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The No. 2 Texas Longhorns travelled to Columbus, Ohio to face No. 7 Ohio State winning two matches in as many days. On Aug. 26-27, the Longhorns played strong volleyball in front of sell-out crowds at the Covelli Center.

"Their opening video and their crazy crowd really got me going," said Texas middle blocker Asjia O'Neal, as she reflected on the Ohio State pre-game presentation. "Personally that's something that I really like, so I was like I'm going to go show out tonight. The lights, the fire, I was like okay, they're really ready to play. Let's go."

The atmosphere was intended to hype up the crowd so that visitors would dislike playing on the road against the Buckeyes. "We want people to hate coming to play here," said Ohio State setter Mac Podraza.

Unfortunately for Ohio State, it didn't work against Texas. O'Neal entered the first match scoring four kills on four attempts in game one of as Texas won 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-22). O'Neal had a .462 hitting percentage finishing the night with seven kills, three blocks and three digs. "I think our feeds off opposing crowds really well, I think we really like it," O'Neal said.

Texas' top hitter for the weekend was Logan Eggleston. As she and the Longhorns won the second match 3-1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-13), Eggleston finished both days with combined numbers of 33 kills, 14 digs, seven blocks and five service aces in seven sets played. The 6-2 outside hitter was the VolleyballMag.com National Player of the Year last season. She showed her worth when Texas went down 8-1 in the second set of the first match.

"I think we just weren't prepared to play the second set," Eggleston said. "We always talk about staying engaged between sets. We just came out a little bit loose and our passing kind of broke down at the beginning. I think we just did a really great job with our mentality. Taking it one point at a time. It's not like you can come back from an 8-1 deficit in one point. We just had to take it one point at a time and be consistent over time."

Madisen Skinner is another 6-2 outside hitter. She is one of many transfers on this Texas squad. Formerly a Kentucky Wildcat, Skinner looked well-adjusted to her new teammates with her strong performance in the second match against Ohio State.

"The transition has been the best," Skinner said. "Everyone here has been super supportive, welcomed me with open arms. It's honestly been the best transition. Loved my time at Kentucky, it served me well. Love the people there still but it was the best move for me and I don't regret it. I'm super happy to be here."

After tallying nine kills in three sets on Aug. 26, Skinner amassed 17 kills in four sets in the rematch the following day.

Despite their struggles the Buckeyes go a strong opening weekend from Emily Londot. The 6-3 sophomore who plays opposite hitter recorded 28 kills in seven sets. She also had 18 digs. "The first set [of the season] a lot of the other hitters were doing really well, the blockers were focused more on them so that gave me an opening to do my job" Londot said. "That's just what our team is. Everyone works together."

Londot was the AVCA National Freshman of the Year and Second Team All-American in 2020. Last season she was an Honorable Mention All-American selection.

On Aug. 31, Texas will host another Big Ten opponent as Minnesota travels to Austin. The Buckeyes will travel to Louisville, Kentucky to face San Diego in the Cardinal Classic. Ohio State will play 10 straight contests away from home, not returning until Oct. 7 when they battle Penn State.