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March 21, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Led by a 30-kill performance from senior Aaron Russell, No. 10 Penn State men's volleyball (10-9) outlasted No. 11 Ohio State (16-6) in five sets (22-25, 25-22, 25-20, 22-25, 15-9) Saturday evening at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions have won their last six consecutive matches, including their last three straight against a ranked opponent.
Russell fueled the offense with 30 kills on .458 hitting for his second 30-kill performance of the season. He added a match-high 14 digs for a double-double to go along with three blocks and two aces. He earned Mike Anderson Penn State Player of the Match honors for his performance.
Freshman Jalen Penrose finished second on the team with a career-high 19 kills, adding three digs and two blocks.
Sophomore Chris Nugent posted nine kills and seven digs, while redshirt sophomore Matt Callaway tallied seven kills and five digs.
Redshirt junior Matt Seifert finished tied for first on the team with three blocks. Redshirt senior Connor Curry rounded out the defensive effort with 12 digs.
Redshirt junior Taylor Hammond paced the team to a .313 hitting percentage, dishing out a career-high 61 assists and five digs.
Tied at 6-6 in set one, a Buckeye foot fault lifted the Nittany Lions ahead by one, 7-6. The Buckeyes answered back with a 5-3 stretch to take over the one-point advantage, 11-10. Penn State regrouped with a 5-2 run to go up back up two, 15-13. With PSU unable to sustain the momentum, the Buckeyes used another 5-3 strike to keep the frame knotted, 18-18.
A service error pulled the Nittany Lions ahead, 19-18, but a PSU service error and a block by Ohio State moved the Buckeyes up 20-19, prompting Penn State to call a timeout. Penrose came out of the break with two kills in between one from OSU to tie the score, 21-21.
A 3-1 spurt consisting of all Penn State errors brought the Buckeyes to set point, 24-22. The Nittany Lions looked to get back on track with a timeout, but a PSU attack error out of the break gave Ohio State set one, 25-22.
After some early back and forth action, Penn State broke open a 7-all tie with a 5-2 run to build a two-point cushion, 11-9. Ohio State battled back with a 5-3 run to keep the score tied, 14-14. Penrose sparked a 4-2 stretch with a kill to bring the Nittany Lions ahead, 18-16, causing OSU to call a timeout.
The Buckeyes answered back with a 4-1 strike to jump back on top, 20-19, forcing Penn State to take a timeout. Rallying, PSU came out of the timeout with a 5-1 run featuring kills from Russell and Callaway to make it set point, 24-21. Ohio State held off one attempt with a kill, before Russell put away the final kill of the set to secure set two, 25-22, tying the match 1-1.
Clinging to a one-point lead in set three, 8-7, Ohio State used a 3-2 stretch to tie the stanza, 10-10. Rallying, Seifert, Callaway and Penrose opened a 5-1 run with three consecutive kills to extend the lead to four, 15-11. Keeping it close, the Buckeyes responded with a 5-3 run to remain within two, 18-16. Penn State regrouped with a 6-3 streak to arrive at set point, 24-19. A PSU service error held off the attempt before Russell put away another kill to put away set three, 25-20.
Trailing by two in set four, 8-6, Penn State used a 3-1 spurt to even the score, 9-9. Ohio State came storming back with a 10-2 run to move ahead by as many as eight, 19-11. Penn State fired back with four unanswered points to narrow the gap to four, 19-15. OSU followed with three straight, but a service error and a kill from Russell kept the Nittany Lions within five, 22-17.
The two teams traded points twice, but the Nittany Lions could net get back on top as OSU arrived at set point, 24-19. Penn State held off three consecutive attempts to move within two, 24-22, but could not complete the comeback as a Buckeye kill gave Ohio State a 25-22 win in set four to keep the match tied, 2-2.
Tied a 3-3 in set five, Nugent powered a 3-0 run with two consecutive kills to lift the Nittany Lions ahead, 5-3. Ohio State looked to rally with two kills in between one from PSU to bring the Buckeyes within one, 7-6. Pulling away, Penn State used a 7-3 stretch, led by three kills from Russell to arrive at match point, 14-9. Penrose closed out the 15-9 win in the decisive fifth frame with a kill to secure the 3-2 win.
The Nittany Lions remain home next week, welcoming a pair of EIVA teams to Rec Hall. First up, Penn State hosts Princeton Friday, March 27 at 7 p.m., before squaring off against NJIT at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 28. Seeing each team for the first time this season, both matches will take place in south gym.