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Middle attacker Cole Young made sure there wouldn’t be too much suspense in a decisive fifth game.
Young had an ace and a kill during a 7-2 run to open the final game as No. 7/7 Ohio State defeated Purdue Fort Wayne 25-9, 23-25, 31-39, 25-23, 15-9 on Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio.
The middle attacker finished with 10 kills on a match-best .533 attack percentage, including having two kills in the fifth game. Young also led all players with five kills in the fourth-game victory to force the fifth game.
Along with the offensive performance, Young had a match-high seven blocks.
Ohio State overcame committing a season-high 31 service errors and had 13 aces against Purdue Fort Wayne.
Opposite Daniel Hurley led all players with a career-high seven aces and was one ace shy of tying the Ohio State single-match record for aces. Hurley had three consecutive aces in Ohio State’s 16-point first-game win and then had four straight aces as part of a 6-0 run midway through the third game.
Ohio State out-hit Purdue Fort Wayne .320 to .112 highlighted with a match-best .722 attack percentage and no errors in the first game. The Buckeyes also committed one attack error and hit .400 in the final game.
Four Buckeyes finished double-digit kills to help the team secure its fifth win the last six matches.
Outside attacker Jacob Pasteur had a match-high 17 kills, including having two kills in the fifth game. Outside attacker Ben Putnam added 11 kills, while Hurley had 10 kills.
Pin-hitters Jon Diedrich and Mark Frazier in the loss each led Purdue Fort Wayne with 13 kills.
The Buckeyes with this victory move into sole possession of first place in the MIVA. Ohio State entered this match in a three-way tie for first place with No. 13 Ball State and McKendree.