Sept. 1, 2001

Stats

Columbus, Ohio - The University of Illinois at Chicago volleyball team was faced with the unenviable task of upending the No. 16 team in the nation on Friday night.

Ohio State quickly squashed those thoughts as they defeated the Flames, 30-15, 30-12 and 30-16 in the first round of the Buckeye Invitational at St. John Arena.

"Ohio State is an outstanding team," UIC coach Don August said. "Their size, speed and intensity was everything we thought it would be."

Outside hitters Lara Clarkson and Lindsey Filkins each contributed seven digs apiece, while Teaha Shepperd led UIC (0-1) with six kills.

The closest UIC would come to the Buckeyes (1-0) in the match came in the second game when the Flames scored three consecutive points to pull within 10-9. Ohio State, however, scored 16 unanswered points to secure the 30-12 victory.

"Parts of our game we we're pleased with and parts of our game we were not," August said. "Ohio State gave us a major lesson that we can learn from, and that's what our goal is, to try and learn from playing teams like this."

UIC will be back in action on Saturday, as they will take on the Ohio Bobcats at 12:00 p.m. followed by a 5:00 nightcap against Tennessee Tech.