Ohio State lost to No. 18 Indiana 3-0 on Oct. 23, 2026. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics.

Ohio State has a name for the moments when a volleyball set reaches the 20s.

The Buckeyes call it the red zone.

It is where points get heavier, mistakes get costlier and aggression matters most. And lately, it is where Ohio State has struggled to finish.

That problem surfaced again Friday against No. 18 Indiana, when the Buckeyes stayed within reach in each of the first two sets but lost both 25-23 before being swept by the Hoosiers at the Covelli Center.

Ohio State has lost nine of 14 matches this season after dropping the opening set. Head coach Jen Flynn Oldenburg said the coaching staff knows the trend, but finding a way to change it has been frustrating.

“It’s not like we’re not addressing it,” Oldenburg said. “We talk a lot about it, and right now our actions aren’t meeting what we’re talking about.”

Oldenburg said the Buckeyes have started better in practice over the past two weeks, but that improvement hasn’t consistently carried over into matches.

“They’re doing the job in practice,” Oldenburg said. “Now they just need to find that flow in games.”

Friday showed that Ohio State’s problem isn’t always starting poorly.

The Buckeyes hit .316 in the first set against Indiana and stayed within striking distance throughout, but the Hoosiers escaped, winning the opening set 25-23. Ohio State again pushed Indiana to the end of the second set before falling by the same 25-23 score.

For Oldenburg, those results pointed to another issue the Buckeyes have been trying to correct: finishing each set. That concern is not new.

After Ohio State’s 3-0 loss to Minnesota Oct. 11, Oldenburg said the Buckeyes needed to execute better once sets moved beyond 20 points. She said similar problems showed up again Friday.

Oldenburg pointed to Ohio State’s recent matches against USC Oct. 16 and UCLA Oct. 18 as examples of what the Buckeyes can look like when they maintain their aggression late.

Ohio State defeated USC in five sets before rallying from a two-set deficit against UCLA, but falling in the fifth set.

“The sets we won, we managed and executed the game plan that we needed to do against them,” Oldenburg said of USC. “We let them off the hook a little bit and certainly went five with them when I think we could have won in three or four.”

Against UCLA, Oldenburg said the Buckeyes consistently found the mentality they are still searching for.

“We came out on fire,” Oldenburg said of the third and fourth sets. “We were, I think, throwing punches after 20.”

Senior Hannah Jones said Ohio State calls those late stages of sets the “red zone.”

Once the score reaches the 20s, Jones said the emphasis turns to remaining aggressive rather than becoming cautious with the set on the line.

“This is go time,” Jones said. “It’s time for us to be aggressive. It’s time for us to be intentful in everything that we do and just having that attack mindset when we get in those 20s.”

Jones said the same belief is necessary when Ohio State falls behind early.

Rather than letting another first-set loss affect the rest of the match, she said the Buckeyes rely on their preparation and remind each other they have already shown they can come back.

“We just all go back to our prep and our work and trusting our training and what our coaches have instilled in us,” Jones said. “Reminding each other that we are capable and we’re still in this.”

But repeatedly relying on rallies has left Ohio State with little room for error.

Oldenburg said the Buckeyes have shown they can compete with their opponents. The next step is finding the consistency to turn competitive stretches into complete sets and, eventually, wins.

“I think we’re showing that we can play with any team,” Oldenburg said.

For Oldenburg, that starts with a more consistent opening and continues once the Buckeyes enter the red zone.

“It’s a better start, more solid start, more consistent,” she said. “And then what are we doing in the red zone? Staying aggressive and staying in the game plan and not having those miscues that can cost us a couple points here and there.”

Ohio State will look to respond Saturday when it hosts No. 10 Oregon at the Covelli Center.