Box Score COLUMBUS, Ohio – Senior Mariel Frey
(Lititz, Pa.) led Virginia Commonwealth University with 10
kills, but Ohio State stormed back from an early deficit for a 3-1
(17-25, 25-13, 25-16, 25-16) win Friday evening at St. John
Arena.
The Rams, who fell earlier in the day to Ohio University, are
0-2. It was VCU's second straight match against an NCAA Tournament
squad from a year ago.
Senior Kelsie
Clegg (Boise, Idaho) added six kills and hit .250 for
the Rams, who hit .063 for the match. Freshman setter Ciara
Brown (Fort Myers, Fla.) provided 23 assists, five
digs and three kills.
Sally Barhorst led the Buckeyes, who reached the second round of
the NCAA Tournament a year ago, with 13 kills and a .750 hitting
percentage. Katie Dull added 12 kills for OSU (1-0).
VCU burst out of the gate, hitting .520 with zero hitting errors
on the way to a 25-17 victory in the first set. Frey and Clegg led
the Rams with three kills apiece in that frame.
However, it was all Buckeyes the rest of the way. Ohio State hit
.340 for the match and out blocked the Rams 15-3.
Despite the score, Rams Head Coach James Finley is encouraged by
his team's progress in the face of VCU's challenging early
schedule.
"All in all tonight, we played with a lot more effort and a lot
more as a team," Finley said. "We played whole lot better
defense. We're still learning how to dig a ball when a hitter
goes over our block. Some of those type of things. We served more
aggressive, made better decisions in setting position. I thought
Ciara Brown grew up a lot today."
The Rams get back to work on Saturday, Aug. 28, when they take on
21st-ranked Dayton at 7 p.m.
