Impressive Debut

Tuesday, January 6

Riverside

7:00 PM

California Baptist University

0-1

Ohio State

3-0

Ohio State

California Baptist

Photo by: Lauren Garcia

1/6/2015 9:55:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Andrew Shortall, Asst. Sports Information Director

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Preparing for a new year in the ultra-competitive Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, California Baptist University tested itself to open 2015 as Ohio State visited the Van Dyne Gym. The Lancers gave the 14th-ranked Buckeyes a test before falling in four sets, 29-31, 25-18, 25-20, 26-24 Tuesday night.

CBU unveiled a new-look team that includes 11 newcomers—nine of which are freshmen. Not only that, the Lancers showed they can hang with one of the best teams in the nation, as they nearly took the Buckeyes into five sets. Ohio State improves to 3-0 this season, while the Lancers open the year at 0-1.

It proved to be an impressive debut for three Lancer freshmen. Outside hitter Paul Rohit led CBU with a team-high 12 kills to go along with two blocks on the night, while Enrique de Diego Garcia had nine kills and just one error on 15 attempts for a .533 hitting percentage. The freshman middle blocker also had four blocks and two aces. Rohit and Garcia both benefitted from the CBU debut of freshman setter Zachary Melcher, who logged 32 assists and six blocks on the night.

Among the familiar faces, Rocky DeLyon had an all-around match with seven digs, six kills, four blocks and two aces. Jonathan Tuttle had 11 kills, six digs and two blocks for the Lancers, who received seven digs from Kevin Kustura.

CBU clicked right away and shocked the Buckeyes by taking a first set that included 13 ties and seven lead changes before the Lancers ultimately claimed a 31-29 victory. Both teams played their way to an 8-8 tie until CBU took the first noteworthy lead of the night, 15-11, with a 7-3 run that included kills from Tuttle, Kustura and Garcia. The Buckeyes regrouped and tied the set at 20 with a 9-5 spurt.

There was little separation on the scoreboard the rest of the way, with nine ties coming down the stretch. Ohio State held set point at 25-24, 26-25 and 29-28 but was thwarted each time—first by kills from Caleb Miller and DeLyon and lastly by an ace from Garcia. The crucial ace gave the Lancers a 30-29 edge, and Tuttle sealed the victory with a kill off a Melcher pass.

Ohio State evened things back up by taking the second set 25-18. The Lancers showed resiliency, as it appeared to be out of they down 19-13 but it rattled off three-straight points to pull within 19-16 and prompt a Buckeye timeout, but it wasn't enough to overtake the set.

In the third frame, Ohio State continued to build on its momentum with a 25-20 victory. The Buckeyes took an early 13-9 edge, but CBU forced the visitors to call another timeout after a kill and ace from DeLyon fueled a 3-0 Lancers' run and brought them within two at 14-12. Ohio State built its lead back up to four, 18-14, and maintained that cushion the rest of the way.

The fourth set was nearly as close as the first, with 13 ties and six lead changes. This time, the Buckeyes would squeak by, though.

Ohio State took an 11-10 lead in the early going, but a 6-2 run sparked by two kills from Rohit and another from Garcia gave the Lancers a 16-13 edge. The Buckeyes would battle back to ties at 17 and 21 before taking a 22-21 lead. CBU bounced back to take a 23-22 edge on a Roy Powell ace before an Ohio State service error gave the Lancers set point, 24-23. The Buckeyes bounced back and managed to escape, closing out the match on a 3-0 run.

CBU continues its season on the road with trips to Holy Names and UC Merced on Friday and Saturday, respectively, for nonconference matches each slated for 7 p.m. starts. It returns to Van Dyne on Jan. 14 to face top-seeded Pepperdine at 7 p.m. in its MPSF conference opener.