Nov. 23, 2011
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The ninth-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team (22-7, 15-4 Big Ten) earned a 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-13) victory against Ohio State (18-14, 8-11 Big Ten). Four Nittany Lions posted double-digit kills against the Buckeyes.
Sophomore Deja McClendon (Louisville, Ky.) led the team with 15 kills. Sophomores Katie Slay (Raleigh, N.C.) and Ariel Scott (Ridgewood, N.J.) each posted 12 kills, while sophomore Maddie Martin (Tampa, Fla.) had 10. Freshman Micha Hancock (Edmond, Okla.) dished out 51 assists and was third on the team with eight digs. Sophomore Ali Longo (Littleton, Colo.) had a match-high 20 digs and McClendon added 16. Slay led the team with three total blocks and McClendon tallied two solo stuffs.
Penn State registered a .245 attack percentage against the Buckeyes. The Lions totaled 58 kills, 10 aces, 67 digs and 6.0 total team blocks. Ohio State hit .181 and had 50 kills, four aces, 60 digs and 12.0 team blocks.
Ohio State grabbed a 3-1 lead to start the match, but kills from Scott and Grant and an OSU error had the score knotted at 4-4. Emily Danks put the Buckeyes back in the lead, but two more OSU errors, a Martin ace and a McClendon kill had Penn State with an 8-5 lead. The Nittany Lions maintained the lead until midway through the frame when the Buckeyes tied it up at 11-11.Ohio State took the lead after a PSU error and a kill from Mariah Booth, 13-11. However, a 6-0 Penn State run sparked by a Slay putdown moved Penn State into the lead, 17-13. The Buckeyes took off on a 5-0 run to take a slim 18-17 edge. The score tied twice before two aces and a kill had the Buckeyes leading, 22-19. Back-to-back McClendon putdowns and a kill from Slay had the score at 22 all. The score tied one final time at 23-23 before a block and kill by the Buckeyes gave OSU the win, 25-23.
Penn State took control early in the second set, but by midway through the frame two errors had Buckeyes tying the score at 12-12. Neither team was able to develop the momentum to break away for much of the remainder of the set. The Buckeyes lost a late two-point advantage when Scott tallied a kill and an ace and the Ohio State registered an error, which gave Penn State a 20-19 lead. After an OSU timeout, the score tied two times before three straight Ohio State errors secured set two for Penn State, 25-22.
The Buckeyes opened the third frame with an 8-4 lead, but a 5-0 Penn State run had the Lions ahead by one, 9-8. The teams remained close through the middle of the frame before kills from McClendon and Martin gave Penn State a two-point lead, 16-14. The Nittany Lions maintained the lead until a 3-0 run by the Buckeyes had the score at 22 all. Penn State called a timeout and Scott followed it up with a kill to push Penn State back in front, 23-22. Longo had an ace to make it set point, 24-22, forcing an Ohio State timeout. Amy Schwarzwalder pounded a kill for the Buckeyes to bring OSU within one, 24-23. Following a second Penn State timeout, Martin closed out set three with a kill for a 25-23 victory.
The fourth stanza was close from the start until a 4-0 Nittany Lion run gave Penn State a 13-9 lead. Penn State's lead continued to grow after two OSU errors, 15-10. Despite a Schwarzwalder kill, a Slay kill and an ace from freshman Dominique Gonzalez (San Antonio, Texas) had Penn State leading by seven, 17-10. Penn State's momentum continued to grow as the Lions maintained at least an eight-point lead as the set began to wind down. Having developed a ten-point advantage, 23-13, Martin pounded a kill to put Penn State at match point, 24-13. An OSU error gave Penn State a convincing 25-13 win.
Penn State is back in action on Nov. 26 at Michigan State. The match is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. in Jenison Field House.
For more information on the Penn State women's volleyball team, please visit GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State women's volleyball 2011 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets.