Ohio State started strong and took the first set 25-23. The set tied 10 times and had six lead changes as Penn St. kept it very close. A quick kill by Mari Hole and a service ace by Sarah Mignin kicked off the match. Tied at five, the Nittany Lions took their first lead with two Buckeye errors, a service ace from Maddie Martin and a kill from Deja McClendon. Ohio State was able to tie the score again and retake the lead thanks to two Hole blocks, a Hole kill, two PSU errors and a kill by Mariah Booth, making it 11-13. Penn St. then saw a kill from both Katie Slay and Martin, two attack errors by Hole and an ace from Ali Longo. Geoff Carlston called a time out for OSU and was able to get his team back on track. Tied at 19, a kill from Buckeye Emily Danks followed by two Danks service aces gave Ohio State the lead. PSU recovered and tied the score at 23 with kills from Slay and McClendon and an ace by Nia Grant. A block from Hole and Kelli Barhorst put the Bucks at set point before a Barhorst kill ended the set.
It would be Ohio State's only victory of the night.
Set two brought even more tied scores with 11. Both teams kept the game very close early on. We saw action from Nittany Lions Aiyana Whitney and Micha Hancock and Buckeye Kaitlyn Leary who all had kills. When the score read 15 a piece, Ohio State began to build a lead. A kill from Amanda Peterson, Hole's kill and block and two PSU errors put the Bucks ahead, but Penn St. answered with kills from Slay and Ariel Scott and a Scott service ace. A Danks-Booth block tied the game at 20. Then three consecutive Buckeye errors put Penn St. in position to take the set, which they did with a McClendon block, 22-25.
The third set brought the return of Buckeye freshman Amy Schwarzwalder, who had four kills on the set. With OSU up 4-8, the Nittany Lions went on a five point scoring drive with kills from Hancock, Martin and Scott, a Martin block and another Scott service ace. A kill from Leary gave OSU a slight lead, but it was quickly reversed by a McClendon kill and a Schwarzwalder attack error. Schwarzwalder redeemed herself with a kill on the next play, which tied the teams at 13. Ohio State was unable to regain the lead in the third set. Danks, Leary and Peterson all had kills late in the game. Two more service aces from Penn St. put them at set point. Schwarzwalder's fourth kill slowed PSU down, but a kill from Martin ended the set 23-25.
In the fourth and final set, the Bucks brought in two more freshman players, Anna Faul and Erin Sekinger, who both had one kill. Faul's kill tied the game at six. Grant and McClendon answered with kills and Booth was called on an attack error. Booth came back with a block and a kill, but two McClendon kills and a Slay block forced a time out from Ohio State. With Penn St. up 16-10, a service ace from Dominique Gonzales, two Scott-Slay kills and a Danks error all went uninterrupted before a Schwarzwalder kill attempted to slow the pace. An attack error from Leary made the score 21-12. Ohio State was only able to score one more point on a Sekinger kill before a Sekinger attack error gave the Nittany Lions their seventh road win this season, 25-13.
The Buckeyes (18-14, 8-11 Big Ten) will close the regular season tonight in Ann Arbor, Michigan when they take on the Wolverines (20-11, 8-11) at 7 p.m.
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