UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Adanna Rollins had her best match as a Nittany Lion, totaling 14 kills on .524 hitting while leading No. 20 Penn State to a 3-0 (25-19, 27-25, 25-21) win over No. 3 Ohio State on Sunday at Rec Hall.
Penn State upped its record to 9-3 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten. Just five of the 14 Big Ten teams got through the opening weekend of conference play unscathed as Purdue, Illinois, Nebraska, and Minnesota joined the Lions at 2-0. The Buckeyes entered the weekend unbeaten at 10-0 but dropped to 10-2 overall and 0-2 in the conference with back-to-back losses to nationally-ranked teams.
Gabby Blossom posted a double-double with 36 assists and 13 digs, but most importantly she put her hitters in position to be successful. The Lions hit .380 as a team with six players combining for their 49 kills. Jonni Parker joined Rollins in double-figures with 12 kills while hitting .379. Erika Pritchard had nine kills, while Kaitlyn Hord was right behind her with eight on .467 hitting. Blossom and Allie Holland contributed three kills apiece.
Libero Jenna Hampton also contributed to the offensive effort with seven assists and added seven digs. Rollins finished with six digs, Parker had five, and Cassie Kuerschen chipped in with two.
Penn State put an exclamation point on its best performance of the season with a 5-0 run to clinch the match. Pritchard tied the set at 21-all with a kill and then combined with Hord on a block to give the Lions the lead. A set error and attack error by the Buckeyes gave the Lions set point, and Hord gave the Lions their ninth sweep of the season with a solo block.
Hord's block was her fourth of the day. Holland had two solo blocks and three assists, while Pritchard tallied three block assists. The Lions, who rank first in the nation in blocks/set, finished with nine as a team.
Penn State trailed by as much as four in the third set and didn't take its first lead until a block by Rollins and Holland put the Lions up 17-16.
It was a similar story in the opening set. Ohio State jumped out to an early 7-4 lead, while Penn State didn't take its first lead until it went up 12-11 on an attack error by the Buckeyes. The Lions didn't trail again in the first set as they pulled away thanks to a 6-1 run that put them up 19-14. Rollins had two kills during that stretch. Kuerschen had one of the team's two aces in the match.
The service line was the only place Penn State struggled against Ohio State. The Lions served for two aces compared to nine errors. On the other hand, the Lions only allowed one ace in the match.
The second set had the crowd of 3,807 on their feet. It featured eight lead changes and saw both teams get a chance at set point. Ohio State had the first opportunity but was denied on a kill by Parker. Penn State needed two attempts before closing out the set. Hord put the Lions up 2-0 in the match with back-to-back kills that broke a 25-25 tie.
Rylee Rader hit .614 with 10 kills for Ohio State. Emily Londot led all players with 17 kills and added eight digs.
At No. 3 in the nation, Ohio State was the highest-ranked opponent beaten by Penn State since the Lions took down No. 3 Minnesota in five sets (20-25, 25-21, 30-28, 24-26, 15-12) on Nov. 23, 2018. It was the highest-ranked opponent the Lions swept since beating No. 2 Stanford 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-18) on Sept. 5, 2015.
Penn State is on the road for its next two matches, both against teams led by former members of the Penn State staff. The Lions play at Maryland, led by head coach Adam Hughes, on Wednesday at 8 p.m., and travel to play Indiana, led by head coach Steve Aird, on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The match against Maryland will air on Big Ten Network. The Terrapins had one of the biggest wins in the nation this weekend, taking down No. 2 Wisconsin in five sets on Friday night, and enter with a record of 13-1.
The 2021 Penn State women's volleyball season is presented by McLanahan's.