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COLUMBUS, Ohio. - Despite a spectacular offensive performance from junior middle blocker Haleigh Washington, the 10th-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team (19-8, 11-5 Big Ten) split the season series with the Ohio State Buckeyes (17-11, 7-9 Big Ten), falling in a five-set heartbreaker 3-2 (23-25, 25-15, 25-19, 22-25, 16-18) in St. John Arena Saturday evening.
The match came down to the fifth set for the sixth time in 2016, as Ohio State took the opening point. A pair of kills Washington tied the fifth set at 3-3, before the Buckeyes scored on back-to-back plays. A kill from junior outside hitter Simone Lee and an ace from junior setter Abby Detering tied the match at 5-all, before Lee tooled the block the next play for a 6-5 lead. Three plays later senior defensive specialist Laura Broerman aced the Buckeyes defense to take an 8-6 lead into the set five break.
Ohio State pulled within one before a crucial kill from junior right side Heidi Thelen pushed the lead to two. Washington stuffed the Buckeyes next play for a 10-7 lead, prompting a timeout from Ohio State. The Buckeyes came out of the break firing, taking three of the next four points to force a Penn State timeout as the Nittany Lions led 11-10.
Ohio State tied the decisive set at 12-all, when Lee pounded her 17th kill of the match for a 13-12 lead. The Buckeyes then scored two straight, forcing a Penn State timeout. Lee would extend the match, scoring a pair of kills that would fend off two set points and tie the set 16-16. Ohio State's Luisa Schrimer then scored the final two kills, dropping the Nittany Lions, 18-16.
Washington paced the team's offense with a team-best 19 kills on a scorching-hot .621 attacking clip, while posting a match-best four blocks. She was joined in double figure scoring by Lee and Thelen, who posted 19 and 11 kills, respectively. Lee tacked on four digs, while Thelen posted a pair of blocks.
Junior outside hitter Ali Frantti posted nine kills and nine digs in the setback. With her fifth kill of the match she surpassed the 900 kill mark for her career.
Detering led the team's setting efforts, dishing 55 assists and leading PSU to a .297 hitting clip. She added a match-best three aces and five digs.
Freshman libero Kendall White led the team in digs with 23. Sophomore defensive specialist Keeton Holcomb was the only other PSU player to post double-figure digs with 12 in the match.
The Nittany Lions will play their third road match in six days on Wednesday, Nov. 16, taking to Lincoln, Nebraska to face the No. 1 Cornhuskers at 9 p.m. ET. The match will broadcast nationally on the Big Ten Network, with Larry Punteney and Beth Karpiak on the call. PSU then returns home for a Saturday tilt with the Purdue Boilermakers on Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall.
After Lee opened the match with an electric kill, the two sides tied at 3-all. OSU scored three straight before a kill from Thelen helped pull the set within one at 6-5 for the Buckeyes. Ohio State responded with three straight, leading to a Penn State timeout at 9-5 in the home team's favor. The break worked, as Penn State took five of the next seven points on a pair of kills from Washington and closed the gap to one. Ohio State then rattled off six of the next nine points for a 17-13 lead.
Kills from Lee, Thelen and redshirt freshman Tori Gorrell shortened the deficit, making a two-point set score at 18-16 for OSU. Thelen posted her third kill to pull within one, before she and Washington tied the first set at 19-19 with an enormous block. Ohio State followed up the stuff with back-to-back points, causing Penn State's second timeout, behind two at 21-19. Washington answered the call, hammering down a kill on the slide before blocking a ball on the next point for a 21-all tie. Ohio State then called for time. Washington posted another rejection out of the break, before a pair of kills from OSU made the score 23-22 for OSU. Washington struck once more before a kill from the Buckeyes and a Penn State error gave the Ohio State the set one victory, 25-23.
Penn State opened strong in the second set, as an ace from Detering capped an early 4-1 run. A pair of kills from Thelen and another two plays later from Washington opened the Penn State lead to four at 8-4. The Buckeyes responded, putting together a 5-2 spurt to pull within one at 10-9. An ace by Washington and a kill from Lee propelled a 6-1 run to give PSU a 16-10 lead, prompting a Buckeye timeout. Penn State continued to push, with a pair of kills from Lee and an ace by Broerman driving the score to 21-13, forcing OSU's second timeout. Washington and Frantti each posted kills before Ohio State erred for a 25-15 set two win for Penn State.
