No. 18 Penn State women’s volleyball (13-7, 7-3 Big Ten) bested Ohio State (3-15, 0-10 Big Ten) 3-1 in Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday afternoon.

After splitting two scrappy sets, Penn State’s offense found its rhythm and coasted through the final two sets to secure another conference win.

How It Happened

Penn State quickly climbed to an 8-3 lead thanks to a flurry of kills from Kennedy Martin, but the Buckeyes answered with a 4-0 run fueled by a Penn State service error and a pair of aces from Abby Yoder.

The points continued to come in batches for both squads, as Penn State found itself leading 17-12 after a 6-0 run that featured kills from Martin and Caroline Jurevicius, an ace from Ava Falduto, and a block from Gabrielle Nichols.

But the self-inflicted mistakes crept in for the Nittany Lions, allowing Ohio State to keep its foot in the door. The Buckeyes capitalized on back-to-back attack errors from Martin and Jurevicius, amongst other mistakes, to knot it up at 20-20.

Penn State stopped the bleeding with a kill from Martin and a Buckeye attack error, but in the blink of an eye, Ohio State slammed on the gas and took five straight points to steal the first set one the afternoon 25-22.

Ohio State picked up where it left off with Kaia Castle landing a kill to open the second set. Nichols and Jurevicius responded with a kill each to take a 2-1 lead. Four kills in four points kept it tied at 5-5, but the Buckeyes continued to benefit from Penn State’s struggles in service and at the net. An attack error from Addie Lyon gave Ohio State an 11-8 lead.

Martin took the game over with a kill and back-to-back aces to tie it back up at 11-11. The former Buckeye, Emmi Sellman, also got it going, landing three straight kills to put Penn State up 16-13.

Kills from Martin and Sellman extended Penn State’s 19-16 lead, but the Buckeyes refused to go away, taking four straight points, two of which were aces, to jump in front 20-19 and force a timeout from the Nittany Lions.

Penn State’s offense clicked out of the break, with Martin and Jurevicius combining for five kills down the stretch to take the second set 25-23.

KMart's 13th kill ends set two!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/sfEDGW1YaA

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) October 26, 2025

Nichols drew first blood with a kill from her middle blocker position, but Penn State immediately flipped possession back to the Buckeyes after a service error from Addie Lyon. Martin remained hot, landing three more kills to put Penn State up 8-5.

Maggie Mendelson slapped a kill down onto the Ohio State defense to extend Penn State’s 14-11 lead, but again, a self-inflicted mistake at the service line by Gillian Grimes allowed the Buckeyes to tread water.

Martin sent two missiles over the net for a pair of aces, forcing Ohio State to burn a timeout trailing 17-12.

Out of the break, Martin’s serve went too long, but Mendelson avenged the point with a slide attack. Sellman and Martin notched a kill each to put Penn State at the 20-point mark, leaving Ohio State no choice but to use its last timeout.

The decision proved to be effective, as the Buckeyes landed back-to-back kills out of the break to cut down the 20-16 Penn State lead. However, the Nittany Lions dug their paws in, taking it to set point after four straight points. Martin painted the baseline with precision to seal the third set 25-17.

And KMart's 22nd kill ends set three!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/nska08ohZz

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) October 26, 2025

Reese Wuebker struck first with a kill for Ohio State to begin the fourth set. The Nittany Lions took six of the next nine points to build a 6-4 lead.

Penn State’s offense remained in control, with Martin and Jurevicius leading the way to a 17-10 advantage. Sellman notched a pair of kills to extend the 20-10 lead.

The momentum surged after Mendelson pounded a back scratcher into the heart of the Buckeye defense.

Ohio State put together a 5-1 scoring run, but Nichols put an end to it with a kill and a block on back-to-back plays, pushing Penn State to match point.

Takeaways

• Ohio State had no answer for Kennedy Martin. Her ability to play all over the court affected every aspect of the game. The junior finished with 26 kills, 21 digs, four aces, and three blocks.
• Despite securing a victory, Penn State surrendered 34 points from just its service and attack errors. The self-inflicted mistakes made a match against the worst team in the Big Ten look closer than it should have been at times.
• The Nittany Lions dominated offensively, hitting .308 on the day, compared to Ohio State’s .151 rate. In addition to totalling 22 more kills than the Buckeyes, the blue and white recorded 20 more assists as well. The pace was simply too much to handle for Ohio State.

What’s Next?

Penn State heads to Ann Arbor for a Halloween matchup against Michigan on Friday, October 31, at 6:30 p.m.