COLUMBUS, Ohio — If coach Joel Walton or anyone else had any doubt on the team to beat in this year's conference tournament, they got their answer Friday night.
No. 11 Ohio State University swept the No. 15 Ball State University men's volleyball team 30-26, 30-26, 30-19 in Columbus, Ohio, to clinch its fourth consecutive conference regular season title and its fifth straight sweep of a conference opponent.
"Right now Ohio State is the best team in the conference by far," Walton said after the match.
This victory completed an eight-day stretch where Ohio State swept second-place No. 13 Loyola University, third-place Lewis University and fourth-place Ball State to close out its conference season. The wins secured the Buckeyes (19-7, 11-1 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) the No. 1 seed in the MIVA Tournament and a bye in the quarterfinals.
Ohio State outside attacker Shawn Sangrey said the Buckeyes are beginning to play their best volleyball this season.
"We are peaking," he said. "To beat Loyola, Lewis and Ball State, those are the toughest games in the conference and it's huge that we can do it."
Sangrey finished the match against Ball State with 17 kills, including a game-high 10 kills in the first game.
The Buckeyes out-hit the Cardinals .318 to .139 and held four Ball State outside attackers to a negative attack percentage.
With the victory, the Buckeyes extended their winning streak to nine matches, the second longest in the nation.
Ohio State coach Pete Hanson said there has been a growing confidence among his players as the regular season ends.
"We got a good team and they are getting better," he said. "They take no days off. There is no day when they come into practice and do not want to be there, and we getting to see the results of that hard work."
This is the first time in Ohio State's history it has won four consecutive regular season titles. It is also the most consecutive MIVA regular season championships for a program since Ball State won five straight conference titles in the 1960s.
Despite this success, Hanson said he doesn't consider his program to be a MIVA dynasty.
"We aren't going to start crazy talk," he said.
Walton said he has been impressed with the Buckeyes. The coach added that the years of recent success will make it difficult for a team to defeat Ohio State in this year's conference tournament.
"They're putting on a nice little run," Walton said. "It's going to take a yeoman-sized effort to knock them off the mountain."
Ohio State will play the winner of the No. 4 seed-No. 5 seed quarterfinals match in the MIVA Tournament semifinals.
Ball State will finish as the No. 4 seed unless it defeats Loyola in final regular season match at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Worthen Arena and Lewis loses to last-place Grand Canyon University. IPFW will finish as the No. 5 seed if it takes at least one game against sixth-place Quincy University in their Saturday match.
If Ball State meets Ohio State in the semifinals, it will be the fourth consecutive season the two teams have played in the conference tournament.
The Buckeyes have won the three previous matches, including a sweep of the Cardinals the last two years in the MIVA championship match.
Senior outside attacker Eric Schulte said Ball State is beginning to develop a "mental block" when it plays Ohio State. Schulte also said the team's seven consecutive losses to Ohio State have become frustrating to put up with for everyone.
"I don't want to end my season saying I lost to Ohio State," Schulte said. "We need to have that chip on our shoulders and get it out of our mind and say, ‘Hey, we can beat these guys.'
As the No. 1 seed, Hanson said there is pressure on his team to win its third consecutive tournament championship. However, the coach said his players have a confidence they can get another MIVA title because of their late-season success.
"The players have a confidence and believe they can beat anyone, as they should, as they should," Hanson said.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
