Penn State Women’s Volleyball Loses 3-2 To Ohio State

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

No. 8 Penn State women’s volleyball lost to Ohio State 3-2 (25-17, 25-13, 23-25, 22-25, 8-15) Wednesday evening at the Covelli Center in Columbus.

The Buckeyes hit under .100 during each of the first two sets and stared a 2-0 deficit in the face before rallying for a reverse sweep of the Nittany Lions. The two teams will complete their season series on March 3 at Rec Hall.

Freshman opposite hitter Emily Londot helped Ohio State (7-0) remain undefeated with a match-high 20 kills, 12 digs, and five blocks. Serena Gray led the Nittany Lions with 13 kills and hit .357 in the loss. Kaitlyn Hord had another strong night defensively with eight total blocks.

Junior libero Jenna Hampton was certainly a bright spot on an otherwise tough night for Penn State, recording a career-high 25 digs. Hampton has set a new career high all three matches she’s played this season after missing opening weekend against Illinois. She also had two of Penn State’s 10 service aces.

Ohio native Jonni Parker and Anastasiya Kudryashova reached double-digit kills alongside Gray and Hord, but the Nittany Lions ran out of momentum midway through the match and couldn’t seem to right the ship. Down 7-6 in the fifth set, Penn State surrendered four straight points to put itself in a difficult spot. Ohio State soon finished things off on Vanja Bukilic’s 16th kill of the night on match point.

Freshman outside hitter AC Fitzpatrick had eight kills, four digs, and a career-high four aces for the Nittany Lions, while setter Gabby Blossom tallied 46 assists, 14 digs, and two aces Wednesday night. Defensive specialists Macall Peed (seven digs), Maddy Bilinovic, and Keatan Broughton were Penn State’s lone substitutes of the match.

The Nittany Lions (2-3) return to Rec Hall this weekend when they host former Penn State assistant coach Steve Aird and his Indiana Hoosiers (2-6) Friday and Saturday night. Indiana was swept twice by No. 1 Wisconsin in Bloomington last weekend.