Volleyball Pushes Ohio State to the Limit in Five-Set Battle

Sunday, September 21

Columbus, Ohio

12 p.m.

Troy University

2-6,0-0Sun Belt

Ohio State

3-5,0-0Big Ten

Troy

Ohio St.

Volleyball Pushes Ohio State to the Limit in Five-Set Battle

9/21/2025 4:31:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Bos Score (PDF)

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Troy battled toe-to-toe with Ohio State in a marathon five-setter Sunday afternoon at the Covelli Center but came up just short, falling 3–2 (22–25, 25–18, 26–24, 30–32, 15–12).

Ohio State (3-5) put together an impressive day at the net, racking up 26 blocks as a team. Kaia Castle led the Buckeyes with 15 – four solo and 11 assists. Ohio State hit .316 and added six service aces.

Troy (2-6) had three players finish with 15+ kills, led by Amiah Butler's 21. Kalina Calvillo added 19, and Olivia Kwiatkowski hit .357, putting down 16 balls.

Set 1 – Troy 25, Ohio State 22
The opener was Troy's sharpest offensive frame, hitting .350 with 19 kills on 40 swings. The Trojans led 23–22 before Butler's fifth kill of the set and a Kwiatkowski finish sealed the 25–22 win.

Set 2 – Ohio State 25, Troy 18
The Buckeyes jumped to a 5–2 lead before Troy rattled off four straight to move in front 9–7. From there, Ohio State regrouped, using a 7–0 run to flip the momentum and take control. OSU hit .300 in the set, while Troy struggled at .088.

Set 3 – Ohio State 26, Troy 24
The third was the tightest of the day, featuring 16 ties and six lead changes. Troy held set point at 24–23 after a Calvillo kill, but Ohio State answered with three of the final four points to escape 26–24 and grab a 2–1 match lead.

Set 4 – Troy 32, Ohio St. 30
The fourth set marked the longest of the season for Troy, stretching to 64 points. Butler piled up nine kills in the frame, while Castle anchored the Buckeye defense with four of her 15 blocks. Ohio State held seven match points, but the Trojan defense held firm each time. Troy finally capitalized on its second set point, with Butler and the block forcing an OSU error before a Buckeye miscue on the next rally sealed a 32–30 win to push the match to a decisive fifth.

Set 5 – Ohio St. 15, Troy 9
Ohio State jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead in the final set and never gave up the lead. Both teams finished the set with nine kills, but it was the Buckeyes .400 hitting percentage along with three blocks that proved the difference, giving Ohio State the set and match.

Quotable – Head Coach Josh Lauer
"Another hard-fought match today. We continue to grow and get better each week and I'm very proud of the way we played today. We are looking forward to the start of Sun Belt play and will get ready for a competitive and exciting rivalry week."

Notables

Troy is now 0-1 all-time against Ohio State.
The 32–30 fourth set was Troy's highest-scoring set since the Trojans edged out App State in the third set last season, 33–31 (Nov. 15, 2024).
Kalina Calvillo tied her career best with 19 kills.
Madison Marx shattered her previous career high in assists, finishing with 35.
Olivia Kwiatkowski set a new career high with 13 digs and also tied her career best in kills, posting 16.
Kayla Baetzel recorded a career-high 10 digs and matched her career best with two service aces.
Emma Blaine established a new career high with six kills.
Amiah Butler attempted a career-high 66 attacks and also tied her career best with three solo blocks.