UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 14 Penn State Women’s Volleyball remained unbeaten in the Big Ten with a 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 20-25, 25-21, 15-7) win over No. 24 Ohio State on Saturday night at Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions won for the eighth-straight match to improve their record to 12-3 overall and 6-0 in the Big Ten. They join Wisconsin and Nebraska, which are ranked first and second in the nation, as the only three teams with unbeaten records in the conference. The Buckeyes fell to 6-9 overall and 3-3 in the league. All nine losses came to nationally-ranked opponents.
Penn State won a five-set match for the second-straight night at Rec Hall, but Saturday’s win was much different than Friday’s. Whereas the win on Friday featured no ties or lead changes through the first four sets, Saturday’s match was a back-and-forth affair with 30 ties and nine lead changes through the first three sets alone.
Allie Holland helped hold Ohio State to .150 hitting as she was in on eight of the team’s 14 blocks. That came one night after she had nine blocks in a 3-2 win over Indiana. Fellow middle blocker Taylor Trammell wasn’t far behind her with six blocks.
If the ball did find its way past Holland and Trammell, sophomore libero Gillian Grimes was there to lead the back row. She piled up a career-high 23 digs on the night. Maddy Bilinovic did her part with 12 digs.
Two more Penn State players reached double-digit digs and continued their streaks of double-doubles. Jess Mruzik recorded a double-double for the fourth-straight match with her 21 kills and 12 digs. Mac Podraza posted a double-double for the third-straight match with her 48 assists and 14 digs.
Alexa Markley continued to show her improvement for the Nittany Lions with 15 kills and four blocks. Camryn Hannah totaled 12 kills and four blocks.
Rylee Rader had an efficient night for Ohio State with 13 kills on .414 hitting. Emily Londot (16 kills, 12 digs) and Mia Tuman (45 assists, 16 digs) each had double-doubles for the Buckeyes. Tuman made her first appearance in Rec Hall, where her brother Canyon Tuman played for the Penn State men’s volleyball team from 2019-22.
Penn State has won 11 straight matches at Rec Hall. The last home loss came to Wisconsin in five sets on Nov. 19, 2022.
Set 1
Mruzik had eight kills in the opening set to lead Penn State to a…
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