UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Another solid early-season performance from the No. 11 Penn State men's volleyball team allowed the Nittany Lions to score its second-straight sweep of No. 13 Ohio State in as many nights. Penn State (3-1) downed the Buckeyes (1-3) in straight sets, 3-0, to complete the four-match nonconference stretch against their traditional Big Ten rival.
Penn State's service game was another driving factor in the win, making it difficult for Ohio State's serve-receive group to deliver solid first passes throughout the night.
Junior opposite Cal Fisher once again led the Nittany Lions with 12 kills hitting .286 (12-4-28) through a Buckeye defensive scheme heavily focused on him.
The focus on Fisher allowed junior setter and Mike Anderson Man of the Match Cole Bogner to distribute to other Penn State hitters and take advantage, namely junior outside hitter Brett Wildman who hit .500 (9-2-14), and junior middle blocker Sam Marsh who added 7 kills hitting .600 (7-1-10).
"We carried the focus and the execution at a high enough level from yesterday," said head coach Mark Pavlik. "The thing I liked the most was I told the guys after the match we were like a pitcher that didn't have his best stuff. But we were working hard to hit corners and keep people off balance and we stayed close enough to let our servers give us opportunities to extend our leads or catch back up."
The first set featured significant runs by both teams, starting with a Penn State 7-1 run to take a 15-8 lead. The Buckeyes fought right back and cut the Penn State lead to just one multiple times, but Penn State ended up taking the set 25-23 to lead 1-0.
Ohio State was rolling in the second set with a 16-13 lead before the Nittany Lions stormed back with five points in a row, including a kill and block by Marsh, to snatch the advantage right back. PSU extended its lead behind a Fisher service run to lead by as much as five in the set, eventually winning by a five-point margin 25-20.
Penn State steadily built its lead in the third set before really breaking through after service substitution Jack Driscoll ripped back-to-back aces putting the Nittany Lions in front 19-13. PSU held the Buckeyes by at least a four-point margin for the remainder of the set, winning 25-18 for the straight-sets win.
GAME NOTES AND STATS
- Ohio State freshman Jacob Pasteur led all hitters with 21 kills at a .395 rate (21-6-38).
- Penn State had an advantage at the net with 7.0 team blocks to Ohio State's 5.5 and also won the service-ace battle 6-2.
- The Nittany Lions' passers were excellent once again at .957 (44-46) on serve-receive for the night. Redshirt junior libero Will Bantle was perfect at 10-10, while Wildman (18-19) and freshman Michael Valenzi (13-14) were also very effective.
- Bogner finished the night with 30 assists and five digs, tying for the team lead in the latter with Valenzi.
NEXT UP
Penn State begins EIVA play hosting Saint Francis (Pa.) next weekend at Rec Hall.