Better, but not enough…Buckeyes libero Emily Avshalomov scrambles to save a point in the third set of Wednesday’s loss to the Purdue Boilermakes at the Covelli Center. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Sonny Fulks)
The Buckeyes drop their sixth match in a row Wednesday in familiar fashion…lost late leads twice in shutout by Purdue…failure to finish haunts after a positive start to season.
Columbus, OH – Ohio State volleyball coach Jen Flynn Oldenburg was understandably preoccupied with her post-match comments Wednesday following and 0-3 loss to the Purdue Boilermakers at the Covelli Center.
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“You can’t win if you can’t score, or score late,” she reiterated, a repeat of her post-game statement following a loss to Minnesota earlier in October. “You have to finish in these matches, and we’re not finishing.”
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Translation: In all too familiar fashion they’re finding ways to lose. Late leads and momentum that seem to vanish in the time it takes for an opposition timeout to regroup. They then become the aggressor and the Buckeyes become interested bystanders. It’s happened before, to Oldenburg’s point, and it happened again in Wednesday’s loss…19-25, 27-29, and 23-25.
“We simply don’t have that confidence that we need right at the end,” Oldenburg added. “And the only way to get it is to play. It’s not that we’re not trying, because we are. And it’s not for lack of talking about it. We just need to go do it.”
After dropping the first set in pedestrian fashion on Wednesday, and losing an early lead, they rebounded in the second set via the hitting of Hannah Jones and Naomi Govou – and a pair of serving aces by Mia Stahler – to sprint to a 20-13 lead, a complete reversal of the first set. And, in line with what Jen Oldenburg has talked about since last winning on October 16 against Southern Cal in Los Angeles. Just go do it.
Well above the net, 5’9″ Emily Govou blasts a kill attempt over the block attempt of a Purdue defender.
But trailing by those seven points, Purdue coach Dave Shondell called a timeout, the Boilermakers caught their breath, and came back to the court somehow a different team. They immediately scored the next five points before OSU would again gain a point of their own, and went on to tie the game at 23-23 a moment later.
Volleyball, of course, is a game of momentum and Purdue suddenly had it in bucketfuls. Then, over the course of four ties and three lead changes the Buckeyes fought hard to keep up, but ultimately Purdue took the second set 27-29…the winning point coming on an infraction by Ohio State for being out of rotation.
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There must have been more “go do it” between the second and third set because again Ohio State came out to take an early lead and led 15-13 at the mid-set break. Once again Naomi Govou ignited to snap off a series of kills that kept Purdue’s outstanding block on its heels, and the Buckeyes in the lead at 22-19 – at winning time!
Once again, Shondell called a timeout, the Boilermakers did what they do when their backs are to the wall, and came out to quickly tie the score at 23-23, winning four of the next five points. They took a 24-23 lead on an OSU block attempt that went out of bounds.
Purdue freshman Addy Tindall hammers match point in the Boilermaker’s 3-0 win Wednesday at the Covelli Center.
And on match point, Purdue expertly set the ball for 6’3″ outside hitter Addy Tindall, a redshirt freshman, who expertly placed a cross-court kill that handcuffed the Buckeyes’ defense…23-25…game, set, and match.
Tough way to lose, with wins in consecutive sets so close, and yet, to points made earlier, so far when you don’t know how to finish. And when you’ve played so well to even give yourself a chance, as the Buckeyes did. Naomi Govou led all players with 16 kills, and Hannah Jones complemented that with 13 of her own.
“We’re playing well enough,” Oldenburg said again, when pressed on the issue of how do you get over the hump. “We’re just not finishing.”
The exact opposite of how Purdue played in the both the second and third sets when they were down by as many as seven points.
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“They’ve seen videos [of us],” said Oldenburg. “They’ve seen the late leads we’ve blown. And they say, ‘Hey, we just play our game and we’ll be fine.’ And it’s on us to be better in those moments. We don’t have to be perfect, but sometimes when we don’t execute perfectly we just freak out a little bit.”
Freshman Alia Schoonover sends a first set point past the block attempt of Purdue’s defense.
The Buckeyes fell to 3-10 in Big Ten play, and again the whispers emerge about their lack of size compared to other conference schools like Purdue. Purdue lists a 6’5″, two 6’4″ players, and five 6’3″ players on their roster and collectively that kind of size creates, if nothing else, a mental dynamic. Good big players usually beat good smaller players. Hannah Jones, Aneta Valentova, and Lauren Wiese are the only three players on the Buckeyes’ roster that are 6’1″ or bigger.
“Well, it’s a mindset,” counters Oldenburg. “Size does help, but it’s not the only thing. Some of our kids are way high above the net (Hannah Jones). It’s really about speed, but if we’re not taking care of the ball we can’t go fast.”
She’s made the point earlier in the year about controlling points – taking care of the ball and playing in system. Wednesday was a classic example of how Purdue did it when they needed to play their best; and Ohio State’s inability to do it on a more consistent basis.
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“Purdue has always prided themselves on ball control,” Oldenburg added. “I feel like this is one of their weaker teams, but they’re still really good, still better than a lot of teams in the conference. So for them to have that mindset that we’re going to serve, pass, and take care of the ball…that’s their fail-safe. And that’s a pretty good one. That’s what I was trained on and we just don’t have it yet. But we’re really close.”
6’1″ Hannah Jones snuffs the tip attempt of Purdue’s “Mimi” Mambu during Wednesday’s action at the Covelli Center.
Purdue improved to 15-7 (8-5 in conference)…Ohio State dropped to 10-13 (3-10 in conference).
“We need a couple of wins in these next four matches to secure a spot in the Big Ten Tournament,” she concluded. “But I like how we’re playing enough that we’re going to be a problem in the tournament. When you play a team twice they’ll plan for us, but we’ll have a plan for them that’s a little bit more direct based on what they did against us the first time.
“For us it’s a matter of getting back to the hard work that it takes to win…it’s a defensive mindset, it’s an attack mentality on offense, especially when you get past 20, and we had a little bit more of that today, but just not enough.”
Next up…a date with Michigan State on Saturday in East Lansing. Kickoff is a 6 pm. Jen Flynn Oldenburg is expecting a little bit more.
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