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Purdue Fort Wayne
Ohio State
No. 9 Ohio State survives IPFW in Five
4/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
April 8, 2008
Fort Wayne, IN - No. 9 Ohio State trailed IPFW, 5-1 to start the fifth and final game, but the Buckeyes dug deep and held off the upset minded Mastodons, 15-13 to win 3-2 in the 'Dons final MIVA match of the regular season.
IPFW took the opening game, 30-27 but dropped the next two by the indentical scores of, 30-26. The 'Dons rolled in the fourth, 30-22 and looked poised for the upset.
Senior opposite, and reigning MIVA Player of the Week, Jason Yhost began the fifth with a flurry. Yhost started it off with a kill, then fired two services aces. Before his serving rotation was over, IPFW had a, 4-0 lead.
IPFW took a 5-1 lead but then the Buckeyes began their comeback.
A pair of kills by senior outside hitter Brett Versen and sophomore middle Ben Spurlock tied it a five.
Both teams exchanged points most of the game.
Senior outside hitter C.J. Macias put down his 17th and final kill of the match to tie it at 12.
A kill by junior outside hitter Robbie Klein and an IPFW attack error gave OSU two match points.
Yhost got one of those match points back with the last of his 27 kills, making it 14-13 Buckeyes, but Klein got the match-winner on the next point.
IPFW, playing like a conference tournament contender, out-blocked OSU, 16.0 to 12.0.
The Buckeyes featured five players in double-digits with Versen and Klein each putting down 19 balls.
Yhost led all scorer's with his 27 kill night. He slugged an outstanding .522 with four aces, eight digs, and eight block assists.
Macias added six digs and six block assists to his 17 kill night.
Senior middle Josh Stewart put down 10 balls and had six block assists.
Freshman middle Oliver Kook matched Yhost with eight block assists.
Senior outside hitter Brock Ullrich led IPFW with 12 digs. Sophomore libero Matt Pliske chipped in 10.
Ohio State improves to 16-7 overall and 9-1 in the MIVA.
IPFW falls to 12-12 and 5-7 in conference, but is playing with much more focus, confidence, and intensity than at any time this season.
Up next for the Mastodons will be a final non-conference weekend with Saint Francis (PA) and No. 1 Penn State before making a run at a third consecutive MIVA tournament title. The MIVA playoffs begin on April 19.
~Dons~
