COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Urbana University men's volleyball team fell in straight sets at Ohio State University Tuesday night inside the Covelli Center by final scores of 25-20, 25-11 & 25-19.
Urbana dropped to 0-2 on the young season while Ohio State remained unbeaten at 2-0. It was the first meeting between the two programs as Ohio State played an in-state foe for the first time since 2005.
Tyler Chavez led Urbana with 11 kills for the second straight outing.
Sam Hargett had six kills, including five in the third set, while producing a team-high five digs.
Jack Brinkman chipped in five kills. Additionally, setter
Chaz Hafer dished out 24 assists with 13 coming in the third frame.
The Blue Knights hung around in the first set as a pair of OSU errors trimmed the Buckeyes' lead to one at 9-8.
However, a 9-4 OSU run forced an Urbana timeout with the Buckeyes ahead, 18-12. That sparked the Blue Knights to get back within three at 20-17 following a kill by Hafer, but the Buckeyes took advantage of Urbana's poor .077 hitting percentage to hold on for the 25-20 win.
Ohio State dominated the second set after jumping out to an early 7-1 lead.
Then, Urbana regrouped in the third.
After OSU grabbed the first point, UU responded with the next two and didn't trail again until the Buckeyes claimed a 15-14 lead. It was the first time OSU had trailed in six sets to open the season.
The Blue Knights produced one more kill than the Buckeyes in the final frame, 14-13, including six from Chavez, while posting the team's season-best hitting percentage at .308.
A Chavez kill gave Urbana its largest lead at 14-12, but the hosts were able to string together three consecutive points to regain the advantage. In total, there were 13 ties in the third set. The two teams traded points again as Hargett's kill tied the score at 16-16. But, the Buckeyes stiffened at the net and closed on a 9-3 run to seal the win.
Three Buckeyes had nine kills, including Matt Tompkins, Martin Lallemand and Sam Clark. Tyler Alter had nine digs with eight kills while setter Luke Lentin posted 31 assists.
Overall, Ohio State registered a team hitting percentage of .391 as Urbana finished with a final mark of .133.
UP NEXT: Urbana travels south this weekend for three matches, starting with Friday night's contest at King University in Bristol, Tennessee. The Blue Knights will then head an hour southwest to Tusculum University for a tri-match Saturday against the Pioneers and the University of Mount Olive Trojans.
