No. 24 Penn State women’s volleyball (15-11, 9-7 Big Ten) defeated Ohio State (5-19, 2-14 Big Ten) in five sets at Rec Hall during its Military Appreciation game on Sunday.

In its second matchup against the Buckeyes this season, Penn State picked up another win over its rivals, this time using all five games. For the entire match, Kennedy Martin was a force that Ohio State could not reckon with as she tallied up 34 kills, mostly assisted by setter Addie Lyon. Despite losing the second and third sets, the Nittany Lions fought back and dominated in the remaining sets to salvage the match and their weekend.

How It Happened

Penn State’s Ava Falduto opened the match with service, though the Buckeyes got on the board first via a Hannah Jones kill. To establish an early lead, Penn State’s two-sport athlete, Maggie Mendelson, spun Lyon’s set into a kill for a score of 2-1. The Nittany Lions expanded their lead to 6-3 with back-to-back kills by Martin and Caroline Jurevicius.

The Buckeyes showed early fight with consecutive aces by Mia Tuman that Penn State wasn’t able to dig out to tie the game at seven apiece. Two points following, Penn State committed their third service error, opening the door for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State scored four consecutive points to take an 11-8 lead. Hannah Jones was all over the floor for the Buckeyes as she collected three of the four points for them. Their streak ended on a lengthy rally that Martin put away with an out-of-system set.

The two teams traded points for the next few serves until Ohio State was given another streak, this time of three points, by consecutive Penn State errors. The errors led Katie Schumacher-Cawley to use a timeout with the set score at 15-10.

Out of the break, Ohio State erred on back-to-back points, then Martin and Mendelson rose on the far side of the net and blocked Reese Wuebker’s kill attempt. Their block brought the set within two points at 15-13.

The impenetrable wall of Martin and Mendelson was called on again a few points later to score on back-to-back serves with a block assist. Martin then put the Buckeyes on the bench for a timeout with a vicious kill that set the score at 17-16, Ohio State.

Martin and Mendelson collected their third block assist in the span of a few minutes to tie the game, and Martin’s following two kills kept it even at 20 apiece.

The Nittany Lions got their first lead since the set score was 8-7 as Martin ducked out of the way of an Ashley Carr hit. Falduto’s ace on the next serve extended that lead to two points with a 23-21 set score. The Buckeyes used their final timeout to regroup, but Emmi Sellman put away the first set 25-22 in favor of Penn State with her two kills.

The second set opened evenly matched as the two rivals traded blows until Ohio State won consecutive points, taking a 5-3 lead. A miraculous effort by Martin on a block attempt almost tied the set at five points, but the Buckeyes held their lead.

Penn State kept the game within reach as Martin flushed two hits to put the score at 9-8. They eventually evened the score at ten, but Ohio State kept the Rec Hall residents at a distance with yet another mid-set scoring streak, this time taking a commanding 15-10 lead.

Following a rare attack error by Mendelson, a media timeout was called, and Penn State was given a breather.

The timeout didn’t stop the momentum of the Buckeyes as they scored the next two points, extending the scoring streak to seven straight. Sellman’s kill on the following serve ended the drought for Penn State, but the Buckeyes still took the next two points.

The blue and white showed life by taking three of four points, bringing the score to 20-14 in favor of Ohio State. Still, their momentum wasn’t enough, as Jones, donning the red and black, forced Schumacher-Cawley to utilize a timeout with a swing of her arm.

Abby Yoder aced Penn State out of the break to bring a set win within three points for Ohio State. They ended the second set with three straight points won by attack errors on Penn State.

To open the third set, the Nittany Lions, who hadn’t held a lead since early in the second set, fell two points down. However, they quickly earned their first lead as Maggie Mendelson hammered home two kills.

That lead wouldn’t hold for long as Navea Gauthier delivered two kills for Ohio State, bringing the score to 6-5. After equalizing at seven points, Martin and Mendelson got their first block assist since the first set to give Penn State another one-score lead.

Reminiscent of the previous set, the Buckeyes won the next three points, but Jocelyn Nathan halted their streak before it got too far. The teams battled for the next few scores, and Penn State bridged the gap with the help of a Buckeye attack error.

