COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 11 Penn State men's volleyball team ended its weekend at 14th-ranked Ohio State with a 1-1 split after a 3-0 loss to the Buckeyes Saturday evening at the Covelli Center.
Penn State (1-1) mixed in several players into their rotation for the night with four Nittany Lions making their collegiate debuts and three getting their first start in a collegiate match against OSU (1-1).
"I think our young guys battled pretty well," said head coach Mark Pavlik. "Their response to the 2-by-4 of competitive reality smacking them in the nose was something I am pretty proud of."
Sophomore Jack Shampine was one of those players and he led Penn State with 8 kills and 12 points while adding four blocks and a pair of service aces.
The Nittany Lions struggled finding an offensive rhythm and ended the night with a .078 hitting percentage as a team compared to the Buckeyes' .227.
The first game was close throughout with the Nittany Lions holding a lead at 22-21. But the Buckeyes ended the set with a four-point run, the longest for either team in the frame, to win 25-22.
Penn State had a good start to the second set thanks to back-to-back blocks by Shampine and freshman Ian Argento to take an early two-point lead, but Ohio State whittled its way back into the lead with a four-point run to lead 14-10.
Ohio State built its advantage to as high as six in the set, though Penn State closed the gap to one at 24-23 with a kill from Shampine and two errors. The Buckeyes did close the set on their fourth set-point to lead 2-0.
Once again, Penn State sped out to an early lead in the third and final set with three total aces from Argento (2) and Shampine to lead 8-4, but OSU flipped the script again to win 21 of the next 30 points to clinch the match.
GAME NOTES & STATS
- Shampine, Argento, freshman Toby Ezeonu and freshman Michael Valenzi all started their first career match in tonight's game.
- It was the first playing time for Shampine, Argento, Ezeonu and sophomore John Kerr in their Penn State careers.
- Argento led the team with five block assists, closely followed by Shampine's four and Ezeonu's three.
- Sophomore Jack Driscoll also had his first playing time at setter and finished with team highs in assists (10) and digs. Likewise, sophomore Tim Herget was close behind with four digs in his first extended playing time at libero.
NEXT UP
Penn State hosts Ohio State for its first home series of the season Friday and Saturday, Jan. 29-30, at Rec Hall.