Match Stats

#1 Ohio State def. St. Francis 3-1 (25-15, 23-25, 25-15, 25-15)

Ohio State moves to 18-0, Saint Francis falls to 8-10

St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio

Attendance: 872

Box Score

The defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes ran their school-record winning streak to 41 games in a row over 13 months of NCAA play on Friday with a 3-1 win against St. Francis University. That streak is now the longest in MIVA conference history, clearing a 40-straight streak by Loyola from 2014 to 2015.

While the Buckeyes did let the second set slip away from them, they did dominated the match in every statistical category, including out-hitting their opponents .347-.096.

Ohio State, who ranks 2nd nationally with 1.78 aces per set, played big from the stripe again on Friday with 10 total aces as a team, including 2 each from Nicolas Szerszen and Miles Johnson – the best servers in school history.

Those two led the Buckeyes offensively as well, with Szerszen picking up 15 kills and Johnson 12.

St. Francis had two players in double figures scoring, led by Stephen Braswell who had 10 kills and an ace. Jeff Hogan had 8 kills, an ace, and two block assists, but also had 7 hitting errors. Braswell also had 6 digs.

Press Releases

Courtesy Ohio State Athletics

Courtesy St. Francis Athletics

Flash Points:

Stephen Braswell (Manchester, Pa./Northeastern) led the Flash with 10 kills and six digs.

Adam Kniffen (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) recorded three blocks and 17 assists.

Saint Francis won the second set 25-23.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Saint Francis men’s volleyball team dropped a four-set match to No.1 Ohio State 3-1 on Friday night at St. John Arena. The Flash fell 15-25, 25-23, 15-25 and 15-25.

Saint Francis falls to 8-10 on the season, while Ohio State improves to 18-0.

Stephen Braswell (Manchester, Pa./Northeastern) led the offense with 10 kills and added a service ace and six digs. Adam Kniffen (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) finished with three blocks and 17 assists.

Saint Francis hung with the No.1 team in the country early in the first set. The Flash trailed by a point at 8-9 before the Buckeyes rattled off three unanswered points to take a 12-8 lead. OSU scored seven of the next 10 point to cruise to a 25-15 win.

Tied at 4-4, SFU went on a 4-0 run to lead, 8-4, and forced OSU to use its first timeout of the second set. The Red Flash controlled the rest of the set until the Buckeyes cut Saint Francis’ lead to two at 19-17. After Ohio State made it a one-point set, a Nick Bennett (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) kill gave Saint Francis the 25-23 win.

Ohio State responded in the third set with a 25-15 win. The Flash kept the set within reach until the Buckeyes went on an 6-2 run to hold a 20-12 advantage.

The Buckeyes jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the fourth set, and prevailed 25-15.

Saint Francis returns to action tomorrow night at DeGol Arena at 7 p.m., against McKendree.