» Saint Francis University men's volleyball fell to the Buckeyes of The Ohio State University, 3-0 on Wednesday.
» Blake Liprando (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) led the team with five kills on the day.
» Ryan Parker (East Northport, N.Y./Northport) led the Red Flash squad with 14 assists in the match.
TURNING POINTS OF THE GAME
The first set started off as a back-and-forth battle between both programs. The Buckeyes were able to get on the board first in this set. However, a kill from Liprando gave the Red Flash its first lead of the game. With the score tied 9-9, Ohio State was able to go on a 3-0 run. However, the Red Flash responded with a 2-0 run themselves to make the score 12-11 to stay close with Ohio State. Even with the Red Flash staying in closely, the Buckeyes were able to claim the first set, 25-18. This led Ohio State to be able to claim the victory over the next two sets.
FLASH MOMENTS
The Red Flash were able to hang in closely with Ohio State but were not able to ever take the lead in the second set. This allowed the Buckeyes to maintain control throughout the second set to clinch it, 25-13 to only make them one set away from claiming the victory.
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The Red Flash got on the board first in the third set to claim its biggest lead of the match with a two-point advantage to make the score 3-1. However, the Buckeyes responded with a 4-0 run, but Saint Francis could not be stopped that easily. The Red Flash came back within one to make the score 8-7 in favor of Ohio State. The biggest run for the Red Flash came in this set. With the score 18-13, the Loretto program came back within one with kills coming from Liprando,
Trevor Lewis (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) and
Andrew Deardorff (Itasca, Ill./Lake Park) to make the sore 21-20. Unfortunately, the run was just not enough to stop the Buckeyes from claiming the third and final set, 25-20.Â
FLASH NUGGETS
The Red Flash and Buckeyes have met in 37 matches since 1993 with the overall record being in favor of the Buckeyes, 35-2. The last time the two teams played was on Jan. 31, 2020, in which Ohio State won in straight sets as well.
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The last time the Red Flash defeated the Buckeyes was in Columbus in 2019 for a five-set matchup.
UP NEXT
Men's volleyball will continue on the road this week to face Loyola University Chicago on Friday at 7 p.m. followed by a battle at Lewis University on Saturday at 7 p.m.
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