No. 9 Penn State men’s volleyball (6-2) upset No. 1 Ohio State (6-2) at Rec Hall for its annual Wear White game, handing the Buckeyes their second loss of the week.

Michal Kowal and Michael Valenzi led the way from the attack, registering a combined 29 kills. Toby Ezeonu added 10 of his own in a team effort to complete the reverse sweep.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions began the afternoon raising their 2023 EIVA Championship banner in front of the Rec Hall crowd. Penn State started its annual Wear White game hot, aiming to knock off the top-ranked Buckeyes for the second time in four days. Valenzi began the scoring with a kill and followed it with another from Ezeonu.

Moments later, Ohio State challenged the sixth point of the set to see who touched the ball last. The Buckeyes won the challenge, knotting the set up to three-all. Both teams traded points from there to start a back-and-forth opening set.

Ohio State finally broke the deadlock to take an 8-6 advantage. Kowal tied it up two points later with a thunderous ace that got the Penn State crowd cheering. John Kerr used a perfect assist to bury a kill and give the Nittany Lions an 11-10 lead. Kerr tied it back up at 13 after the Buckeyes went on a mini 3-0 run.

An Ohio State service error gave Penn State a 17-16 lead late into the first set. Ezeonu found his rhythm from there to keep it close with the Buckeyes, as both teams traded points. Mark Pavlik called his first timeout of the set down 21-19.

Ezeonu helped Penn State respond with an ace that barely stayed within the lines. He doubled it up with another ace that forced Ohio State to call timeout with set one tied at 22. The Buckeyes forced set point and then finished the job to take set one 25-23, despite the Nittany Lions’ late effort.

Both teams opened the second set trading points. Kerr fired off a kill that sent a Buckeye into the stands while tying it at four points. Kowal gave the Nittany Lions the lead a point later during one of the better rallies of the match. Penn State benefited from a 3-0 run to take a 9-6 lead early in set two.

Ezeonu kept the advantage at two points with a kill from his middle blocker position. Kerr extended the lead to 13-11 with another service ace. The Buckeyes fought back to tie it at 13 points after a few costly attacking errors by the Nittany Lions. A handful of points later, Kowal stopped the bleeding with a kill from the far outside.

Owen Rose and Kerr attempted to block the Buckeyes attack at the net but couldn’t, giving Ohio State an 18-16 lead. Pavlik called a timeout to stop the momentum Ohio State had earned over the middle part of set two. After the timeout, Noah Platfoot sent a serve into the ace, giving Penn State the point. The Nittany Lions still trailed by two points late in the set.

Ezenonu came up huge for the Nittany Lions with a block, bringing them within one point and followed it up with a kill to make it 22-21 in favor of the Buckeyes. Ohio State proved to be too much late once again, taking the second set 25-22.

As with the first two sets, the third set began with both teams going back and forth. Penn State broke the deadlock with three straight points as Ezenou served. Kowal fired off a kill that the Buckeyes’ blockers couldn’t handle, giving the Nittany Lions an 8-5 early advantage. Ohio State responded with back-to-back points, cutting into the deficit.

The service errors began to plague the Buckeyes, allowing Penn State to hold onto its small advantage into the middle portion of the third set. Daniel Hurley came up with one of the bigger blocks of the afternoon, stalling Kerr and the Nittany Lions at 12 points. However, Ohio State couldn’t thrive off the momentum as Pavlik’s team responded with three straight points of its own.

The rally continued for another point, extending the lead to 16-12. Ohio State then proved why it’s the top-ranked team in the country and cut the deficit to two points. Penn State responded in the most thrilling rally of the match to date. Off the bench, Will Kuhns finally earned the kill after back-and-forth saves, bringing the crowd to its feet.

What a RALLY! Point PENN STATE! pic.twitter.com/IMP2iAPCfV

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) January 28, 2024

Penn State extended the lead to 22-17 thanks to a few quality serves from Rose. Kuhns and Valenzi came up big down the stretch, helping the Nittany Lions get to a 24-19 set point. Ohio State made it interesting with two straight points and forcing Pavlik to call a timeout before things got worse. A Buckeye attacking error gave the third set to Penn State 25-21.

Ohio State took a small lead in the fourth set. The energy inside Rec Hall rose to a game-high as both teams battled early, trading points to tie it at 4-4. The Buckeyes took a small advantage once again at 7-6 after a few Penn State attacking errors.

Kuhns came up with a cross-court kill and the Nittany Lions led 11-8 all of a sudden in the fourth set. Ohio State continued to keep it close, despite Penn State’s best efforts to build upon its advantage. Ezeonu flew through the building to crush home an ace and make it a three-point lead. Rose followed it up with a kill from the middle as Penn State led 17-15.

Ohio State turned to its bench late in the fourth set in an attempt to cut into the Nittany Lions lead. It didn’t work for the Buckeyes as Rose continued to punish the scarlet and red at the net. Penn State led 20-16 as Ohio State called yet another timeout.

Kowal called upon another ace from his sleeve out of the timeout as everything continued to go the Nittany Lions’ way. Ohio State hurt itself with a service error, followed by an Ezeonu block to force a 24-18 set point. Valenzi sealed the deal with a kill, forcing a fifth and deciding set inside Rec Hall.

Ezeonu and Valenzi's BLOCK forces another Timeout! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/u24bhr8iWd

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) January 28, 2024

Kowal started things right where the blue and white left off with a kill to earn the first point of the fifth set. Ohio State got back on track, scoring the next two points. Valenzi went cross-court as the Buckeye defense scrambled to tie things up.

Valenzi beat the Ohio State blockers at the net to give the Nittany Lions a 5-4 advantage. Ohio State scored three straight points from there and the momentum was back in the hands of the Buckeyes. Penn State fought back to get within one point before the teams traded sides of the court.

A triple block from the Nittany Lions got the crowd into it after the side change. Ohio State attempted to challenge the play for a net violation, but the call stood. Both teams traded service errors from there, as Ohio State led 9-8. Kowal went back to serve after that and the Nittany Lions climbed within a point.

A net violation on the Buckeyes tied it at 10 points, sending Rose back to serve. Valenzi fired home a kill to keep it tied two points later. Ezeonu finally broke Ohio State’s lead with a kill down the line, giving Penn State a slim 13-12 advantage down the stretch.

After an Ohio State timeout, the Buckeyes committed an attacking error to force the Nittany Lion match point at 14-13. Ohio State then called another timeout right after that. Penn State couldn’t seal the deal on the force match point, sending the serve back the other way.

A massive block at the net gave the Nittany Lions match point once again, but the Buckeyes responded to tie it up. Penn State completed the reverse sweep on its third match point of the afternoon, winning the fifth set 17-15, and knocking off No. 1 Ohio State for the second time in four days.

Takeaways

• Penn State lived and died by the service. It wasn’t going the Nittany Lions’ way in the first two sets, but in the final three, it got the job done. The blue and white finished with seven aces.
• Michal Kowal and Will Kuhns were dynamic for the Nittany Lions at the outside hitter position. Kuhns coming off the bench shifted the momentum toward Penn State and the Buckeyes never recovered.
• Penn State defeated the No. 1 team in the country, home and away, twice in four days. That’s a huge feat for this season’s team going forward.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will be back in action against Ball State at 7 p.m. on Friday, February 2, in Muncie, Indiana.