The No. 1 Ohio State men’s volleyball team watches afar on the sidelines as the Buckeyes take on No. 9 Penn State. The Buckeyes (6-1, 0-0 MIVA) lost in four tight sets at the Covelli Center, giving them their first loss of the season. Credit: Caleb Blake
Ohio State fans showed out Thursday to watch their top-ranked men’s volleyball team play a familiar foe.
No. 1 Ohio State (6-1, 0-0 MIVA) fell to No. 9 Penn State (5-2, 0-0 EIVA) at the Covelli Center as the Nittany Lions bested the Buckeyes in four tight sets.
Jacob Pasteur, Ohio State’s season kill leader and back-to-back MIVA Player of the Week, was not in action for the Buckeyes. Ohio State head coach Kevin Burch said the senior outside hitter is dealing with a knee injury and is out indefinitely.
Redshirt-freshman hitter Daniel Hurley stepped into the leading outside role for the Buckeyes and tagged a career-high 16 kills.
“I’m a right side [hitter] by heart but I’ve been repping outside a lot. I love it,” Hurley said. “It sucks that I had to come in for Jacob but that’s what you’ve got to do. Whatever I can do to help us win.”
The first set began with a Penn State point and the Buckeyes quickly followed with a kill by Hurley. The match remained close but the Nittany Lions were the first to 20 with a kill from senior middle blocker Toby Ezeonu.
Another Ezeonu slam gave Penn State the first set 21-25.
The Buckeyes came out strong in the second, and a Hurley kill pushed the team to a 5-2 lead. Points from Hurley and redshirt-senior middle blocker Justin Howard stretched the lead to as many as 6 points, and Ohio State snagged the second set handily 25-17.
Despite the rising cacophony from Ohio State fans, the momentum shifted back to Penn State in the third set. A kill by senior outside hitter Michal Kowal shot the Nittany Lions to a quick 3-point lead.
In spite of back-to-back kills by Ohio State redshirt-freshman outside hitter Ben Putnam, Penn State maintained a consistent lead. A Nittany Lion block pushed them to 20, and an Ezeonu attack finished the third with a 2-1 Penn State lead.
A Howard kill and multiple service aces by redshirt-senior setter Michael Wright propelled the Buckeyes to a 5-0 lead in the fourth set. A kill by senior outside hitter Michael Valenzi put Penn State on the board, but Ohio State remained dominant for the first half of the match.
An Ezeonu kill and opponent attack error tied the score at 16, and a Kowal slam gave the Nittany Lions their first lead of the set. The two teams sparred back and forth as the score exceeded the regular set point of 25. One final kill by Valenzi finished off the Buckeyes and the score rounded out at 27-29 with a 3-1 win for Penn State.
Thursday night’s matchup was the first of Ohio State’s to not reach five sets since its Jan. 8 game against St. Francis University.
Regardless of the loss, Wright credited the depth of Ohio State’s team and its ability to perform under less-than-ideal circumstances.
“We had a guy who couldn’t play tonight. It’s very unfortunate. He’s one of our guys, but a lot of guys stepped up and took that role,” Wright said.
The Buckeyes will have another shot against Penn State Sunday at the Rec Hall in University Park, Pennsylvania. The game is set for 3 p.m., and will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.
