No. 20 Penn State women’s volleyball (9-3) upset No. 3 Ohio State (10-2) in three sets (25-19, 27-25, 25-21) on Sunday afternoon at Rec Hall.

Despite slow starts, senior outside hitter Adanna Rollins led the Nittany Lions to a 3-0 victory over the Buckeyes, finishing the match with 14 kills and a .524 hitting percentage.

How It Happened

Ohio State took a 3-1 lead early in the first set on kills from Arica Davis and Mia Grunze. Penn State trailed closely behind the Buckeyes before tying the set at 8-8 on kills from senior outside hitter Adanna Rollins and sophomore middle hitter Allie Holland. From there, the Nittany Lions took a 15-13 lead on a kill from senior outside hitter Erika Pritchard and an ace from freshman defensive specialist Cassie Kuerschen.

Despite a few service errors, Penn State propelled its lead to 22-18 on kills from senior opposite hitter Jonni Parker and Rollins. Offensive errors from Ohio State at the end of the first set gave the Nittany Lions a 25-19 win over the Buckeyes.

Strong hitting from Ohio State gave it a 7-4 lead in the second set on kills from Rylee Rader and Mac Podraza before the Nittany Lions tied the set at 7-7 on kills from Parker and Pritchard. Penn State regained a short-lived lead at 11-9 on a block from Holland before the Buckeyes tied the set again at 11-11.

Following a rough patch of hitting errors and tough offense from the Buckeyes, the Nittany Lions earned a 19-17 lead on a kill and block from Pritchard. Ohio State tied the second set at 21-21 on kills from Mia Grunze and Emily Londot before Penn State battled back on strong attacking to win the second set – after tying the end of the second set multiple times. The Nittany Lions won 27-25 on back-to-back kills from senior middle hitter Kaitlyn Hord.

The Buckeyes took a 3-1 lead at the start of the third set on a kill and block from Londot. Kills from Hord and Rollins and an ace from Parker cut the Nittany Lions’ deficit to 9-8 before going on a 3-0 scoring run to tie the third set at 11-11. Despite some service errors from the Nittany Lions, both Penn State and Ohio State had strong hitting performances

The Nittany Lions closed out the final set to win 25-21 over the Buckeyes on a 4-0 scoring run and solo block from Hord. Parker finished the match with 12 kills

Player Of The Game

Adanna Rollins | Outside Hitter

Senior outside hitter Rollins finished the match with 14 kills, six digs, and an impressive .524 hitting percentage to lead the Nittany Lions over the Buckeyes.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will head to College Park to face Maryland at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, September 29.