Indiana swept Ohio State in straight sets on Friday night in Columbus, beating the Buckeyes 25-23, 25-23, 25-18 in Big Ten volleyball action. The win was Indiana’s second straight on the road in conference play, and it was the Hoosiers’ first victory in Columbus since 2022.
The first two sets could hardly have been closer. Ohio State stayed within two points at the end of each one, but Indiana made the final plays both times, closing out matching 25-23 wins to take a two-set lead before the Buckeyes could find an answer on their home floor.
Indiana’s attack produced the difference. The Hoosiers hit .310 as a team, putting down 46 kills against just 10 errors on 116 attacks, a level of efficiency that kept Ohio State’s defense under pressure in every rotation throughout the night.
The Hoosiers also controlled the net defensively, recording 12 blocks as a team. Kiki Granberry contributed to seven of those blocks, repeatedly slowing the Buckeye attack and forcing Ohio State into longer rallies and tougher angles as the match wore on.
Victoria Gray led the balanced Indiana offense, recording nine kills on 15 swings without an error to hit .600. Jaidyn Jager finished with a match-high 16 points, combining 11 kills with four blocks and two service aces in a complete performance.
After the two tight opening sets, Indiana pulled away in the third, winning it 25-18 to complete the sweep. The closing set showed the gap that had been building all evening: cleaner passing, a steadier block and fewer unforced errors from the visiting side.
Indiana moves on to host No. 16 Penn State on Sunday at 3 p.m. in a match televised on FS1. Ohio State, beaten in straight sets at home, will look to regroup as the Big Ten schedule continues, with the two narrow set losses a reminder of how close the Buckeyes were to changing the night.
The result continues a demanding stretch of Big Ten play in which nearly every match has featured sets decided by two or three points. For Ohio State, Friday’s margins sum up the frustration: the Buckeyes were in position late in each of the first two sets, at home, and still walked away without winning one, a pattern the team will need to break as the conference race tightens in the season’s second half.
Photo: Nova Crystallis, CC BY-SA