After an early 3-3 tie, Frantti and Thelen posted back-to-back kills for a 5-3 lead in the third. The two sides traded points to a 10-8 score before a pair of spikes courtesy of Thelen and another from Detering powered a 4-1 run and forced a timeout from Ohio State with a 14-9, Penn State lead. The Buckeyes went on to take four of the next five points, cutting the lead to two, before a kill from Washington made it 16-13. Five plays later, Frantti spiked the ball for her 900th career kill to give Penn State a 19-15 lead. Detering scored on a kill three plays later for the 21-16 advantage, as OSU took its second timeout. Lee would score a pair of kills before a score from Frantti closed out the third, 25-19.
A pair of kills from Lee and a hammer from Detering gave Penn State a 4-2 edge to open the fourth frame. The two sides then traded points, as Thelen's ninth kill gave PSU a 7-5 lead. Ohio State rattled off a 5-1 run to tie the match at 11-all, before a Detering ace and a block by Lee and Gorrell made the score 13-11. Thelen broke up a 3-1 OSU run with a kill, giving Penn State a 15-14 advantage. Washington rocketed the ball down for her 15th kill of the night to make the score 17-15, pushing Ohio State to use a timeout. Another kill from Washington kept the gap at two, 19-17, before three straight points from the Buckeyes forced Penn State to call for time. A kill from Gorrell tied the set at 20-20 before a pair of scores from Ohio State led to Penn State's second timeout. The Buckeyes earned set point, before an OSU attack error closed the gap to two, 24-22. Ohio State would score next play to push the match to the decisive fifth set.
NOTES:
Team
- No. 10 Penn State fell in five sets to the Ohio State Buckeyes,3-2 (23-25, 25-15, 25-19, 22-25, 16-18) on Saturday evening.
- The setback moves Penn State's record to 19-8 on the season, with an 11-5 record in league matches
- Penn State outmatched Ohio State at the service line, with a 7-3 edge in service aces. Abby Detering posted a team-best three, while Haleigh Washington and Laura Broerman added two each.
- The Nittany Lions also managed to out-do Ohio State in the blocking game, 7-6. Washington had a match-best four blocks, while Tori Gorrell added three of her own. Heidi Thelen had two blocks, while Ali Frantti and Abby Detering each had a block assist.
- Three Nittany Lions in Haleigh Washington, Simeon Lee and Heidi Thelen posted double-figure kills in the match. Washington and Lee each had 19, while Thelen added 11. Washington led the team in hitting efficiency at a .621 clip.
Series
- With the loss, PSU's all-time record against the Buckeyes moves to 47-15 all-time.
- Penn State now holds a 20-9 record against OSU in Columbus. The Buckeye victory also snapped a 19-match win streak the Nittany Lions held against Ohio State.
Players
Haleigh Washington, junior middle blocker: Washington charted a team-high 19 kills on a match-best .621 attacking. She also posted a match-high four blocks and added a pair of aces.
Simone Lee, junior outside hitter: Lee logged a team-high 19 kills along with four digs and a rejection. This is the 25th time in 2016 that Lee has led Penn State in kills.
Heidi Thelen, junior opposite: Thelen posted 11 kills in the match while adding a pair of blocks. Her .346 hitting percentage was good for second on the team.
Ali Frantti, junior outside hitter: Frantti came a kill and a dig short of a double-double, posting nine of each and tacked on a block. With her fifth kill of the match she posted her 900th career kill. Her 904 career kills lead the team.
Abby Detering, junior setter: Detering posted 55 assists, five digs, three kills, three aces and a block in the loss. Her three aces were the best of any player in the match.
Kendall White, freshman defense specialist: White registered a team-best 23 digs in the outing, leading Penn State for the 24th time. She added two assists.
Keeton Holcomb, sophomore defensive specialist: Holcomb logged out 12 digs and a pair of assists, marking her fifth match of the season with 10 or more digs.