COLUMBUS, Ohio – The LIU Brooklyn volleyball team fell to two nationally-ranked opponents Friday afternoon at the Nationwide Arena, dropping 3-0 decisions to No. 11 Ohio State, and No. 10 Brigham Young University.

#11 Ohio State 3, LIU Brooklyn 0
In the first game of the day, LIU fell to the host Buckeyes, 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-19). OSU jumped out to a quick lead early in the first set, using four kills and a service ace to go up, 7-1. LI eventually scored a point on a service error, but the Buckeyes would go on another 5-0 run to widen the gulf to 12-2. Freshman Filippa Hansson had the first kill of the day for the Blackbirds to make it 13-5, but the damage was already done for LIU. Two more 4-0 runs gave OSU the 23-8 advantage, and just a few plays later, Ohio State took the first set win, 25-11.

In the second set, Ohio State once again jumped out to an early lead, 3-0. But this time, the Blackbirds battled back to tie it up. A kill from senior Mengdi Zhao, followed by a block by Zhao and Sonja Vukosavljevic and a service ace from senior Alex Larsen, and LIU was back in the set, 3-3. The two teams stayed close from there. A 3-0 run by the Buckeyes would put them on top, 8-5, but LIU used a kill from Jiayi Zhang to stay close, 8-7. Just a few plays later, the Blackbirds used a 4-0 run to take the lead on Ohio State. A service ace from Hansson tied it up, 10-10, and a kill from Larsen gave LIU its first lead of the day, 11-10. But the Buckeyes would answer with a 4-0 run that gave them control of the set once more, 14-11. The two teams continued to stay close for the rest of the set, until late in the game, Ohio State would string together two quick runs. Both 3-0 spurts put the set out of reach for the Blackbirds, as the Buckeyes took the second set, 25-17, and the 2-0 match advantage.

The third set was a battle once more. After OSU went up, 4-2, LIU used a kill from Zhang, and a block from Zhang and freshman Filippa Hansson to tie it up, 4-4. Though the Buckeyes used a 4-0 run to regain control, 8-4, freshman Emily Magee helped keep LIU in the game. Magee, serving down 5-8 had three straight service aces to tie the set back up, 8-8. Just a few plays later, an ace from Hansson tied it up again, 10-10.But the Buckeyes would go on to score six unanswered points, taking the lead, 16-10. Though LIU would rally back to stay in the game and go point-for-point with the home team, that margin remained, and in the end, Ohio State took the third set, 25-19, and the match, 3-0.

#10 Brigham Young University 3, LIU Brooklyn 0
The second match of the day had LIU facing off against the Cougars of BYU, ranked No. 10 in the nation, who beat the Blackbirds, 3-0 (25-16, 25-8, 25-13). Riding strong play from the first game of the day, LIU was able to get the game started on the right foot. A kill from Zhang gave LIU the early 2-0 lead, but BYU answered with a 6-0 run to take control of the set. From there, LIU was able to stay within 2-3 points, until midway through the set, another 3-0 run by the Cougars widened the lead to 16-10. Late in the set, another 6-0 run made it 23-14 in favor of BYU, and four points later, the Cougars took the first set win, 25-16.

Momentum late in the set carried over into the second stanza for BYU, as the Cougars opened set two on a tear, going up, 7-0. LIU was able to get on the board with a kill from Zhang, but just moments later, BYU would put together another 6-0 run to take the lead, 18-5. The Cougars would outscore LIU 7-1 over the final stretch of the game, taking the second set with an emphatic 25-8 win.

Though BYU led the match, 2-0, LIU came out swinging in the third set. BYU would take the early lead, 7-3, but a kill from Larsen sparked a run for the Blackbirds. LIU scored five unanswered points, including kills from Larsen and Hansson, to take the lead over the Cougars, 8-7. BYU regained control quickly, and used a 6-1 scoring spree to widen its lead back up to 17-11. LIU called a timeout, but the Cougars would continue the run out of the break, scoring six more unanswered points to go up, 23-11. From there, a service ace ended the set, 25-13, giving BYU the three-set match win.

Up next, the Blackbirds take on the University of Wyoming in the final match of the tournament for LIU, Saturday, September 4.