Ohio State
13-8 (3-6Big Ten)
Penn State
17-3 (9-0Big Ten)
Buckeyes Tripped Up in Happy Valley
10/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 19, 2016
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Valeria León pulled even with Stacey Gordon (2001-04) for the Ohio State all-time lead in career digs, adding nine digs Wednesday night at Penn State, to run her career total 1,572. León’s next dig will give her sole possession of the school record. Senior classmate Taylor Sandbothe blasted 15 kills at a .429 attacking rate in a losing effort at No. 9 Penn State (17-3, 9-0 Big Ten). The 19th-ranked Buckeyes fall to 13-8 overall and 3-6 in conference play. The final scoreboard read 25-21, 25-20, 25-17.
Saturday’s upcoming match is not only likely a record-breaking night for León, but also the annual `Bucks Go Pink’ Match – joining in the effort to raise breast cancer awareness. Fans are encouraged to wear pink attire to go along with a giveaway of pink pomp oms and pink yowies.
SET 1: The Buckeye offense came out firing at a .370 hitting pace, led by Taylor Hughes’ four kills and nine assists, involved directly in 13 of the team’s 15 terminating swings. She sent the rock in the direction of Sandbothe for five put-aways and connected with Brooke Bailey for a kill on three of four sets. Unfortunately, the Nittany Lion attack was clicking as well – reaching their 15 kills while swinging .429 in pulling out a late victory, 25-21.
SET 2: Sandbothe kept it coming in set number two, blasting eight kills on a dozen errorless attempts. The rest of the Buckeye lineup put up just six kills compared to seven errors, however. In addition, Penn State only slightly slowed down in attacking .344 and grabbing the second stanza, 25-20.
SET 3: While Ohio State’s defensive efforts improved in the third frame, the offense went in the opposite direction. The Buckeyes battled through early on though, digging out of a 5-1 hole to trim the deficit down to a lone tally at 9-8 on an ace from Hughes. Penn State thwarted any further attempts to overtake its lead from there and closed out the evening, 25-17.
St. John Arena opens its doors on Saturday (Oct. 22) for a 6 p.m. ET match vs. No. 11 Michigan State.
