How Sweep It Is: Nittany Lions Sweep Buckeyes for Second Straight Night
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — After sweeping the No. 13 Ohio State Buckeyes Friday night, the No. 11 Penn State Nittany Lions came into Rec Hall Saturday with one goal in mind: sweeping the Buckeyes. That they did, taking the match in straight sets.
The Nittany Lions entered the game with a 2-1 record, while the Buckeyes (1-2) were looking for a big win to avenge their loss to Penn State loss from the day prior.
Friday night, Penn State took advantage of Ohio State’s 18 attack errors and 19 service errors, and Saturday was no different, as the Buckeyes had 17 attack errors and 16 service errors.
Junior Cal Fisher was dominant Friday, racking up 12 points and 10 kills. Fisher brought that heat into Saturday night, earning 14 1/2 points and 12 kills.
Besides Fisher, junior Brett Wildman contributed 11 1/2 points and nine kills, while junior Sam Marsh had nine points and seven kills. Junior Cole Bogner contributed a game-high 30 assists.
Penn State finished the game with six service aces, including two by sophomore Jack Driscoll.
Penn State’s defense was solid, earning eight block assists and three solo blocks compared to Ohio State’s seven block assists and two solo blocks.
As for the Buckeyes, freshman Jacob Pasteur was excellent, recording 21 kills and 23 1/2 points. But the next leading scorer for Ohio State had just seven points, meaning it was rough sledding for the Buckeyes offense.
The first half of the match was extremely close, but in the second half of the second set, Penn State pulled away. Head coach Mark Pavlik said this was due to Bogner recognizing that the middle of the Buckeyes defense was wide open, and the Nittany Lions attacked the middle for the rest of the game.
“I thought we did a great job carrying the focus and execution from last night’s game,” Pavlik said. “I thought we played like a pitcher who did not have his best stuff but did enough to win”.
Pavlik said the two teams have a lot of respect for each other, as they are two of the best teams in the country and every game is something very special. He also said it always feels great to defeat the Buckeyes since it is such an intense rivalry.
Even though it is very early, Penn State is looking great for the future, as the Nittany Lions are getting contributions from everyone. Look for Fisher, Wildman, Marsh and Bogner to keep their great season going and carry this squad to a potential championship.
Penn State will look to continue its momentum as it takes on Saint Francis on Thursday, Feb. 4.
Alex Rocco is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. You can contact him at afr5646@psu.edu.
