COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 13 Ohio State (3-1) took the opening set vs. No. 2 Long Beach State (5-0) before falling 3-1 to the defending national champions Saturday at the Covelli Center (1,670).
 
Ohio State was led in kills by Shane Wetzel with 14. He moved to the No. 13 spot in career kills at Ohio State with 1,065. Wetzel now trails No. 12 Colin McMillan (1997-00) with 1,206.
 
Setter Daniel Henwood Rodriguez finished with 32 assists. Libero Drew Hudson led both teams with 10 digs. Stanislaw Chacinski and Owen Pickering each added six.  
 
Set 1 (OSU, 25-21)
The Buckeyes started the match on a 4-1 run aided by multiple errors by Long Beach. Ohio State kept its lead with a kill by Eliel Salva-Torres, which made it 7-6 Buckeyes. Kills by Aaron Grimm and Daniel Hurley made it 13-8 Buckeyes before a Beach timeout. A couple of service errors by The Beach made it 17-13 Buckeyes. Another kill by Grimm upped the lead to 20-15 Ohio State. A Shane Wetzel kill gave Ohio State a five-point lead toward the end of the set, which made it 23-18. Set point went to the Buckeyes after an attack error by LBSU. It was the first set loss of the season for Long Beach.
 

S1 | DHR gets the ace!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/p5edJzqGIY


— OSU Men’s Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) January 17, 2026

 

S1 | Kill by Shane! 7-6 Bucks#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/ZRoQkKq2TY


— OSU Men’s Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) January 17, 2026

 
Set 2 (LBSU, 25-18)
Ohio State and Long Beach exchanged a few points to start the second set, keeping the score close at 3 all. A long rally gave the Beach an 8-7 lead. After a successful challenge by the Beach, they built a 12-8 advantage. Back-to-back kills by Wetzel and Salva-Torres started closing the gap for the Buckeyes at 12-10 Beach. After a pair of service errors by the Buckeyes, the Beach held a 16-13 lead. A kill by Wetzel kept the Buckeyes in it at 21-17 Beach. The Beach won the set on a service ace, ending 25-18 Beach.
 

S2 | Eliel gets the kill!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/eq9iUATi8k


— OSU Men’s Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) January 17, 2026

 
Set 3 (LBSU, 25-18)
The Beach took a small lead at the beginning of the third set with a score of 6-2. Back-to-back kills by Wetzel and Stanislaw Chacinski followed by a service ace by Salva-Torres, evened the score at 7-all. After an exchange of points, another kill by Grimm made it 11-all. A Buckeye timeout was then called after a service ace by LBSU, which made the score 17-13 Beach. The Buckeyes called their second timeout before the Beach won the set with a block, 25-18.
 

S3 | Shane gets the kill!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/DKM6dVsTbY


— OSU Men’s Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) January 17, 2026

 
Set 4 (LBSU, 25-20)
The Buckeyes came out of the break strong with a block by Owen Pickering/Wetzel/Grimm to put them on the board first, 1-0. A pair of kills by Chacinski and Salva-Torres kept Ohio State in the lead, 4-2. An unsuccessful challenge by the Beach, followed by a Chacinski kill, gave Ohio State a 7-4 lead. Grimm’s fifth kill of the night gave the Buckeyes a 10-8 lead. Long Beach then took the lead at 15-14 following a couple of kills. After a 3-1 run, a Beach service error turned the ball over to the Buckeyes leading 18-15. The Buckeyes called a timeout following a 3-1 run by Long Beach at 21-16. An overpass kill by Chacinski forced a Beach timeout at 23-20. A successful challenge by Long Beach for match point ended the game at 25-12 Beach.
 

S4 | Kill by Stan!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/VYYpdDlCPn


— OSU Men’s Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) January 18, 2026

 
Up Next:
Ohio State completes a six-match homestand to open the 2026 season next weekend when Lincoln Memorial travels to Columbus to face the Buckeyes Friday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (5 p.m.). Both matches will be live-streamed on B1G+.   
 

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