COLUMBUS, Ohio. – Sophomore setter Paul Bischoff made his season debut Friday as Stanford fell to No. 1 Ohio State, 3-1, at St. John Arena.
Bischoff, who missed the opening weekend due to injury, dished out 39 assists as the Cardinal (0-4) hit a season-best .298 as a team. Ohio State (2-0) posted a .352 clip and held a slight edge in blocks (5.0-4.0) and aces (5-4).
Redshirt senior middle blocker Kevin Rakestraw hit a team-season-best .688 (12-1-16) to pace the Cardinal. Outside hitters Eric Beatty and Leo Henken each tallied 10 kills from the pin.
Freshman opposite Jaylen Jasper chipped in with nine kills, but also had nine hitting errors. Freshman middle blocker Kyler Presho finished with five kills and a team-high three blocks. Senior libero Evan Enriques racked up a match-best 15 digs, which also tied his season-high.
Ohio State combined for just four hitting errors in the first two sets and posted a sideout rate of 75 percent for the match. MIVA Preseason Player of the Year Nicolas Szerszen led all players with 17 kills on .438 hitting for the Buckeyes.
Stanford will be back in action on Saturday at No. 14 Ball State in Muncie, Indiana. First serve is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. PT on ESPN3.