No. 12 Penn State women’s volleyball (6-1) swept Ohio (4-3) 3-0 in Rec Hall on Saturday night.

The Nittany Lions got off to quick starts in all three sets as they continued to ride the momentum from their win over No. 4 Stanford on Friday. Penn State emphatically saw the game out with a 25-9 win in the third set.

How It Happened

Penn State started off the first set with two quick points off of attack errors by Bailey Blair and Gentry Brown. Ohio got on the board with a kill from Olivia Gardner assisted by Rowan Kelly.

The two squads exchanged points before Penn State went on a 3-0 run to up 6-2. Penn State worked up its way up to a 9-5 lead before Kelly stopped the bleeding with a kill.

A Brown attack error off a Ryla Jones serve put the Nittany Lions up 13-8, but the Bobcats rallied to take a 14-13 lead behind two kills, two aces, and two Penn State attack errors.

Rose Mahin committed an attack error to hand the Nittany Lions the 14-14 tie. The teams continued to teeter between each other until Penn State won some breathing room at 20-17 after a service ace by Kennedy Martin.

Jones and Whitney Lauenstein registered kills late in the set, but Blair and Mahin brought the Bobcats back within striking distance. Alexis Stucky notched two consective kills to close out a first set win for the Nittany Lions, 25-21.

Ohio scored the first point of the second set after a Gabrielle Nichols attack error. The Nittany Lions worked their way to an early 5-2 lead behind a Nichols kill, ace, and a Blair attack error.

Penn State continued to pour it on with two Haley Burgdorf kills, but Ohio maintained itself within three points through the middle of the set.

The Nittany Lions went on a four-point run to go up 17-11 after two straight Caroline Jurevicius service aces, but Ohio snapped the streak after Jurevicius committed a service error. Danielle Whitmire notched a kill before Emily Waddell, Mahin, and a Kendall Northern attack error brought the Bobcats back within three.

Ohio paced along with Penn State, but the Nittany Lions held a narrow 22-20 lead heading late into the set. The Bobcats tied it up at 23 following a Blair kill, but Jurevicius and Finley Krystkowiak recorded kills of their own to hand Penn State the set two win.

Ohio drew first blood once more behind a Blair kill. Penn State immediately responded, capitalizing off a Mahin service error and a service ace from Emmi Sellman. The Bobcats matched the Nittany Lions over the next few points, but Penn State went up 7-3 with some key plays by Burgdorf and Jurevicius.

The Bobcats stopped Penn State’s run with a Brown kill, but Burgdorf immediately responded with a kill of her own. That sparked a seven-point Nittany Lion run, highlighted by kills from Northern and Burdorf. Penn State led 15-4 heading into the media timeout.

A Northern attack error stopped Penn State’s streak and put the Bobcats back on the board, but Alexis Ewing propelled Penn State back up 17-6. Jurevicius notched a kill before Whitmire registered four consecutive service aces to make it a 22-6 game.

Ohio pulled two points back three points back, but an Ewing kill kept Penn State on top 23-9. A Jurevicius kill set up match point. Burgdorf saw the game out with a kill of her own to secure the sweep.

Takeaways

• Penn State is a revitalized team. The Wrigley Field loss to No. 3 Kentucky left a sour taste in the Nittany Lions’ mouths, and they responded with back-to-back sweeps against No. 4 Stanford and Ohio.
• The Nittany Lions snatched early leads in all three sets. They wavered a bit near the end of the second set, but didn’t let Ohio take the lead no matter how much the Bobcats fought.
• Caroline Jurevicius and Haley Burgdorf led the way for Penn State with six kills each.

What’s Next?

Penn State stays home to take on in-state opponent Villanova at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 15, in Rec Hall. Folks at home can watch on FS1.