Olympic Recap: Women’s Volleyball Sweeps Big Weekend In Illinois

It was a busy weekend for Ohio State women’s volleyball, which earned a four-set victory over Northwestern on Saturday before traveling to Champaign, Ill., to claim a win against Illinois on Sunday.

The No. 10 Buckeyes defeated the Wildcats (21-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-16) through a couple of strong performances from Gabby Gonzales, Emily Londot and Kylie Murr.

Gonzales led the Ohio State offense with 15 kills, reaching double figures for the 19th time this season and the 10th consecutive match. Londot also reached that mark, collecting 13 kills, while Murr led all players with 13 digs.

Arica Davis, Rylee Rader, Josie Vondran and Londot all had three blocks for the Buckeyes and stopped a powerful Northwestern offense from making an impact in the four-set match.

On Sunday, Ohio State (21-5, 11-5 Big Ten) swept No. 25 Illinois (27-25, 25-18, 25-23) behind Londot’s mesmerizing swings. The Buckeyes claimed their third straight win and completed the road weekend with two wins.

Londot registered 14 kills with only one error for a season-best .591 hitting percentage. She also had five digs and four blocks. Gonzales was right behind her with 11 kills, continuing her streak of double-digit finishes.

Davis led all players with six blocks — the seventh time she’s had at least six in a match this season and third time in the last four matches — as Mac Podraza moved up to 11th in program history with 2,427 career assists, adding 40 to her total against the Illini.

Ohio State claimed its eighth sweep in Big Ten play and first win against a ranked opponent when they defeated Illinois. The Buckeyes are looking ahead to a weekend of home matches with Iowa (Nov. 19) and Penn State (Nov. 21) before wrapping up the regular season on the road against Rutgers (Nov. 24) and Maryland (Nov. 26).

Women’s Soccer

Ohio State women’s soccer had its season come to an end in Blacksburg, Va. on Friday evening after losing a first-round NCAA Tournament matchup to Virginia Tech, 3-1. The game was tied at the 67-minute mark but a pair of Hokie goals sent the team to the second round.

The Hokies held a 19-9 advantage in shots and a 13-5 advantage in shots on goal. Buckeye goalkeeper Bailey Kolinski had an impressive game, tying her season-high with 10 saves. Unfortunately, the Ohio State defense failed to keep the Virginia Tech offense from sending the ball on the net, making the game ever-busy for its goalie.

Kayla Fischer had five of Ohio State’s nine shots, including four of the five shots on target. She led the Buckeyes with 19 points off of six goals and a team-high seven assists this season. Freshman Kailyn Dudukovich led in goals with seven and was right behind Fischer with 17 points, which instills confidence in the future of the program.

The game was Ohio State’s 15th NCAA Tournament appearance and its sixth in the last seven years, all under head coach Lori Walker-Hock.

Men’s And Women’s Swimming And Dive

Ohio State swimming and diving won 18 events on Friday night and defeated Denison at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus. 

The No. 10 Buckeye women beat the Big Red by a score of 183.50-104.50 and the No. 11 men earned a 184.00-104.00 victory.

Event Wins

Women’s 400 Medley Relay – Fulmer, Panitz, Trace, Hall (3:44.09)

Men’s 400 Medley Relay – Watkins, Mikesell, Gustafson, Ward (3:17.22)

Women’s 1000 Free – Sally Tafuto (10:10.44)

Men’s 1000 Free – Charlie Clark (9:03.00)

Women’s 200 Free – Katherine Zenick (1:50.07)

Men’s 200 Free – Shaw Satterfield (1:39.68)

Women’s 100 Back – Emily Crane (55.64)

Men’s 100 Back – RJ Kondalski (48.99)

Women’s 100 Breast – Hannah Bach (1:04.16)

Men’s 100 Breast – Ian Mikesell (56.01)

Women’s 200 Fly – Kristen Romano (2:02.96)

Men’s 200 Fly – Chachi Gustafson (1:48.35)

Women’s 50 Free – Amy Fulmer (22.85)

Men’s 50 Free – Sem Andreis (20.17)

Women’s 1-Meter Dive – Mackenzie Crawford (331.13)

Men’s 1-Meter Dive – Joseph Canova (384.14)

Women’s 3-Meter Dive – Amanda Ling (307.28)

Men’s 3-Meter Dive – Joseph Canova (419.55)

Women’s 200 IM – Josie Panitz (2:05.29)

Men’s 400 Free Relay – Watkins, Mikesell, Gustafson, Ward (3:17.22)