COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 11 Penn State men's volleyball team began its 2021 season with 3-0 sweep of No. 14 Ohio State in their opening match of a two-match series Friday evening at the Covelli Center.
The win for Penn State (1-0) snapped an eight-match losing skid in Columbus. PSU's last win at Ohio State (0-1) was Jan. 14, 2012, also a 3-0 win.
"This was another typical January men's volleyball match," said head coach Mark Pavlik. "The offenses aren't going to be where we want them, but the team that can avoid errors usually has results bode well for them and that was the case for us tonight."
Penn State was led by junior opposite hitter Cal Fisher who had 10 kills while hitting .333 for the match (10-3-21).
"I thought our serving game did a real nice job of putting us in position to win points," said Pavlik. "We had six aces to their two, but I thought we had more serves than that which put them in tougher spots to attack us. We also did a pretty good job receiving their serves."
The Pittsburgh, Pa. native also topped Penn State with five digs and four service aces.
Junior outside hitter Brett Wildman also chipped in six kills while swinging .357 (6-1-14). Junior middle blockers Canyon Tuman and Sam Marsh combined for six blocks and junior setter Cole Bogner finished the night with 24 assists, two kills and three blocks.
In the first set, both teams bounced points back-and-forth until Fisher pulled PSU ahead by four 21-17 with a three-point run consisting of two service aces and kill. Fisher then finished the set with another kill to give Penn State the 25-20 win in game one.
Fisher continued his hot spurt to start the second set with two more aces to speed the Nittany Lions in front 4-0. Ohio State managed to take the lead 13-12, but a solo block by Tuman and an ace from Michal Kowal highlighted a four-point run to retake the lead that they would cling to and win 25-23 in the set.
Another evenly-played game in the third swayed Penn State's way after a four-point run gave Penn State a 17-14 lead. Fisher had two kills and Marsh tacked on an ace to give Penn State its margin needed to secure a 25-22 win.
GAME NOTES & STATS
- Freshmen Michal Kowal made his debut in the starting lineup while fellow freshmen Michael Valenzi came off the bench in the third set for his first action as a Nittany Lion.
- Sophomore Jack Driscoll also made his debut as a serving specialist in all three sets. Fellow sophomore Tim Herget saw time in his first career match at libero in the third set.
- While the win at Ohio State was Penn State's first since 2012, tonight's win was Penn State's first win in the Covelli Center.
NEXT UP
Penn State finishes its road series against the Buckeyes Saturday evening at 7 p.m.