No. 8 Penn State women’s volleyball made easy work of Ohio State Saturday night at Rec Hall in the team’s annual “Dig Pink” match.

Jonni Parker’s team-high 12 kills carried the Nittany Lions in the 25-12, 25-20, 25-19 sweep over the Buckeyes.

How It Happened

Penn State’s starting lineup consisted of outside hitter Jonni Parker, middle blockers Serena Gray and Kaitlyn Hord, right side Tori Gorrell, setter Gabby Blossom, and defense specialists Kendall White and Keeton Holcomb.

Parker and Hord got off to a hot start in the match, each racking up six and four kills in the opening set, respectively. Parkers’ six came on just nine attacks, and the duo tacked on one block each.

The Nittany Lions’ second set became a back-and-forth affair against the Buckeyes, but the team eventually stuck it out and won 25-20. That momentum easily carried into the third set, which Penn State won 25-19

Tori Gorrell put in another excellent performance against Ohio State, recording nine kills on a match-high .571 hitting. She added a block and three digs to her performance as well.

Kendall White contributed 11 digs against the Buckeyes, continuing her quest to become No. 1 in program history. She now needs just 242 more to become Penn State’s all-time digs leader.

All statistics aside, Penn State simply seemed more confident against the Buckeyes than it did last night against Maryland. The Nittany Lions passed well and seemed comfortable all over the court, which will prove especially helpful as they head deeper into Big Ten play.

“I thought it was a much better performance tonight,” head coach Russ Rose said. “I thought it was a great crowd and it was great to be able to come out and support a really important cause with the “Dig Pink” night.

“I thought we played a lot better, especially in the areas we didn’t play well last night,” Rose continued. “I thought we got the ball to the middle [blockers] well and I thought Serena, Kaitlyn, and Jonni played especially well offensively.”

Player Of The Match

Jonni Parker | Outside Hitter/Right Side

Parker racked up a team-high 12 kills against the Buckeyes. She also added three digs, two blocks, and a service ace in the win over Ohio State.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions (12-3, 5-1 Big Ten) will travel north to take on Michigan on Friday, October 18 and Michigan State on Sunday, October 20. The matches will begin at 7 p.m. and 2 p.m, respectively.