PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Matthew Luoma posted his first-career double-double to lead No. 17 Penn State to a 3-1 (27-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-20) win over No. 15 Ohio State in a non-conference men’s volleyball match Wednesday night at Pittsburgh’s Fitzgerald Field House.
The Nittany Lions, who played their final non-conference opponent of the regular season, improved to 12-7 overall, while the Buckeyes saw their three-match winning streak come to an end and fell to 12-10.
Luoma racked up 13 kills on .333 hitting to go a long with a career-high 12 digs, four blocks, and two aces. Sean Harvey led Penn State offensively with 20 kills on .472 hitting, while Gaige Gabriel and Michael Schwob paced the defensive effort with five blocks apiece.
Eliel Salva-Torres hit .450 with 12 kills for Ohio State, while Shane Wetzel contributed 14 kills.
Penn State beat Ohio State for the fourth-straight time as it improved to 83-40-1 in the all-time series.
Set 1
Harvey hit .625 with five kills to lead Penn State to a 27-25 win in the first set. Schwob tallied 10 assists to help the Nittany Lions hit .455. Penn State found itself down 12-7 early and still faced an uphill battle down four at 19-15. The Nittany Lions then scored six of the next seven points to go up 21-20. Luoma was in on two blocks and had a kill during that stretch. Owen Rose joined him on one of those blocks and then added an ace on the go-ahead point. The Buckeyes had the first two chances at set point, but the Nittany Lions tied the score at 24-all on a service error and then 25-all on a kill by Harvey. That kill was the start of a 3-0 run to end the set. The Buckeyes followed it with an attack error before calling timeout. Harvey came through with a kill for set point after the short break.
Set 2
Ohio State hit .458 on its way to a 25-20 win in the second set. Wetzel and Salva-Torres carried the offense. Wetzel hit .750 with six kills, while Salva-Torres had four kills on .571 hitting. The duo helped the Buckeyes overcome a combined 11 kills by Harvey and Luoma.
Set 3
Set three featured nine ties and two lead changes before Penn State pulled away for a 25-20 win. The Nittany Lions only had eight kills in the set but added four blocks and took advantage of an additional three Ohio State attack errors and nine service errors. Harvey had four of the team’s eight kills, while Luoma added three. Penn State broke a 17-17 tie with a 4-0 run that included three kills by Harvey. Set point was later scored on an ace by Luoma.
Set 4
Harvey hit .556 with five kills to help Penn State finish the match with a 25-20 win in the fourth set. The Nittany Lions led by five at 19-14 following a block by Schwob and Gabriel. Ohio State fought back to get as close as two at 22-20 before Penn State closed the match with a 3-0 run. The final run started with a service error and attack error. Match point was then scored on a triple block by Bennett Wilson, Gabriel, and Schwob.
Career Highs
Matthew Luoma – digs (12)
Up Next
No. 17 Penn State hosts No. 19 NJIT for a pair of EIVA matches on Friday and Saturday at Rec Hall.