UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 9 Penn State Men's Volleyball beat the No. 1 ranked team in the nation for the second time in four days as it took down top-ranked Ohio State with a 3-2 (23-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-18, 17-15) reverse sweep Sunday at Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions, who defeated the Buckeyes 3-1 in Columbus on Thursday, improved to 6-2 on the season. The Buckeyes dropped to 6-2.
Michael Valenzi was huge in the final set for Penn State, hitting .750 with six kills. He scored four straight Nittany Lions' points to tie the match at 9-9, 10-10, 11-11 and 12-12. Toby Ezeonu followed with a kill to make it 13-12, giving Penn State its first lead of the set since 4-3. The teams traded points from there until it was 15-15. Owen Rose and Luke Snyder combined on a huge block for the Nittany Lions to go up 15-14, but the Buckeyes responded with a kill by Justin Howard. The match was then clinched on back-to-back attack errors by the Buckeyes.
Valenzi hit .393 with 14 kills, six digs and three blocks for the match, while Michal Kowal finished with a career-high 15 kills on .344 hitting in addition to his three aces. Ezeonu joined the pair in double-digits with 10 kills on .500 hitting. Ezeonu hit .500 with double-digit kills in each of the two wins over Ohio State this week.
Snyder had a breakout performance on his birthday. He took over setting duties midway through the third set and helped lead the Nittany Lions to the comeback, finishing with 23 assists, one ace and three blocks. Rose, who joined Snyder for that clutch block in the fifth set, led all players with six in the match.
Ryan Merk tallied a team-high eight digs in the win. Will Kuhns chipped in with five digs in addition to his four kills.
Jacob Pasteur, a first-team AVCA All-American and the reigning MIVA Player of the Year, missed Thursday's match with Penn State due to an injury but returned for Saturday's contest at Rec Hall. He led all players with 16 kills.
Penn State has won eight of the last nine matches against Ohio State to improve to 82-40-1 in the all-time series. One of the teams was ranked No. 1 in the nation in three of the past four meetings.
The Nittany Lions played three straight matches against the No. 1 ranked team, including a loss to then-No. 1 UCLA last week in Austin, Texas. It is the first time in program history that they recorded two wins over the top-ranked team in a single season.
Set 1
Six players combined for 10 kills as the Buckeyes hit .500 in a 25-23 win in set one. Penn State battled back from a 22-19 deficit to tie the score at 23-23. The Buckeyes closed the set with a kill by Justin Howard and a Penn State attack error.
Set 2
The Buckeyes hit .524 on their way to a 25-22 win in set two. Pasteur and Shane Wetzel had three kills apiece. It was close late again as Penn State got within one at 23-22 on a service error. Ohio State scored the next two points on a Penn State service error and a block by Wetzel and Cole Young to go up 2-0 in the match.
Set 3
Seven Penn State players combined for 14 kills, led by Kowal with four on .667 hitting, in a 25-21 win in set three. Snyder took over at setter with the score tied at 12-12 and tallied six assists in the set. The Nittany Lions went on a 4-0 run after he entered the match, getting a kill by Valenzi that was followed by three Ohio State attack errors. The Buckeyes got as close as two at 19-17. The Nittany Lions responded with a 3-0 run that started with a triple block by Kuhns, Rose and Valenzi. Set point was eventually scored on an attack error by the Buckeyes.
Set 4
Penn State hit .391 and held Ohio State to .077 hitting as it tied the match with a 25-18 win in set four. Kowal had three kills, while Valenzi, Kuhns and Ezeonu contributed two apiece. The Nittany Lions tallied five blocks in the set. Rose was in on three of those blocks. Penn State pulled away with a 3-0 run that made the score 21-16. The run included a block by Rose and John Kerr, as well as an ace by Kowal. They closed the set with a 3-0 run that was capped with a kill by Valenzi.
Set 5
Ohio State led 8-6 as the teams switched sides, but Valenzi helped Penn State keep pace with his four-straight Penn State points that tied the score four times, the final one at 12-12. The Nittany Lions had chances at set point denied at 14-13 and 15-14. Back-to-back Ohio State attack errors secured the win for Penn State.
Career Highs
Michal Kowal – kills (15)
Luke Snyder – assists (23), digs (3), blocks (3)
Up Next
No. 9 Penn State heads to Indiana to play No. 15 Ball State on Friday and Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday.
