No. 9 Penn State men’s volleyball (5-2) upset No. 1 Ohio State (6-1) Thursday night in Columbus, Ohio.

The Nittany Lions took the first set before dropping a tight second set. Penn State held the lead for most of the third set before staging a comeback in the fourth to take the game 3-1 for a revenge game following its loss to No. 1 UCLA on Saturday.

How It Happened

Penn State jumped out and grabbed the first point of the game on a kill from John Kerr. Ohio State got the next two points before Owen Rose recorded his first kill of the night to bring the game back to 2-2.

The Buckeyes started to find their groove and went on a 3-0 run before a Penn State kill and an attack error from Ohio State got Penn State back to within one at 5-6. Ohio State’s Shane Wetzel committed an attack error a few points later and the game was tied at 7-7.

The teams continued to go back and forth before Penn State strung two points together and a block from Rose put Penn State up 10-9. The next point went to the Nittany Lions and the teams continued to trade blows until it was 15-15.

With the game tied at 17-17, Wetzel delivered a serve that just grazed the baseline for a service ace. Penn State took the next point on a Rose kill as the set neared its end tied at 18 a piece.

The set went into its final points with the teams tied at 20. Toby Ezeonu recorded his third kill of the night and gave the Nittany Lions a lead that appeared to be taken away by the Buckeyes on the next point but was eventually overturned after a review that gave the Nittany Lions the 23-21 lead. A double touch by the Buckeyes gave Penn State the set point leading by three at 24-21. Michael Valenzi served and Ezeonu delivered a kill that gave Penn State the set 25-21.

Ohio State grabbed the first point of the set on a service error before taking the second point to go up 2-0. Penn State had three service errors throughout the start of the second set and was quickly trailing by four at 8-4.

The Buckeyes couldn’t continue the run as Kerr delivered another kill and brought the Nittany Lions back to within three. The teams traded service errors and then Ohio State went on another run and led 13-7.

Penn State took the point following coach Mark Pavlik’s timeout, but Ohio State answered back and kept the lead at six. The Nittany Lions finally started to find some momentum in the second set before an Ohio State kill was successfully challenged by Pavlik and Penn State brought the game down to 11-14.

Ohio State kept the lead at three as Penn State tried to claw its way back into the contest. The Nittany Lion defense struggled going into the final points of the match as Ohio State led by five at 20-15. The momentum continued and kills coupled with attacking errors put the Buckeyes up 23-17.

A 3-0 run brought Penn State right back into the game and forced a Buckeye timeout leading 23-20. Ohio State gained a set point after taking the first point out of the timeout but an attempted dig went to the back of the gym and Ezeonu served Ohio State set point at 24-21. The Buckeyes tied the match at one by taking the next point on a Daniel Hurley kill.

Kerr opened up a pivotal third set with a hard kill, but Ohio State answered with a kill of its own to keep things even at 1-1. Rose stepped up again and blocked an Ohio State hit before an attack error and an Ezeonu kill a point later put the Nittany Lions up 4-1.

After Pavlik unsuccessfully challenged a kill, Penn State took the next point and held the lead at 7-4. Kerr continued to rack up kills and pushed the lead to 10-6 as the Buckeyes started to lose their momentum. Ohio State called a timeout after losing the next point and trailing 11-6.

Ohio State’s defense stiffened and a long rally with multiple blocks eventually went in Penn State’s favor and made the lead 14-8. Ohio State went on a 3-0 run and forced a Penn State timeout at 14-11.

After another challenge went Ohio State’s way, Michal Kowal got another kill before the teams started trading points again. Ohio State challenged another call unsuccessfully and Penn State led 18-15.

The Nittany Lions put on a run when they needed it most and found themselves up 22-15. The Buckeyes weren’t out yet, though, and Pavlik called the final timeout of the set while leading 22-18. Penn State took the point out of the timeout and it was followed up by an attacking error to give Penn State set point leading by six.

Rose committed a service error on the first set point, but Ezeonu finished off the set with a kill to take the third set 25-19.

Ohio State took the first point of the set as setter Michael Wright recorded a kill. The next two points also went the Buckeyes’ way, and they opened the set with a 3-0 run and back-to-back aces.

The run continued, and the Buckeyes went up 5-0. When Pavlik’s challenge didn’t go Penn State’s way, the Nittany Lions responded with a kill by Valenzi before an attack error made it 5-2. An Ohio State service error and attacking error made it 7-4 with the Nittany Lions finding a way to get back into it after the early shutout. Penn State got back to within two before Ohio State took serve and went up 11-7.

Kerr won serve back on a kill as Penn State crept back to within three before Ohio State took another point. The Buckeyes kept their foot on the gas and kept the Nittany Lions down by four going into the later stages of the match.

After getting back to within two, a long rally went Penn State’s way to keep it back in the match trailing by one at 16-15. The point after the timeout once again went to the Nittany Lions and the game was tied at 16-16. The first lead of the set for the Nittany Lions came one point later when Kowal slammed a ball to the hardwood and put them up 17-16.

It became clear that back-and-forth volleyball was going to dominate the rest of the set and the teams went into the final few points tied at 20. Ohio State took two points in a row and retook the lead at 21-20 before Pavlik called a timeout.

A kill by Ohio State’s Ben Putnam out of the timeout was followed by a Valenzi kill for Penn State that made it 22-21. Ohio State had its first set point at 24-23, and Kerr tied the game up to send it to extra points.

Ohio State had another set point at 25 that was defended by Penn State before once again having a chance at the set at 26-25. Penn State broke the pattern and had a set point of its own at 27-26, but Putnam put the ball away and play rolled on.

Kowal slammed another ball into the ground and gave Penn State another set point. The Nittany Lions took advantage of their third chance, and Valenzi recorded the game-winning kill.

Takeaways

• Penn State’s defense came up big in the upset Thursday night. The front line tallied three solo blocks and 10 block assists during the victory.
• Michael Schwob had another great game for the Nittany Lions. The setter tallied 43 assists in the Nittany Lions’ kill-heavy win.
• Michael Valenzi was a highlight for the Nittany Lion offense. Valenzi finished the game with 13 kills on .379 hitting percentage.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will take on Ohio State again at 3 p.m. on Sunday, January 28, inside Rec Hall.