March 16, 2018
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| Rec Hall | University Park, Pa. | 1,080 | |
| POSTGAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State tussled with Ohio State for five sets Friday night in Rec Hall, ultimately falling 3-2 (18-25, 25-21, 25-23, 26-28, 12-15) to the Buckeyes in a back-and-forth affair that saw the Nittany Lions go toe-to-toe with the two-time defending NCAA Champions.
"What you saw tonight was the way we've been playing the last four matches, we played well enough and just competed our butts off," said head coach Mark Pavlik. "The five-game losses that we've had, we've had swings to win in less than five. I guess the age old question that every coach wonders is 'how do you take that next step, how do you embrace the opportunity to win and not worry about what happens if we don't?' I think that's the next step for this team," Pavlik continued. "A lot of good things have gone on in the last five matches, and I'm really excited about the future that these guys have. We turn that corner and I think these guys are going to be really formidable down the stretch," Pavlik finished.
Ohio State took the opening set 25-18 to hold a 1-0 match lead that was quickly matched and eclipsed by Penn State who took set two 25-21 and took the lead following set three, a 25-23 Nittany Lion win that gave the home squad a 2-1 lead.
The two teams knotted things up in the fourth set 14 times as each team fought to assert their will on the other. Ohio State took the set but the Nittany Lions made it difficult on the Buckeyes. Penn State raced out to an early lead, up by four 12-9 forcing the first timeout of the set for the Buckeyes. Ohio State rallied to knot it up at 19-19 before the Nittany Lions called a timeout to slow things down. Ohio State was finally able to score on back-to-back plays taking the set 28-26 and sending the game to a fifth and deciding set.
The fifth set was a point for point battle through the first 20 points as the teams were tied at 10-apiece. From there, Ohio State rattled off a 5-2 run to take the match 3-2 and leave Happy Valley with a win over Penn State for the first time since April 5, 2016.
With the loss, Penn State falls to 10-8 overall as they look to start their second run through the EIVA Sunday vs. Saint Francis (Pa.).
Penn State returns to the court vs. the Red Flash Sunday at 4 p.m. ET in Rec Hall.
For more on Nittany Lion men's volleyball, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateMVBall.