Ohio State women’s volleyball used a four-set win (25-18, 14-25, 25-21, 25-21) against Tennessee on Saturday to advance to the program’s 18th NCAA Regional.
The No. 9 Buckeyes (27-5) claimed a win on Friday night against Howard before their victory over the Volunteers. Both games were played in front of a jam-packed Covelli Center full of Ohio State students and fans.
Gabby Gonzales (15), Emily Londot (13) and Rylee Rader (10) all reached double-figure kills against Tennessee, while the Buckeye front line got 10 blocks as a team for the ninth time this season. Kylie Murr is now tied for fourth in program history with 1,394 digs, while Arica Davis, who recorded eight blocks, moved into second in program history with 132 block assists and sixth in total blocks (142) in a single season.
Ohio State’s win over Tennessee helped them reach the regional round for the fifth-straight time in the NCAA Tournament. The last time the Buckeyes failed to reach the regionals was in 2012.
Jen Flynn Oldenberg’s squad will play again on Thursday when they travel to Louisville, Ky., to face eighth-seeded Georgia Tech in the NCAA Regional Semifinal.
Women’s Ice Hockey
Ohio State women’s hockey team won its final regular-season game of 2021 on Saturday evening, earning a 6-2 victory over Minnesota Duluth at Amsoil Arena. The Buckeyes (15-3-0, 13-3-0 WCHA) made the series split against the Bulldogs (8-6-0, 7-5-0 WCHA) after falling 5-2 on Friday night.
Forward Liz Schepers scored on the team’s first power play at 12:13 into the first period, taking advantage of a rebounded shot from forward Paetyn Levis to give Ohio State its first lead of the weekend. With under five minutes to play in the period, Levis collected a loose puck for a goal, burying Lauren Bernard’s rebounded shot to build the Buckeye lead to two.
The Buckeye scoring spree continued right out of the first intermission when forward Lexi Templeman netted her first goal of the game at 1:18 in the second period. Defenseman Sophie Jaques sent a pass across the neutral zone to Templeman, who finished the one-on-one situation.
In the final frame, Ohio State added three more goals as defenseman Riley Brengman scored 5:08 into the period off assists from Schepers and Jaques. Templeman scored her second goal at 7:10 with assists from Levis and forward Clair DeGeorge.
Minnesota Duluth managed to get two by goaltender Amanda Thiele in the third period but forward Jenna Buglioni sealed the deal for Ohio State with an empty-net goal at 1:03 on the clock.
Ohio State doesn’t play again in 2021, taking a four-week hiatus before meeting Lindenwood in January 2022.
Swimming and Diving
Over the weekend, seven student-athletes represented Ohio State at the 2021 U.S. Open Championships in Greensboro, N.C.
Charlie Clark broke a school record in the 800 Free in the championships’ opening event, and Hannah Bach won the 100 Breast.
Clark finished the 800 Free in 7:54.40, claiming a school record and second place in the event. He led for the first 750m of the race but ultimately finished 0.33 seconds behind the 2020 Olympic champion Bobby Finke. Clark beat his previous school record in the event by four seconds. The sophomore swimmer went on to earn second in the 1500 Free (15:07.53) and take fourth in the A Final of the 400 Free (3:51.95).
Bach earned the first national win of her career in the 100 Breast on Friday. She touched the wall in 1:09.01 — 1.27 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. The junior also raced in the 200 Breast on Saturday, finishing in a time of 2:45.57 in the B final.
Sem Andreis earned a spot in one A final and two B finals at Open. In the 50 Free, he finished seventh in the prelims (22.92) to compete in Thursday’s A final, where he took eighth place. The senior raced a time of 54.99 in the prelims of the 100 Fly, which helped him qualify for a B final cut. Andreis improved his time by 0.4 seconds in the finals, recording a time of 54.59 for third in the B final. After taking 11th in his preliminary swim of the 100 Free (50.92), Andreis went on to win the B final in a time of 50.45.
Chachi Gustafson represented Ohio State in the B finals of the 100 and 200 Fly. In his first race, he swam a 54.82 in the 100 Fly for 12th overall in the prelims before finishing fourth in the B final (55.29). The junior raced a 2:05.93 in the 200 Fly for 11th overall during the morning session and took fourth again in the B final — this time finishing in 2:06.83.
Teresa Ivan raced in three events, including the 50 and 100 Free and the 100 Back. In the 50 Free, the freshman earned a spot in the B Final after posting a time of 26.17 in the morning prelim session. She took fourth in the B final and improved her time for a 26.08 finish.
In the 100 Free, she made it to the C Final with a 57.71 swim in the prelims and ultimately took eighth in her final heat (58.43). Ivan finished in a time of 1:07.59 in the prelims of the 100 Back.
Alex Quach competed in two events, winning the B final of the 100 Fly in 54.36. He improved his preliminary swim time by 0.01 seconds (54.37). The freshman started his week off with the 50 Free, racing 23.57 in the prelims and 23.72 for third in the C final.
Hudson McDaniel took the pool for the 100 Breast, swimming a time of 1:03.90 for a third in the B final. He raced a 1:03.39 in his preliminary swim, good for 11th overall in the morning session.
Ohio State returns to team competitions in the new year, welcoming Texas and Kentucky to McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion on Jan. 14 and 15.
