Ohio State prevents Penn State volleyball comeback, winning in five sets

The Ohio State Buckeyes survived in five after a HUGE Penn State comeback. After being on the road for over a month, No. 6 Ohio State returned home and treated their fans to a 3-2 (25-17, 25-15, 25-27, 22-25, 15-11) victory against No. 13 Penn State.

Gabby Gonzales and Jenaisya Moore were absolutely spectacular in the win. Moore led the Buckeyes with 21 kills on .500 hitting and Gonzales added 20 kills on .245 hitting. Mac Podraza had 59 total assists on the match as she led a terrific offensive outing. She was setting balls from the sidelines, and Moore would take the set and send bullets across the net for the kill. The Buckeyes were able to hold off a HUGE Penn State comeback attempt. The Nittany Lions came back from down 17-11 in the third set, facing a possible sweep, and proceeded to with the third and fourth sets to force a fifth. They even took the lead in the fifth.

Kashauna Williams led the Nittany Lions with 20 kills on the match, but the Nittany Lions struggled early on with their passing before heating up late in the match. After getting bullied by Ohio State’s serve, PSU returned the favor and totaled 10 service aces.

PSU challenged an early Ohio State point when the set was tied at three in the fifth, but the call stayed with the Buckeyes. Out of the break, OSU started going off — they went on a 4-1 run to take a 8-5 lead in the race to 15. The Nittany Lions charged right back with two in a row before Gonzales sent a change-up over the net then another to keep a 10-7 lead. We saw some terrific defense, and OSU kept setting Gonzales until she successfully hammered one down. Penn State took a timeout with the Buckeyes five away. Ohio State got two more before Penn State finally stopped the roll as the Buckeyes were caught ball-watching on a miscommunication. The Lions followed it up with two more to get within two, down 12-10 when the Buckeyes took another timeout.

At last, the Buckeyes picked up set match point, and sealed the deal.

RECAP: Click or tap here for a full set-by-set recap of Ohio State’s win