Buckeyes’ Win Streak Snapped In Loss To Nebraska…In Volleyball, That Is

Unbeknownst to the rest of Buckeye nation, Ohio State’s women’s volleyball team had its six-game win streak snapped Saturday at Nebraska.  And outside of football…no one knew!

Columbus, OH – Ohio State sports information director for volleyball, Breanna Jacobs, shared the state of Ohio’s, and the university’s, best-kept secret Saturday morning on our walk to the football game at Ohio Stadium.

“You know,”  she said.  “The volleyball team has already won more matches this year than it did all of last year.  They’re 8-4 now.”

To her point, last year Jen Flynn Oldenburg’s Buckeyes struggled though a 6-22 campaign that was uglier than the Olentangy in drought season.

And coming off Friday’s 3-1 win at Iowa, the Buckeyes had won six straight matches, including impressive decisions against University of Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Virginia.  So their five other wins against Ohio University, Northern Kentucky, Fresno State, Southern Indiana, and Winthrop are not to be taken that lightly.

Oldenburg can coach, her enthusiasm for the sport and what it means to women’s competitive opportunities in life is off the charts…and while she hasn’t said so in as many words, she has something that she desperately wants to prove.

And that is…the next Jeremiah Smith-type athlete out there might be a girl who plays volleyball somewhere.  And heavens knows,  she might want to play at Ohio State!

But how would they know, eh?  Look at the online edition of the Sunday’s Columbus Dispatch and there’s no mention anywhere of volleyball.  If it wasn’t for the Big Ten Network the sport on a national basis would be as obscure as finding that canary they speak of in a coal mine.

There were twelve stories relative to Saturday’s football win over Illinois, but nothing…nunca…nada…about their weekend Big Ten conference volleyball split (on the road) with Iowa and Nebraska.

And just five years ago Flynn Oldenburg  actually had a win streak of fourteen matches between September and November – back when the Buckeyes were making noise in the NCAA tournament chase.

A decade ago the program was actually the bellwether of Big Ten volleyball under coach Jim Stone, who passed away recently, but not before making Ohio State volleyball a respected entity in the conference.

But then came Covid.

Decline, and the reality that sports that don’t make money for the athletic budget at Ohio State, Nebraska, Penn State, and Michigan get the respect of mosquitoes at an outdoor wedding.  Like baseball, softball, field hockey, rifle, and the spirit team (cheerleading), they’re not publicity-worthy.  Flynn Oldenburg smiles at the irony of where they’ve been, and where they’re headed.

“We’re working on it,”  she said to me in August, following their match with Ohio University.  “And we’re not alone.  You hear about the schools like Nebraska and Penn State because they work so hard to market the sport – 90,000 people in an outdoors match in their football stadium.  And it’s not a stunt.

“Volleyball is a great spectator sport because it’s fast, athletic, and there’s a point scored with every serve.  Every touch of the ball is relevant.  It is the fastest-growing sport among young female athletes across the country.”

They ran into a juggernaut Saturday in Lincoln, Nebraska.  Nebraska is unbeaten, and there’s a reason for that.  After their four-set win Friday over Iowa, the #1 Cornhuskers (13-0, 2-0 in Big Ten) swept the Buckeyes in three sets, but not before Ohio State tied the first set eleven times.  And at one point led 16-14.

But the ‘Huskers then went on a 3-0 run, and an 11-3 run to eventually close out the set 25-19.  And being the momentum sport that it is, the ‘Huskers rode Big Mo throughout the second and third sets, winning 25-10 and 25-12.

But how would you know?

Well, you can log onto Press Pros this week when we launch our own coverage of select Big Ten matches when Rutgers comes to the Covelli Center on campus for a 7 pm match on Thursday.  Beyond that, it’s safe to say you’ll hear…crickets!  You won’t be seeing it in your morning paper.  And that’s a shame.

To her words, volleyball is the only sport where a point is scored on every serve, it’s fast, athletic, and the momentum rush is palpable to both athletes and onlookers, alike.  And at 8-4 Jen Flynn Oldenburg should be smiling.  She’s already ahead of where they finished in 2025, with two months yet to play.

And need we repeat the tiresome phrase that plenty of good seats are always available?

And that losing to the world’s best college team on Saturday…is no reason not to go see for yourself.

It’s Thursday.

In Columbus!