No. 13 Ohio State does it again, upsets No. 1/1 UCLA

Photo courtesy of Ohio State athletics

The two-year Texas two-step is complete for No. 13 Ohio State.

The Buckeyes for the second consecutive year upset the top-ranked team in the nation at the First Point Collegiate Challenge in Austin, Texas.

Opposite Shane Wetzel had both a team-high 10 kills and three aces as Ohio State upset No. 1/1 UCLA 25-20, 26-24, 13-25, 25-17 on Saturday.

Wetzel had back-to-back aces as part of an 8-0 run early in the fourth game to help the Buckeyes secure their first win against a nationally ranked team this season. The All-MIVA junior in the second game also had a kill in the overtime to set up the game-winning point.

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Along with Wetzel, freshman outside attacker Stanislaw Chacinski added nine kills on a .368 attack percentage.

Ohio State pulled off the upset against the defending NCAA champions despite being out-hit .352 to . 230.

UCLA had more than a .400 attack percentage in each of the final two games. In addition, the Bruins did not commit an attack error and hit a match-best .571 in their third-game win to extend the match.

Outside attacker Zach Rama in the loss finished with a match-high 21 kills on a .529 attack percentage. Opposite Cooper Robinson contributed 11 kills and hit. 471.

UCLA committed a season-high 27 service errors in its first loss of the season – 12 more errors than Ohio State.

The Bruins last season as the nation’s top-ranked team and in the same non-conference tournament lost to the Buckeyes. Ohio State in that upset victory rallied from a two-game deficit to beat UCLA in five games.

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