Buckeyes Sweeps Grand Canyon, 30-23, 30-16, 30-22
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The 13th-ranked Ohio State (3-4 overall, 2-0 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) men's volleyball team, behind a match-high 15 points from Shawn Sangrey, defeated Grand Canyon (1-7, 0-2), 3-0 (30-23, 30-16, 30-22) Friday night in St. John Arena. Sangrey had a team-high 12 kills (.400), one ace serve and four assist blocks in the match. John Klanac added 11 points (10 kills (.400) and one ace serve) and Grayson Overman had 10.5 (eight kills (.889) and five assist blocks) for the Buckeyes. Grand Canyon's Brock Hutchins recorded a team-high 13.5 points with 12 kills, one solo block and one assist block.
Tied at four in game one, a Connor Dougherty kill gave Grand Canyon a 5-4 lead. An Antelope error tied the game at five. Kills from Sangrey and Klanac and an Overman-Sangrey block gave Ohio State an 8-5 lead. Leading, 14-10, a GCU error and a Klanac kill opened a 16-10 Buckeye lead. OSU held the lead reaching match point at 29-22 with a kill from Kevin Heine. Hutchins, with a kill, stopped the game point at 29-23. Ohio State won the game, 30-23, with a Sangrey kill to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Ohio State hit .419 for the game to .233 for Grand Canyon.
With game two tied at two, two Antelope errors gave Ohio State a 4-2 lead. A kill from Hutchins and a GCU error made it 5-3. At 8-6, kills from Overman and Sangrey and two GCU error gave the Buckeyes a 12-6 lead. Two OSU errors cut the lead to 12-8. The Buckeyes expanded the lead with a four point run to 16-8 beginning with an Overman kill. A solo block by Steven Kehoe, an Antelope error and an Overman-Kehoe block completed the run. At 17-12, Ohio State scored the next eight points to open a 24-12 lead. The run began with a Mik Berzins kill, a Heine-Sangrey block and a Kehoe ace serve as Grand Canyon called time out at 20-12. A Berzins-Heine block, two Kehoe ace serves and a Sangrey kill made it 24-12. The Buckeyes reached game point at 29-15 with a Sangrey kill. An OSU error stopped the game point at 29-16. Sangrey, with a kill, ended the game at 30-16 to give Ohio State a 2-0 lead in the match. The Buckeyes hit .478 for the game to .037 for Grand Canyon.
Tied at one in game three, a Klanac kill and an OSU error gave the Buckeyes a 3-1 lead. A kill and solo block by Hutchins tied the game at three. An Overman kill and GCU error made it 5-3, Ohio State. At 8-6, a kill from Berzins and a Sangrey-Mike Stewart block made the Buckeye lead four at 10-6. The Antelopes closed to within two at 14-12, but two GCU errors and a Stewart kill made it 17-12, OSU. A Sangrey-Stewart block set match point for Ohio State at 29-21. A Tyler Capko kill stopped the point at 29-22. Ohio State, with a Stewart kill, won the game, 30-22, to win the match, 3-0. The Buckeyes hit .435 for the game to .033 for Grand Canyon.
For the match, Ohio State hit .422 to .103 for Grand Canyon. The Buckeyes had a 43-35 margin in kills and a 42-34 advantage in assists. OSU's Kehoe recorded a match-high 40 assists with Brad Moore collecting 32 for Grand Canyon. The Buckeyes recorded six ace serves and gave up none to the Antelopes. Kehoe recorded a match-high three for the Buckeyes. OSU had 17 service errors to 14 for GCU. Defensively, Ohio State had a 25-17 margin in digs. Trent Bruns collected a match-high seven digs for Grand Canyon while OSU's Sangrey posted a team-high six. At the net, Ohio State had a 10 to five advantage in team blocks. Overman (five assist blocks) and Kehoe (one solo, four assist blocks) shared match-high honors with five blocks each.
The Buckeyes and Antelopes complete the two-match series at 7 p.m. Saturday in St. John Arena.
