UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Redshirt senior Tori Gorrell paced an efficient night for the Penn State women's volleyball team, hitting .571 with nine kills while leading the Nittany Lions to a 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-19) win over Ohio State on Saturday night at Rec Hall. The Lions, who improved to 12-3 overall and 5-1 in the Big Ten, hit .368 as a team.
Ohio State, which was coming off a 3-0 win over Rutgers on Friday, dropped to 9-8 overall and 2-3 in the conference.
Penn State set the tone early with a blowout win while never trailing in the first set. The Lions hit .500 with 15 kills, including six on .667 hitting by Jonni Parker. Tori Gorrell was a perfect 2-for-2 on her two attacks in the set.
The Lions weren't quite as dominant in sets two and three but were never in any real danger either. They took the lead for good after going up 19-18 in the second and didn't trail after taking a 12-11 advantage in the third.
Kendall White wrapped up a solid weekend with 11 digs, giving her an average of 16.0 in the wins over Maryland and Ohio State. Gorrell also had a successful weekend statistically, averaging 9.0 kills on .571 hitting.
Penn State's sophomore tandem in the middle continued to give opponents troubles. Serena Gray hit .368 with nine kills and five total blocks, while Kaitlyn Hord hit .333 with seven kills. Gabby Blossom took care of the setting duties with 35 assists.
Ohio State was held to .073 hitting. Keeton Holcomb helped with that with her play in the back row, tallying six digs for Penn State. Jenaisya Moore led the Buckeyes with 12 kills.
The win was Penn State's 50th in the series with Ohio State. The Buckeyes have 16 victories but haven't won at Rec Hall since 2004.
After playing 11 of its first 15 matches at Rec Hall, the Lions will play five of the next six on the road. Up next is a trip to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan on Friday and to East Lansing to play at Michigan State on Sunday, Oct. 20. The match against Michigan State will air live on ESPN.
The 2019 Penn State volleyball season is presented by McLanahan's.
