Buckeyes Bound for Texas: The Inaugural Point Collegiate Challenge Awaits!

No. 13 Ohio State vs. No. 11 Stanford, No. 1 UCLA — 2025 First Point Collegiate Challenge
Dates: Jan. 17&18
Times: 8 p.m. for both matches
Tickets: Friday/Saturday
Venue: Austin Convention Center
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: Friday/Saturday
Rosters: Ohio State | Stanford | UCLA
Season Stats: Ohio State | Stanford | UCLA
Match Notes: Ohio State | Stanford | UCLA

COLUMBUS, Ohio — No. 13 Ohio State (2-2) is headed to Austin, Texas, this weekend to participate in the 2025 First Point Collegiate Challenge. The Buckeyes will compete against No. 11 Stanford (1-1) on Friday followed by a clash with defending national champion and top-ranked UCLA (1-0) on Saturday. The first serve for both contests is set for 8 p.m. (ET). ESPN+ will stream both matches live as well.   

• Ohio State journeys to Austin, Texas, to contest No. 11 Stanford and No. 1 UCLA in the First Point Collegiate Challenge. This marks the second consecutive season the Buckeyes will participate in the event, having previously defeated both No. 13 USC and No. 1 UCLA with 3-2 scores during the 2024 event.
• The lineup for the 2025 First Point Collegiate Challenge has been modified. The Buckeyes will compete against Stanford on Friday at 8 p.m., followed by a match against UCLA on Jan. 18 at 8 p.m. Both encounters will be accessible through live streaming on ESPN+.
• Beginning Friday against No. 11 Stanford, Ohio State will engage in its next seven matches against Top 14 teams in the weekly AVCA National Collegiate MVB Poll. After challenging the Cardinal, the Buckeyes will face No. 1 UCLA, No. 14 Penn State (twice), No. 7 USC, No. 1 UCLA again, and No. 8 Loyola-Chicago.
• Ohio State will host USC and UCLA in the 2025 Big Ten Challenge from Jan. 31 to Feb. 1 at the Covelli Center. These matches are preceded by a home contest against Penn State on Jan. 26 and the MIVA opener against Loyola-Chicago on Feb. 8 in Columbus.
• In the last outing, senior middle blocker Cole Young achieved a perfect hitting percentage of 1.000 with 10 kills on 10 attempts, equaling an Ohio State record for hitting percentage in a match. The most recent Buckeye to finish a match with 10 or more kills without any errors was Ethan Talley, who had a 10-0-10 performance on March 1, 2019, at home versus McKendree in a 3-1 victory.
• Regarding the series with Stanford, Ohio State holds a 4-11 record overall, securing wins in three of the last four encounters. The Cardinal won the most recent matchup on Jan. 12, 2019, at Stanford, by a score of 3-1. The last time the Buckeyes triumphed in Columbus was on Jan. 12, 2018, winning 3-1.
• Against the Bruins, Ohio State has a record of 4-25. The Buckeyes managed to defeat No. 1 UCLA 3-2 during the 2024 First Point Collegiate Challenge in Austin. Nevertheless, the Bruins claimed victory 3-0 in the final Big Ten Pac-12 Challenge in Los Angeles a year prior.
• The match against UCLA on Saturday will mark the 1,700th in the history of the program (1968-present). The Buckeyes stand at 1,186-509-3 (.700) over 58 seasons.
• As a participant in the MIVA, Ohio State holds a record of 497-151 (.767) with 47 titles in regular season (28) and tournament (19) play.

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