Ohio State senior middle blocker Lauren Witte (12) and freshman opposite hitter Emily Londot (22) block a Maryland shot during the Ohio State-Maryland game on Jan. 23. Ohio State won 3-2. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
With an unblemished record during an unprecedented season, Ohio State women’s volleyball faces a midweek challenge to remain perfect on the season.
The No. 19 Buckeyes (11-0) have earned their best start in the Big Ten since 1991 with their most consecutive wins since 2013. Ohio State heads to State College, Pennsylvania, to complete its series against No. 10 Penn State (4-3) Wednesday.
Head coach Jen Flynn Oldenburg said her team will maximize their momentum coming off of previous matches as an advantage against the Nittany Lions after Penn State had the previous week off due to a postponed series with Maryland.
Despite a potential advantage for the Buckeyes coming into Wednesday, the season hasn’t come without challenges along the way. With the pandemic, difficult opponents and changing of lineups that force the team to be flexible amid change, Oldenburg said her team focuses on improving.
“All these things that are challenges, we use these opportunities to just train and get better,” Oldenburg said.
Penn State ranks fifth in the Big Ten with a .256 hitting percentage and sixth in kills per set at 13.07. Junior right side hitter Jonni Parker leads the Nittany Lions in kills with 106 and an average of 3.53 kills per set.
Ohio State is looking to maximize tough serving and passing against the Nittany Lions in order to prevent them from getting to the middles.
“We’ve worked on different blocking schemes and systems to get our defense in a good position to dig a lot of balls and slow down the middles,” Oldenburg said.
The Buckeyes last played the Nittany Lions Feb. 17, completing a reverse sweep to accomplish the 3-2 win.
The Buckeyes, in order to cope with moments of hardship, focus on remaining confident and not allowing one detail of the game to take control of their mind, sophomore setter Mac Podraza said.
“I think for myself, what’s important is to just keep reminding me to trust my training and do what we’ve been working on,” Podraza said. “I think when I feel myself not being as confident as I usually am, I try to focus on other aspects of my game. So being a good teammate, or if my setting isn’t going the way that I want it to, working as hard as I can to be the best blocker out there.”
Amid difficulty and change, Ohio State still continues to break records.
The Buckeyes became the first team to sweep the weekly Big Ten awards since the conference began awarding all four honors in 2012. Freshman outside hitter Emily Londot, freshman middle blocker Rylee Rader and Podraza all received honors March 1.
Londot was given player and co-Freshman of the Week with Rader, who also received co-Freshman and Defensive Player of the Week after she had a career high in blocks against Rutgers with 11.
Rader had the most blocks in a game by a Buckeye since 2015 and the most blocks by an Ohio State freshman since 1987.
Podraza earned her second career setter of the week award after an average assists of 11.75 and 94 helpers were collected in the two wins against the Scarlet Knights. Podraza ranks fourth in the Big Ten for her assists per set coming in at 10.37.
The Buckeyes begin their match against Penn State at 6 p.m. Wednesday on BTN+.
