Olympic Recap: Conference-Wide Volleyball Awards, Seven-Game Unbeaten Streak For WHKY, Feinberg 15th At Junior Worlds

The Ohio State women’s volleyball team racked up ample hardware from the Big Ten’s volleyball awards Wednesday.

Senior libero Kylie Murr earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, with senior Mac Podraza earning Setter of the Year. Junior opposite hitter Emily Londot joined Padroza and Murr as a first-team All-Big Ten performer, while senior outside hitter Gabby Gonzales and junior middle blocker Rylee Rader landed on the second team. 

Murr became the Buckeyes’ career leader in digs this season, now with 1,879 to her credit in Columbus. She leads the Big Ten in digs per set this year at 4.79, second most in program history only to herself in 2019.

Podraza led the conference in assists per set with 11.08 in 2022. She ranks fifth in school history for career assists and posted 11 double-doubles in assists and digs for the Buckeyes this year.

Senior outside hitter Mia Grunze was a Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree. Ohio State finished 19-9 on the season with a 15-5 conference record. The Buckeyes play Tennessee State in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday, with play starting at 7:30 p.m.

Women’s Hockey Unbeaten Streak To Seven

Picking up a tie and a win, respectively, Nov. 22 and 23 against No. 6 Colgate, the No. 1 Ohio State women’s hockey team hasn’t lost a match in seven consecutive tries.

The Buckeyes tied with the Raiders in the first of the two sides’ meetings, with forward Gabby Rosenthal picking up two goals for OSU. Forward Jenna Buglioni gave Ohio State a 4-3 lead entering the third period, but a score from Colgate forward Krystyna Kaltounkova 5:31 into the final period and scoreless overtime led to a 4-4 deadlock.

Ohio State won the ensuing shootout, though it doesn’t matter for either team’s record.

Such a close contest wasn’t in store for the following night, however, as the Buckeyes cruised past the Raiders by a 6-2 final. Defenseman Sophie Jaques slapped home her 14th and 15th goals of the season, the most in the nation. She and Buglioni took home WCHO Player of the Week honors.

The Buckeyes’ last defeat came Oct. 28 at the hands of No. 5 Minnesota, to date the lone loss of the season for the defending national champions. No. 3 Yale stands as the only unbeaten team across the country, though the Bulldogs have played just eight contests to Ohio State’s 16. No. 4 Quinnipiac is the only other one-loss team.

Feinberg 15th At Junior Worlds

In the realm of fencing, a Buckeye competed on the international stage this past week.

Daniel Feinberg, who won the 2022 epée NCAA championship for Ohio State, finished 15th at the Junior World Cup in Riga, Latvia.

Feinberg’s result aided Team USA in capturing team gold at the championship event. Feinberg was seeded sixth after pool play at the competition.