A timeout was called on the floor following consecutive Buckeye points, giving the visitors a 15-13 lead.

Shortly after, Schumacher-Cawley won a challenged call on the floor, bringing the set to a score of 16-16. Penn State finally got a lead thanks to Gabrielle Nichols’ fourth kill of the game, and established that lead a few points later when Falduto floated in her second ace of the game. The Buckeyes used their first timeout with a set score of 21-19, Penn State.

The timeout proved useful as Ohio State won four out of five points until Penn State called a timeout of their own with a score of 23-22, favoring the visitors.

Mendelson delivered an equalizer, but Ohio State’s setter, Tuman, dropped the ball onto Penn State’s floor to give the Buckeyes set point service. The following point, Penn State’s Martin instilled life back into Rec Hall’s audience as she delivered a set-tying punch that had enough heat on it to flame a fire.

The home stretch of the third set was a battle between Penn State’s Martin and Ohio State’s Jones. The two exchanged deafening kills for eight straight points as Penn State was unwilling to give up a break point. Martin’s kills brought Rec Hall to their feet, and Jones’ kills sat them back down.

The knife-fight between the two ended when Nichols’ service error gave Ohio State a set-point; Jones then ended the third set with an ace, giving Ohio State a 2-1 set lead.

Penn State opened the fourth campaign in a deficit, but won three straight points to gain a 4-2 lead. The Buckeyes broke it up, but Penn State responded with an even larger scoring streak of four points, capped off by a block by Nichols and Lyon before Ohio State called a timeout.

Nichols and Lyon resumed play with another block, giving Penn State a 9-3 lead. A miscue by the Nittany Lions ended their streak at six points, but the damage was done.

The Buckeyes scored on two attack errors, but Penn State quickly gained back any lost ground with excellent defense at the net. An attack error by Jones set the score at 16-8, Penn State, and the visitors responded with a timeout.

As hard as Ohio State tried, the Nittany Lions kept the score at an arm’s distance, similar to Ohio State’s second-set style of play.

Penn State continued to shine its front-line defense as it elongated rallies throughout the match. Following consecutive blocks, Martin earned her 26th kill of the match to bring the score to 21-12. Her 27th kill, just a few points later, brought Penn State to set point, and her 28th kill brought the match to its fifth set.

With only fifteen points to spare, Penn State wasted no time. Martin sent her hit to Rec Hall’s floor, and the duo of Sellman and Mendelson followed up that kill with a block, the team’s 11th of the game, to take a 3-0 lead.

However, the Buckeyes bounced back from the deficit and made it a one-score match at 6-5. On the following serve, Olivia Hasbrook deceived Falduto and earned an ace to even things up at six.

In response, Nichols and Martin got their 10th and 31st kills of the match, respectively. Halfway through the final set, Penn State took a 9-7 lead.

An extensive rally between the rivals that featured multiple blocks by each team was finished off by Jurevicius, extending Penn State’s lead to 10-7. Nichols followed Jurevicius up with a kill of her own, and Penn State was within reach of the match.

Ohio State didn’t let the match finish that easily, though. Jones and Wuebker delivered two kills to make it an 11-9 ballgame. Martin landed two of her next opportunities off a Buckeye and into the stands, putting Penn State one score away from match point.

After Yoder’s service error, Penn State gave the Buckeyes another chance to serve before they concluded the game on their own terms. With a 14-12 score, outside hitter Kennedy Martin delivered the final blow and earned her 34th kill of the match. Martin’s final kill brought Rec Hall’s attendance to its feet as Penn State won the match 3-2.

Takeaways

• Kennedy Martin dominated the floor as she tied her season-high 34 kills, with a 0.400 hit percentage.
• Penn State’s front line kept the Buckeyes’ hitters at bay, for the most part, as they racked up 11 total blocks with only one block error.
• Addie Lyon put on a clinic as a setter in Sunday’s match with 61 total assists and even assisted in two blocks on consecutive points.

What’s Next?

Penn State, nearing the end of its regular season play, will be back in Rec Hall next weekend, taking on Michigan State at 7 p.m. on Friday. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.