Around the Oval: Women's Volleyball Upsets No. 10 Penn State and Women's Soccer defeats Dayton to advance to Second Round of NCAA Tournament

By Magee Sprague on November 14, 2016 at 3:30 pm
Sammy Edwards
via Ohio State Athletics, Twitter
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Ohio State excellence is not exclusive to the football field or the basketball court. Around the Oval is our way of keeping you informed of the amazing things happening with the other 34 varsity sports on campus.

While the basketball team got the season off on the right foot and the football team destroyed Maryland, the non-revenue sports were kicking some butt of their own. On Saturday night in Columbus the women’s soccer team topped Dayton to advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament and the women’s volleyball team upset No. 10 Penn State. Overall, it was a great weekend to be a Buckeye.

Volleyball Upsets No. 10 Penn State

The Buckeyes stunned the No. 10 Nittany Lions in a grueling battle of five sets (25-23, 15-25, 19-25, 25-22, 18-16) at St. John’s Arena on Saturday night. This was Ohio State’s fourth win against a Top-25 team so far this season.

Senior Taylor Sandbothe led Ohio State with a grand total of 26 points for the night which included 25 kills and one block. Taylor Hughes posted a triple double, 34 assists, 12 digs, and 10 kills. Luisa Schirmer contributed to the Buckeye victory with 15 points, all kills, and Audra Appold with 12 points, ten kills.

The Scarlet and Gray came out ready to play and took an early 17-13 lead over the Nittany Lions. It didn't take long for the No. 10 team in the country to come back and tie the score up 21-21, but the Buckeyes held on and took the first. The second and third set were a different story. Ohio State fell in the second by six points and the third by three.

The home team went into the fourth set down 2-1 with everything on the line. Then, Sandbothe and Hughes stepped up and dominated on the offensive front. Sandbothe had eight kills for the set, seven of which came off of assists from Hughes. The teams were tied 19-19 when the duo decided to go on a run. The pair combined for all of Ohio State's last six points, including the dagger from Sandbothe that sealed the set, 25-22, for the Buckeyes. 

The fifth set was a nail biter in which the score was tied a grand total of nine times. Although Penn State started off with an 11-8 lead, the Buckeyes held on and quickly evened out the score. The two teams were neck and neck throughout the final stretch, tied at 11-11, 12-12, 13-13, 14-14, and 15-15. The Buckeyes finally pulled ahead with two kills from Luisa Schirmer that won the set, and ultimately the match, for the Buckeyes, 18-16. 

Next up the team will travel for the last time in the regular season, to Northwestern on Friday and Illinois on Saturday. There are just four games left until the Buckeyes head in to post-season play.  

Women’s Soccer Advances

The No. 24 Ohio State women’s soccer team survived and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament with the 3-2 defeat of Dayton Saturday night at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. 

Sammy Edwards got things started for the Scarlet and Gray with the first goal of the game at the 14 minute mark to put her team up 1-0. Just one minute before the half, West Virginia put one in the net to tie up the game at the halfway point.

After the break, Dayton scored the first points to put the Flyers up 2-1. But no worries, only 30 seconds after Nikki Walts scored one off of the assist from Lindsay Agnew to tie up the game again. Walt scored the game winner off of a free kick in the 86th minute to sent the Buckeye to the second round.

Next up the team will travel to Morgantown to take on West Virginia in the second round of the tournament. 

Hockey Hockey Hockey

The No. 14 men’s hockey team hosted a series against UConn this weekend, in which they won the first 7-4 and tied the second 3-3. In game one of the series, senior David Gust recorded his first career hat trick with the Buckeyes and senior Nick Shilkey scored his 100th career point. After the series the team stands at 6-1-4. 

In the first game of the series, the Buckeyes got off to an early 2-1 lead in the first period with goals from Josh Healey and David Gust. In the second period, UConn went on a three goal run, all scored within the same ten minutes, to put the Huskies up 4-2. Ohio State responded with three goal run of its own, all scored within two minutes, from David Gust, Mason Jobst, and Nick Shilkey. The Buckeyes went into the final period up 5-4. David Gust and Luke Stork both scored in the third to seal the win for the home team, 7-4. 

The the second battle with the Huskies, the away team got things rolling on the ice with two goals in the first ten minutes of play. Jobst score first for the Buckeyes at the 12th minute mark of the first. Shilkey scored the single goal of the second period to even out the score, 2-2. Gust put one away early on in the third, but the Huskies responded with a goal of their own to tie up the game, 3-3. The two teams went scoreless through overtime, so the game is officially recorded as a tie. 

The women's hockey team traveled to St. Cloud State for a series in which they won one 3-0 and lost one 4-1. In the first game all three goals came from Ohio State freshmen, Crystal Sorem, Samantha Bouley, and Jincey Dunne. Jessica Dunne scored the lone goal for the Buckeyes in the second game of the series. The team is now 6-7-1 and they gear up for a trip to Minnesota State next weekend.

non-revenues take on the mannequin challenge

In case you missed it, the Mannequin Challenge is currently sweeping the nation and our non-revenue sports here at Ohio State are killing the game. 

what's up next

  • 11/18 - Women's volleyball at Northwestern
  • 11/18 - Women's soccer at West Virginia
  • 11/18 - Women's hockey at Minnesota State
  • 11/18 - Men's hockey at Rensselaer
  • 11/19 - Women's volleyball at Illinois
  • 11/19 - Women's hockey at Minnesota State
  • 11/19 - Men's hockey at Rensselaer

Go Bucks!

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