No. 8 Ohio State stuns No. 5 Georgia Tech for third straight top-10 win

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes (3-3) beat No. 5 Georgia Tech (6-1) in four sets (25-19, 20-25, 25-21, 25-23) to conclude the Georgia Tech Classic in front of a sold-out crowd on Sunday afternoon. This is the Buckeyes’ third-consecutive top-10 win.

The Buckeyes used a pair of 6-0 runs to take control of the first set, earning the 25-19 set win. The Yellow Jackets used an early 5-0 run and a later 5-1 run to even the match with a 25-20 win in set two. Ohio State took an early lead in the third set with an 11-1 run and held off the late push from Georgia Tech to win the set by a 25-21 mark. The Yellow Jackets took control of the fourth set and led 19-15 before six-straight Buckeye points gave OSU a lead it would not relinquish. The Buckeyes held off GT to win the fourth set by a 25-23 margin.

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How it happened

Georgia Tech began the match with a pair of kills. Jenaisya Moore’s first kill began a 3-0 run to give Ohio State its first lead of the match at 5-4. The Buckeyes extended the run to six-unanswered points to lead 8-4 before GT responded with back-to-back points. The Yellow Jackets called timeout following a 5-0 Buckeyes run to extend their lead to 14-7. A three-point run by GT cut the OSU lead to 16-11, but Ohio State scored three of the next four to lead 19-12. Back-to-back OSU points gave the Buckeyes a 21-14 lead and forced the second Yellow Jackets timeout of the set. A solo block by Adria Powell set the Buckeyes up for set point. GT scored on three-consecutive set points before OSU earned the 25-19 set win.

The Yellow Jackets scored first in the second set as the teams traded service errors. The Buckeyes took their first lead of the set at 3-2 on a kill from Gabby Gonzales before an 8-2 run gave GT a 10-5 lead and forced a Buckeye timeout. Ohio State got back within two at 12-10 after scoring five of seven points out of the timeout. GT used a 5-1 run to extend its lead to 18-12 and force the Buckeyes to take another timeout. Following the timeout, Ohio State scored the next two points on kills from Gonzales and Rylee Rader. The Buckeyes got within four at 23-19 but lost the set by a 25-20 margin.

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Ohio State scored first in the third set as the teams again traded service errors. The teams were tied at every point until a 4-0 Buckeyes run gave OSU the 7-4 advantage and forced GT to call timeout. A pair of aces from Rader helped extend Ohio State’s lead to 13-5 with five-unanswered points, forcing another Yellow Jackets timeout. GT responded to OSU’s 6-0 run with a 5-0 run of its own to trim the lead to 14-10, causing an Ohio State timeout. Georgia Tech extended its run to 8-1 to cut the Buckeyes’ lead down to two at 15-13. OSU responded with six of the next eight points to lead 21-15 on a Rader kill. A Yellow Jackets error gave the Buckeyes set point at 24-18.

GT scored first to begin the fourth set. OSU took its first lead of the set at 4-3 following three-consecutive points. The teams traded points as there were eight ties by the time the set was tied at 10. Georgia Tech used a 5-0 run to break the tie streak and lead 16-12 before Gonzales responded with a kill. Ohio State called a timeout trailing 18-13 after back-to-back GT kills. The Buckeyes scored the next two points out of the timeout on a kill from Adria Powell and then a block from Powell and Gonzales. An ace from Gonzales forced a Georgia Tech timeout as the Buckeyes were back within two at 19-17. A successful Ohio State challenge tied the set at 19. The Buckeyes extended their run to 6-0 to take a 21-19 lead and force a Yellow Jackets timeout. Georgia Tech tied the set at 21 out of the timeout and then again at 22 and 23. Back-to-back kills from Rader and Mac Podraza ended the match with a 25-23 set win.