Men's Volleyball Hosts Buckeyes in Battle of Ranked Squads

GAME NOTES

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The 15th ranked IPFW men's volleyball squad hosts 14th ranked Ohio State in a mid-week battle of teams ranked inside of the AVCA Top-15.

Opponent: Ohio State Buckeyes (7-6, 4-2 MIVA)
When: Wednesday, March 5 | 7 p.m.
Where: Fort Wayne, Ind. | Gates Sports Center
All-Time Series: Ohio State leads 66-34
Last Meeting: IPFW 3, Ohio State 2 | March 23, 2013 | Fort Wayne, Ind.
Radio: GoMastodons.com Internet Radio | Mike Maahs, play-by-play
Live Stats: Sidearm Live Stats
Live Video: Mastodon All-Access

SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State comes into the game ranked 14th in the country, with each of the team's six losses this season coming to nationally ranked teams (No. 14 Hawai'i, #7 UCLA, #11 Penn State, #1 Loyola, #12 Penn State, and #10 Lewis).

The Buckeyes are led offensively by Andrew Lutz, who has a team-best 155 kills, as Michael Henchy and Driss Guessous have 116 and 107 kills, respectively. Guessous hits .464 on the year with 179 attempts. The team has used two primary setters this season, as Christy Blough has 276 assists and Peter Heinen has 171.

Defensively Ohio State has been led by Gabriel Domecus who has 79 digs (1.88 per set), with Henchy second on the squad with 62 (1.44 per set). Guessos averages nearly a block per set with 41 total blocks, while three others - Henchy (28), Lutz (26), and Dustan Neary (24) have over 20 blocks on the year.

ALL-TIME SERIES

IPFW and Ohio State have met 100 times all-time, with Ohio State holding a 66-34 lead in the all-time series. The Buckeyes won the first 11 meetings between the teams; however, the Mastodons won 17-of-21 during a stretch from 1989 until 1994.

RETURNING TO THE RANKINGS

After a three week absence, the Mastodons returned to the national rankings last week week, coming in at No. 15 in the AVCA Top 15 Poll, and remain at 15 headed into this week. The Mastodons join four other MIVA squads in the rankings. Loyola (Ill.) holds the No. 1 spot while Lewis, Ohio State, and Ball State follow at No. 12-14.

CLOSING IN ON A MILESTONE
IPFW senior Eddie Rivera is 44 kills away from becoming the Mastodons' 17th member of the 1,000-kill club. The most recent addition to the club was Darryl Shank, who reached the milestone in 2011.

ROAD WARRIORS
Eight of IPFW's first 11 matches this season were played away from the Gates Sports Center and the Mastodons went an impressive 6-2 during that stretch.

CLIMBING THE CAREER LADDER
Omar Rivera, who is second in the MIVA and sixth in the NCAA in assists per set with 11.20, continues his ascent in the IPFW record books. The junior setter ranks 6th on the all-time list with 2,377 assists.

DIGGING IT
Eddie Rivera has climbed into the IPFW All-Time Top 10 for digs. Rivera currently ranks 7th on the list with 626 career digs. He is also the team leader in that category this season with 102.

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics

Men's Volleyball Hosts Buckeyes in Battle of Ranked Squads

Next Event

Related Videos