No. 8 Penn State women’s volleyball (2-3) lost its third straight match Wednesday night when it fell to Ohio State 3-2 (25-17, 25-13, 23-25, 22-25, 8-15) on the road.

Despite convincingly winning the first two frames, the Nittany Lions couldn’t land a knockout punch to put the 7-0 Buckeyes away. Ohio State, which already received votes in the AVCA Division I Coaches Poll this week, has now won seven straight matches to begin the season.

How It Happened

Penn State got off to a sloppy start Wednesday afternoon. A service error and two errant swings gave Ohio State its first three points of the match. Back-to-back kills from the Nittany Lions helped them tie the Buckeyes 3-3 early on.

Following tight back-and-forth scoring, Penn State jumped out to a decent five-point lead, 12-7, thanks to a few troubling Ohio State errors, forcing a Buckeyes timeout. At the break, they’d already racked up five hitting errors and a service error.

Defensive specialist Maddy Bilinovic helped spark Penn State’s final push by subbing in and serving an ace, prompting yet another Buckeyes timeout. Moments later, Kaitlyn Hord sent one to the hardwood to bring up set point. Right side Jonni Parker’s second kill of the frame gave Penn State the first set, 25-17.

Jonni Parker's kill ends the first set #WeAre pic.twitter.com/x57sMYjGSS

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) February 17, 2021

Neither team could gain much of an advantage early in the second game. Five ties within the frame’s first 10 points resulted in lots of back and forth action, but a 6-0 Penn State run helped the team jump out to a 10-5 lead.

Following an Ohio State timeout, the Nittany Lions didn’t let up. Although the Buckeyes cut the bleeding a bit, Penn State’s 9-1 run resulted in a 14-6 lead midway through the set. By Ohio State’s next timeout, Penn State led 20-11.

An ace from West Virginia transfer Keatan Broughton brought up set point for the Nittany Lions. An Ohio State attack error gave Penn State the set, 25-13, bringing its match lead to 2-0.

Ohio State found its groove a bit to begin the third frame and caught Penn State off-guard a bit. The Nittany Lions took their first lead of the set at 7-6 thanks to an ace from freshman outside hitter Annie Cate Fitzpatrick.

Penn State still couldn’t shake the rust off as the third set progressed. Head coach Russ Rose burned a timeout once Ohio State went up 15-12 and used another one as the Buckeyes summoned set point, 24-20. Although the Nittany Lions posted three more points to keep Ohio State at bay, the Buckeyes still took the set 25-23.

Quite frankly, Penn State looked tired in the fourth game. The Nittany Lions couldn’t keep Ohio State at bay while the Buckeyes had all the momentum in the world. Six hitting errors certainly didn’t help as Penn State lost that frame 25-22 to bring up a fifth and deciding set for the match.

Outside hitter Anastasiya Kudryashova got things started in the fifth frame with a kill and teamed up with Kaitlyn Hord for a block to put Penn State up 2-0 early. However, Ohio State responded with five (!) straight points, forcing Rose to call a timeout facing a 5-2 deficit.

Although Penn State climbed back to face only a 7-6 deficit, four straight Ohio State points put the Buckeyes up 11-6 late. Moments later, a 4-0 run gave Ohio State the set, 15-8, and the match 3-2, to complete the reverse sweep.

Four Nittany Lions — Gray, Hord, Parker, and Kudryashova — finished with double-digit kills. Gray led the team with 13 kills on .357 hitting, while Hord paced Penn State with eight total blocks. Setter Gabby Blossom dished out 46 assists, while defensive specialist Jenna Hampton contributed a career-high 25 digs.

Player Of The Match

Emily Londot | Opposite Hitter

Londot’s eye-popping performance was key in lifting Ohio State over Penn State Wednesday night. The freshman star contributed 20 kills on .227 hitting and added 12 digs and five blocks.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will return home for a two-match series with Indiana over THON Weekend. Penn State will get things started by facing the Hoosiers at 7 p.m. on Friday, February 19.