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The Buckeyes will make a trek to an unfamiliar destination during the upcoming season.
Ohio State as part recently unveiling its 2022 regular season schedule announced it will travel to play a non-conference road match against UC Santa Barbara for the first time in 10 years.
This will be the third time in the last four years that the Buckeyes and Gauchos have played each other with UC Santa Barbara winning all three of those matches. Ohio State is 2-9 all-time in the series, but those two victories were the 2011 NCAA Tournament finals and the last time it traveled to UC Santa Barbara in 2012.
Ohio State was ranked in the national coaches poll throughout the 2021 season and advanced to the MIVA Tournament quarterfinals. It also returns multiple starters, including Freshman All-American outside attacker Sotiris Siapanis who was in the nation’s top 10 with a 4.12 kills per game average.
The Gauchos ended last season winning the Big West championship to qualify for the NCAA Tournament that took place at Ohio State. In addition, UC Santa Barbara defeated Pepperdine in the opening round before losing to eventual champions Hawai’i in the NCAA Tournament semifinals.
Despite having to replace multiple All-American starters, outside attacker Ryan Wilcox returns for the Gauchos. The 2019 National Newcomer of the Year ended last season with a 2.81 kills per game average and had double-digit kills in three postseason matches.
Ohio State will play UC Santa Barbara to conclude a four-match West Coast road trip that will span two weeks.
The team will open the road trip playing USC and UCLA on Big Ten/Pac 12 Challenge Jan. 21-22. It will then return to the West Coast the following week to face Long Beach State on Jan. 28 and UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 29.
Ohio State 2022 regular season schedule
Jan. 7 vs. Charleston
Jan. 8 vs. Central State
Jan. 12 vs. Saint Francis
Jan. 21 at UCLA
Jan. 22 vs. USC (at UCLA)
Jan. 28 at Long Beach State
Jan. 29 at UC Santa Barbara
Feb. 4 vs. Mount Olive
Feb. 5 vs. Mount Olive
Feb. 10 at McKendree
Feb. 12 at Lewis
Feb. 18 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
Feb. 20 vs. Loyola
Feb. 24 vs. Quincy
Feb. 25 vs. Lindenwood
March 5 vs. Lincoln Memorial
March 6 vs. Lincoln Memorial
March 8 vs. Penn State
March 12 at Saint Francis
March 13 at Penn State
March 16 vs. Ball State
March 19 at Ball State
March 25 at Lindenwood
March 26 at Quincy
March 31 vs. McKendree
April 2 vs. Lewis
April 7 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
April 9 vs. Loyola