Ohio State reaches volleyball semifinal

Ohio State’s hopes for a third straight men’s volleyball national championship are still alive after a dramatic five-set victory over UC Irvine on Thursday night.

Ohio State (255), the No. 5 seed, defeated the fourthseeded Anteaters 25-19, 22-25, 25-23, 22-25, 16-14 at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.

“It was a slugfest,” Buckeyes coach Pete Hanson said. “Both teams took shots at one another and never really got in control of any set where they put the other team away.”

Ohio State AllAmerican Nicolas Szerszen clinched the match with a crosscourt kill after a back-and-forth final set. Szerszen and redshirt freshman Jake Hanes each had 22 kills. Hanes had a career-high eight service aces.

The Buckeyes will face top-ranked Long Beach State in the NCAA semifinals on Thursday.

Ohio State defended its national title last season in the NCAAs at St. John Arena. But with several key players from that team graduating, Hanson expected some growing pains, even with Szerszen returning.

The Buckeyes endured some bumps in the road, but they are peaking at the right time. They won the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association title and then ousted King University in an NCAA play-in match at St. John last week.

Ohio State won the first and third sets, but UC Irvine (21-10) countered by winning the following sets.