 24-13 before closing out the set 25-13.

As a team, the 'Dons made seven errors on seven kills for a hitting percentage of .000 to Ohio State's .632 clip. Starting outside hitter Ivan Matos led the IPFW offense with three kills on five attempts.

Set number two saw IPFW hang with the Buckeyes in the early going, battling from behind to to cut Ohio State's lead to 12-10. A slow-building OSU lead grew to six at 21-15 before an IPFW timeout.

Out of the break, the 'Dons took five of the next seven points, including a huge service ace by Darryl Shank to bring the match to 23-20 and warrant a Buckeye timeout. An IPFW service error gave OSU a set-point opportunity and, after a Shank kill, closed out set number two, 25-21.

Through two sets, IPFW was paced by Phil Peterson's six kills and Rob Samp's .750 hitting percentage. In addition to their leading stats, the Mastodon middles posted a combined three blocks and held Ohio State attackers to a .172 percentage in the middle frame.

Out of the break, the Mastodons' atack came alive - storming out to a two-point lead at 12-10 behind a kill by Rob Samp, forcing a timeout from the Buckeye bench. A net violation by the Buckeyes grew IPFW's lead to 14-11.

Eddie Rivera fired a service ace to give the 'Dons a 16-13 lead before the Buckeyes answered with a three-point run of their own, bringing the match even, as Arnie Ball whistled a timeout the stop the rally.

With the score at 17 apiece, JW Kieckhefer made a rally-saving, diving dig and Corey Frain tallied a solo block to spark a three-point IPFW rally to take a late 20-17 lead. Buckeye Head Coach Pete Hanson's timeout sparked an accompanying three-point rally as the two sides began trading points.

Ohio State took a 22-21 lead on a kill by All-MIVA hitter Shawn Sangrey and used an ultra-long back-and-forth rally to take a 23-22 lead.

The Buckeyes moved the set to match-point at 24-23 with a Kevin Heine kill and sealed the match with a cross-court laser to close out the three-set sweep with a 25-23 set.

Offensively, the 'Dons were led by Darryl Shank and Phil Peterson, who each tallied eight kills in the match. As a team, IPFW hit .091 to Ohio State's .250 average overall.

The loss holds IPFW winless in MIVA play at 0-5 as the 'Dons move to 6-7 overall in the 2011 season. They return to action next Friday (Mar. 4) as they host the George Mason Patriots of the EIVA. The 'Dons defeated the Patriots in five sets earlier this season in Fairfax, Va. First serve in the match is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Hilliard Gates Sports Center in Fort Wayne.

~Dons~