Ohio State pushed No. 9 Wisconsin to the edge in front of a sold-out Covelli Center crowd on Friday night, Nov. 13, but the Badgers took the final three sets to beat the Buckeyes 3-1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-22) in Big Ten women’s volleyball, Ohio State athletics reported. Outside hitter Naomy Govou tied her career high with 25 kills in the loss.
Govou hit .442 for the match, Ohio State reported, and Friday was her 18th match this season with double-digit kills and her eighth with 20 or more. Hannah Jones matched her nearly swing for swing, adding 17 kills while hitting .484, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Ohio State finished with a .360 team hitting percentage — higher than any other team Wisconsin has beaten this season, according to the Journal Sentinel.
The Buckeyes started by taking a set off a ranked opponent for the third time this season, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The first set was tied six times before Ohio State surged ahead 15-14 at the media timeout behind two Govou kills and one from Jones, Ohio State reported. Wisconsin answered with a 5-0 run to lead 20-17, but Govou’s 10th kill of the set tied it 23-23, her 11th put Ohio State in front, and a big swing from Jones closed the set, 25-23.
Wisconsin’s response was immediate. The Badgers opened the second set with a 7-0 run on their way to a 9-3 lead and a 15-6 advantage at the media timeout, Ohio State reported. Govou and Jones kept swinging — back-to-back Govou kills cut the margin to seven at 20-13, and kills from Bailey Nakanelua and Govou delayed set point — but Wisconsin finished the set 25-18 to level the match.
The third set followed a similar pattern of Ohio State pressure and Wisconsin answers. Kills from Jones, Kalli Jioshvili-Ravva and Na’vea Gauthier kept the Buckeyes within three early, back-to-back Gauthier attacks and a Gauthier ace pulled Ohio State within two at 12-10, and Alia Schoonover’s consecutive kills cut a five-point deficit back to three at 16-13, Ohio State reported. A late 3-0 Buckeye run, helped by two Badger attack errors, was not enough, and Wisconsin took the set 25-19.
The fourth set was the night’s best volleyball. Govou’s 20th kill kept Ohio State within two early, her ace pulled the Buckeyes within one at 8-7, and a Govou kill followed by a Wisconsin error tied the score 16-16 and brought the sold-out crowd to its feet, Ohio State reported. Jones’ 16th kill gave Ohio State a 19-18 lead, Govou’s 24th kill tied it again at 21-21, and her 25th pulled the Buckeyes within 24-22 before Wisconsin closed out the set and the match.
Wisconsin spread its offense the way ranked teams do in November. Five Badgers finished with double-figure kills, Wisconsin athletics reported, and the Badgers have now won seven straight matches against Ohio State and lead the all-time series 48-39, including 23-18 in Columbus, according to Wisconsin athletics. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported the win was Wisconsin’s 93rd straight over an unranked opponent.
Ohio State’s supporting numbers explain why the match stayed close. Setter Bailey Nakanelua recorded a team-high 46 assists, Ohio State reported. Bella Humphrey led the Buckeyes with a career-high 13 digs, Mia Stahler added 12 and Jioshvili-Ravva had 11. Humphrey also served an ace in the fourth set as Ohio State kept the Wisconsin lead at a single point deep into the frame.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on: the loss drops Ohio State to 11-15 overall and 4-12 in the Big Ten with one regular-season match remaining, per Ohio State’s official recap. Wisconsin improved to 19-7 and 13-3. What is not yet settled is Ohio State’s place in the inaugural Big Ten Tournament picture the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel referenced in its coverage — the Buckeyes’ final regular-season result on Tuesday will complete the picture before any postseason pairings are set.
Friday’s match was one piece of a crowded Ohio State weekend in Columbus. The football Buckeyes host Northwestern at Ohio Stadium on Saturday, a matchup NewsForce247 previewed in our coverage of Ryan Day facing his former assistant Chip Kelly, and the athletic department’s recruiting news continued this week as well, as NewsForce247 reported in our story on Ohio State signing two top-60 basketball prospects for the 2027 class.
For the volleyball Buckeyes, a losing record does not capture how Friday felt inside the Covelli Center: a career-tying night from their best hitter, a .484 night from their second option, and a fourth set that had a top-10 team calling timeout with the score tied at 21. The gap between Ohio State and the Big Ten’s ranked tier was real across sets two and three — and narrow everywhere else.
What happens next: Ohio State closes the regular season at home on Senior Night, Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m., against Maryland, Ohio State reported. The Buckeyes’ graduating class will be honored following the conclusion of the match.
Photo: Nova Crystallis, CC BY-SA 4.0