COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 13 Penn State fought back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the match, but No. 6 Ohio State came out on top 3-2 (25-17, 25-15, 25-27, 22-25, 15-11) in a Big Ten women’s volleyball match Friday night at the Covelli Center.
The Nittany Lions dropped to 13-3 overall and 2-3 in the Big Ten. They are 2-2 against nationally-ranked opponents this season. The Buckeyes improved to 8-5 overall and 4-1 in the conference.
It looked like it was going to be a quick night for both teams as Penn State fell behind 2-0 in the match and 17-11 in set three. But the Lions turned things around with a furious comeback that was fueled by an outstanding effort at the service line. Six of their final 12 points came on aces.
Alexa Markley got the ace train rolling for Penn State, doing so on back-to-back serves to pull the Lions within two at 19-17. Next it was Seleisa Elisaia, who matched Markley with back-to-back aces of her own that knotted the score at 21-21. The Lions got their first chance at set point at 24-23 thanks to an ace by Kashauna Williams. And finally, Zoe Weatherington put the finishing touches on the set with a kill that was followed by her second ace of the season for a 27-25 victory.
Penn State had just one ace in the fourth set, but it was a big one. Elisaia’s third of the night gave the Lions the 25-22 win. Williams paced the offense in the set with five kills, while Markley had three. Elisaia added 10 assists, five digs and three blocks.
The fifth set started off even with the score tied at 4-4 following a kill by Williams, but Ohio State started to pull away with a 3-0 run. Penn State eventually battled back to get within one at 12-11 with a 4-0 run that included a pair of aces by Gillian Grimes. The Buckeyes responded with a 3-0 run to close the match.
Williams finished with 20 kills to give her at least 15 for the third-straight match. She had 11 over the two sets that were won by Penn State. Weatherington finished with eight kills and four blocks, while Taylor Trammell tallied seven kills and five blocks. Elisaia recorded a double-double with 45 assists and 10 digs in addition to her three aces and four blocks.
Both Ohio natives in the Penn State lineup put together solid performances. Allie Holland hit .300 with seven kills, two aces and five blocks. Maddy Bilinovic contributed eight digs.
Ohio State put up huge offensive numbers in the first three sets, hitting .531 in the first, .407 in the second, and .438 in the third, before finishing at .312 for the match. Gabby Gonzalez and Jenaisya Moore had 21 kills apiece. Gonzalez added 13 digs to finish off a double-double.
Penn State played a nationally-ranked opponent for the fourth time in four weekends. Two of those were played at a neutral site, while two were played on the road.
The Lions head back to Happy Valley and will host Illinois on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Illini, who are receiving votes in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll, are 8-7 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten following a 3-0 win at Maryland on Friday.
