No. 17 Penn State men’s volleyball (12-7, 4-0 EIVA) ended its three-match losing streak with a four-set upset win over Ohio State (12-10, 7-6 MIVA) on Wednesday night at the Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This was Penn State’s first win since February 27.

The first set was a back-and-forth battle between both teams before Penn State had to save two set points to win the first set 27-25. Ohio State responded by winning the second set 25-20, sending the match to a best-of-three.

Despite losing the second set, the Nittany Lions returned the favor by winning the third and fourth sets 25-20, to end their three-match losing streak and get their first win over a ranked opponent since early January.

How It Happened

The match got underway with Ohio State winning the first two points on back-to-back service aces. Penn State got on the board on the next point with a kill by Sean Harvey.

Both teams traded the next four points before consecutive points by the Nittany Lions tied the first set at four. The Buckeyes built a two-point lead after the deadlock as they won three of the next four points. After a service error got Penn State within one, Ohio State went on a 4-0 run to extend its lead to five. This forced Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik to use a timeout.

After the timeout, the run ended due to a service error by Ohio State’s Aaron Grimm. Both teams exchanged the next four points until back-to-back errors by the Buckeyes decreased the Nittany Lions’ deficit to two. Ohio State responded by winning three of the next four points to take a 16-12 lead.

Both teams traded blows for the next six points until consecutive points by Penn State got it within two of tying it at 19. After Eliel Salva-Torres’ kill increased the Buckeyes’ lead to three, the Nittany Lions trimmed their deficit to one as they won back-to-back points. This led Ohio State to take a timeout.

Out of the timeout, Penn State took its first lead of the match on Matthew Luoma’s kill and Owen Rose’s service ace. Both teams exchanged the next four points until back-to-back points allowed Ohio State to restore its lead and give it a set point.

After the Nittany Lions took a timeout, they saved set point on a service error by the Buckeyes. The Nittany Lions saved another set point before an attack error by Stanislaw Chancinski gave them set point and forced Ohio State to use a timeout. This timeout did not pay off for it as Sean Harvey’s kill gave Penn State the first set win at 27-25.

Both teams exchanged the first four points of the second set before Ohio State won three of the next four points to take an early two-point lead. Penn State responded by winning three of the next four to tie the set at six. It took a two-point lead right after as Harvey recorded back-to-back kills.

The Nittany Lions’ lead was short-lived as the Buckeyes won four of the next five points to take a 10-9 lead. After Luoma’s kill tied the set at 10, Ohio State won three consecutive points to take the lead, forcing Penn State to take a timeout.

Out of the timeout, both teams traded blows for the next 10 points as the Buckeyes’ three-point lead stayed intact. After kills were exchanged, Ohio State extended its lead to four as it got within four points of taking the second set.

After the Nittany Lions took a timeout, Ohio State’s lead stayed intact for the next five points until Luoma’s service error gave it set point. Unlike the first set, it capitalized on the set point as Daniel Henwood Rodriguez’s service ace won the second set for the Buckeyes 25-20.

The third set started with both teams trading the first 10 points. The next two points were exchanged until a 3-0 run by Penn State gave it a 9-6 lead. Both teams exchanged the next four points before Ohio State tied it up at 11 with a 3-0 run of its own.

The deadlock was short-lived as the Nittany Lions went on another 3-0 run to restore their three-point lead. This led to an Ohio State timeout. The run came to an end right after a kill by Chacinski. After Luoma recorded a kill, the Buckeyes tied it up once again at 15 on a 3-0 run.

Both teams traded blows for the next four points before another 3-0 run by Penn State gave it a 20-17 lead. After Ohio State’s timeout, Harvey’s kill extended the run to four before Michael Schwob’s service error ended it.

Errors were exchanged between both teams for the next four points until Bennett Wilson’s kill gave the Nittany Lions set point. Penn State converted the set point on a service ace by Luoma as it won the third set 25-20 and took a 2-1 set lead into the fourth set.

Kills were exchanged between both teams in the first four points of the fourth set before the Nittany Lions won four consecutive points. This run ended on the next point on a kill by Rodriguez.

Both teams traded the next six points until a service ace by Gaige Gabriel gave Penn State a four-point lead. After Grimm recorded a kill for Ohio State, it committed back-to-back attack errors that allowed the Nittany Lions to take a 12-7 lead heading into a timeout by the Buckeyes.

Out of the timeout, both teams exchanged the next six points before Ohio State started to show signs of life as it won three consecutive points to reduce its deficit to two. After Penn State took a timeout, it responded with a 3-0 run of its own to restore its five-point lead, which led to another timeout by the Buckeyes.

After Ohio State’s timeout, it refused to go away as it won four of the next six points to trim its deficit to three. Both teams traded kills until back-to-back points by the Buckeyes got them within two of Penn State’s lead, forcing a Nittany Lions timeout.

This timeout paid huge dividends for Penn State as it took advantage of back-to-back errors by Ohio State to give four match points. Just like the third set, it converted on its first opportunity as a block assist by Wilson and Gabriel ended the match with the Nittany Lions winning the fourth set 25-20.

Takeaways

• This was a huge win for the Nittany Lions to end their three-match losing streak. They had lost eight straight matches against ranked opponents heading into this match, and now, they got their second win, with their last win coming against Lewis. This win will give them a lot of momentum heading into the final stretch of EIVA play.
• Sean Harvey had his footprints all over this match as he led Penn State with 20 kills. He accounted for almost half of the team’s 41 kills and was very effective on the attack as he recorded a hitting percentage of .472.
• In a match that was evenly matched, the two key stats that determined the outcome were attack and service errors. Ohio State has 24 attack errors compared to Penn State’s 15, and it had 26 service errors compared to Penn State’s 18.

What’s Next?

Penn State will return to EIVA conference play to take on NJIT on Friday, March 27, at 6 p.m. at Rec Hall. The match will be streamed on BTN+.