UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania – The Penn State men's volleyball team renews its legendary rivalry against Ohio State in a midweek matchup against the Buckeyes Tuesday, March 19, at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Ohio State (7-14, 2-6 MIVA) vs. Penn State (8-12, 5-2 EIVA)
Date: Tuesday, March 19
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: Rec Hall
Watch: BTN-Plus
Stats: Live Statistics
OPENING SERVE
The Nittany Lions and Buckeyes face off in a classic nonconference rivalry at Rec Hall Tuesday night. This will be the 110th time these two teams have played each other and the second time in 2019. Ohio State defeated Penn State 3-1 in the opening match of the season for the Nittany Lions Jan. 5 at OSU's St. John's Arena.
The Nittany Lions entire Tuesday's match looking to reverse a current four-game skid which included a pair of close losses to #13 Purdue Fort Wayne and #15 Ball State last weekend. Penn State came back to win the second set against the Mastodons before falling 3-1 Friday and led the Cardinals 1-0 before nearly forcing a fifth set in a 3-1 loss Saturday.
Ohio State played one match last weekend that ended in a 3-0 sweep of Lees-McRae College on its home court. Prior to that, the Buckeyes also participated in the Big Ten/Pac 12 Challenge in California with the Nittany Lions against USC and UCLA. The Buckeyes finished with a similar result to the Nittany Lions in LA, dropping both matches to the local squads.
The Buckeyes have been riddled by injuries in 2019, but some of their top players have returned after being out of the lineup to provide them a boost. Starting opposite Jake Hanes and setter Sanil Thomas have both been in and out of the lineup this year but still lead the squad in kills (202) and assists (284).
ALL-TIME SERIES
The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series over the Buckeyes 72-36-1 dating back to 1978. The Nittany Lions are also 30-10 against Ohio State in matches at Rec Hall. Ohio State has had the edge recently in the matchup winning eight of the last 10 games, but Penn State did down the top-ranked Buckeyes 3-2 March 28, 2017, the last time the Nittany Lions beat Ohio State.
DOUBLE-TROUBLE
Redshirt junior setter Luke Braswell picked up the second double-double of his career last Saturday at Ball State. He had 31 assists to pair with a season-high 11 digs. His last double-double was 3/3/18 at Princeton.
THE FALCON
Redshirt junior outside hitter Henrik Falck Lauten has reached double-digit kills in five of the last six outings for the Nittany Lions. Over the six-game stretch, he has 76 kills with a .320 hitting percentage. Falck Lauten leads the Nittany Lions this season with 181 kills.
TWIN TOWERS
The Nittany Lions' middle-blocker tandem of redshirt junior Jason Donorovich and freshman Canyon Tuman have been both efficient offensively and disruptive on the defensive end of late. Over the last five matches, both have combined for a .364 hitting percentage (44-12-98) and 24 total blocks.
CAN YOU DIG IT?
Redshirt freshman libero Will Bantle is tied for EIVA lead in digs with 130 entering Tuesday's match. Bantle has 17 matches this season with at least five digs.
NEXT UP
Penn State will get back to league action with another rare Tuesday bout with Saint Francis in a crucial game in the EIVA standings. That match will be March 26 at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall.
