UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 14 Penn State Women's Volleyball remained unbeaten in the Big Ten with a 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 20-25, 25-21, 15-7) win over No. 24 Ohio State on Saturday night at Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions won for the eighth-straight match to improve their record to 12-3 overall and 6-0 in the Big Ten. They join Wisconsin and Nebraska, which are ranked first and second in the nation, as the only three teams with unbeaten records in the conference. The Buckeyes fell to 6-9 overall and 3-3 in the league. All nine losses came to nationally-ranked opponents.
Penn State won a five-set match for the second-straight night at Rec Hall, but Saturday's win was much different than Friday's. Whereas the win on Friday featured no ties or lead changes through the first four sets, Saturday's match was a back-and-forth affair with 30 ties and nine lead changes through the first three sets alone.
Allie Holland helped hold Ohio State to .150 hitting as she was in on eight of the team's 14 blocks. That came one night after she had nine blocks in a 3-2 win over Indiana. Fellow middle blocker Taylor Trammell wasn't far behind her with six blocks.
If the ball did find its way past Holland and Trammell, sophomore libero Gillian Grimes was there to lead the back row. She piled up a career-high 23 digs on the night. Maddy Bilinovic did her part with 12 digs.
Two more Penn State players reached double-digit digs and continued their streaks of double-doubles. Jess Mruzik recorded a double-double for the fourth-straight match with her 21 kills and 12 digs. Mac Podraza posted a double-double for the third-straight match with her 48 assists and 14 digs.
Alexa Markley continued to show her improvement for the Nittany Lions with 15 kills and four blocks. Camryn Hannah totaled 12 kills and four blocks.
Rylee Rader had an efficient night for Ohio State with 13 kills on .414 hitting. Emily Londot (16 kills, 12 digs) and Mia Tuman (45 assists, 16 digs) each had double-doubles for the Buckeyes. Tuman made her first appearance in Rec Hall, where her brother Canyon Tuman played for the Penn State men's volleyball team from 2019-22.
Penn State has won 11 straight matches at Rec Hall. The last home loss came to Wisconsin in five sets on Nov. 19, 2022.
Set 1
Mruzik had eight kills in the opening set to lead Penn State to a 25-23 win. The teams were tied at 21-21 following an ace by Tuman for Ohio State. The Nittany Lions scored the next two points on a service error and attack error. The Buckeyes responded well after a timeout, scoring the next two points to tie the score at 23-23. This time it was Penn State that made the most of a timeout as they called one before scoring the final two points. Mruzik scored the first point with a kill, and Holland followed with an ace.
Set 2
Rader needed just five swings for her four kills while leading Ohio State to a 25-23 win in the second set. That was enough to overcome five kills on .417 hitting by Markley. The Buckeyes controlled most of the set and led by four at 23-19. Penn State made a late run, getting to within one at 23-22 on a block by Holland and Markley, and then again at 24-23 on a kill by Markley. The Buckeyes stopped the comeback with a set-clinching kill by Rader.
Set 3
Chelsea Thorpe had five kills to lift Ohio State to a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-20 win in set three. Penn State led early at 8-4, but Ohio State scored six of the next seven points to take a 10-9 lead. The teams were tied at 15-15 before the Buckeyes went on a 4-0 run to go up 19-15. The Nittany Lions only got as close as two the rest of the way.
Set 4
Penn State started fast with a 10-2 run and never trailed on its way to a 25-21 win in the fourth set. Mruzik led the way with seven kills, while Hannah had four on .667 hitting. Anjelina Starck recorded a pair of kills on her only two swings.
Set 5
Markley led Penn State to a relatively easy 15-7 win in the final set, tallying three kills on four swings. The Nittany Lions led 7-6 before closing the match with an 8-1 run. It started with a 7-0 run that included three kills by Markley. Ohio State ended the run with a kill by Lauren Murphy but followed that with a service error that ended the match.
Career Highs
Gillian Grimes – digs (23)
Alexa Markley – kills (15)
Taylor Trammell – digs (4)
Up Next
No. 14 Penn State travels to play Iowa on Friday at 8 p.m. ET, and then makes the trip to play Nebraska on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET. Both matches will air live on B1G Network.
