No. 20 Penn State volleyball pulls off a huge Big Ten upset with sweep over No. 3 Ohio State

Not sure the end of this set could have gotten any closer. We had a tie at 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 before Kailtin Hord sent two back-to-back bullets over the net with beautiful accuracy to take the second set 27-25. Ohio State is right there with them, but they are having trouble sealing the deal. Penn State, on the other hand, is not. They are playing with big energy, Gabby Blossom is setting a great match and this offense is working efficiently. 

Penn State hit .302 in the second set as Parker and Rollins led with nine kills each. Penn State might have three losses on the season, but they are showing what they are made of right here and now against a tough Ohio State team. 

Check out some Penn State highlights this match: 

It’s a fun one in #HappyValley!

No. 20 @PennStateVBALL takes the first set against No. 3 Ohio State 👀 pic.twitter.com/LrHETsdMPy

— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) September 26, 2021

Just when it looked like Penn State was pulling away in the second set, the Buckeyes tied it up at 11 with back-to-back kills from Mia Grunze and Londot and then again at 14. The Buckeyes were the first to 15 after Penn State had two back-to-back errors. Ohio State then took the lead before Penn State was able to tie things up again. We are tied at 17 in set two. 

Even still, the Nittany Lions are hitting .339 and the Buckeyes are hitting .327. Penn State has four blocks to the Buckeyes two, but it is clear as day that Ohio State doesn't want to give up another set. Londot is up to nine kills and Rollins and Parker lead the Nittany Lions with seven kills apiece. 

S5 | Buckeye block! @ryleerader and @mac_podraza10 coming up big!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/40S87bGLb4

— Ohio State Women's Volleyball (@OhioStateWVB) September 25, 2021

Penn State and Ohio State are both hitting .381 in this point-for-point first set. To get even weirder, both teams have six different players with a kill and there have been eight ties. This one can clearly go either way. 

There has yet to be a player on either team with more than one kill. We've got a ton of balance. 

Ohio State is set to take on Penn State volleyball on the road at 4 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network. The Buckeyes are coming off of its first loss of the season after a five-set, top-10 battle with Purdue. They will be looking to bounce back with a ranked win over No. 20 Penn State. 

The Nittany Lions do have three losses on the season, but to really strong teams: Georgia Tech, Oregon and Stanford.

This is a well-coached team under Russ Rose that is historically successful. They’ve got great players with Jonni Parker and Kaitlyn Hord, and can be extremely competitive for Ohio State. They pushed a strong Stanford team to five sets recently behind a 21 kill performance from Parker and balanced offense with Parker, Erica Pritchard, Hord and Adanna Rollins all in double digit kills. 

The Buckeyes are led offensively by Emily Londot, who posted 20 kills in the loss to Purdue, followed by Gabby Gonzales and Rylee Rader. 

Penn State is 32-8 all-time over Ohio State, but the Buckeyes emerged last season as a national title contender and have continued the upward trend into 2021. 

Ohio State enters Sunday coming off its first loss of the season, which was to No. 7 Purdue. Prior to that, the Buckeyes rattled off 10 straight wins. 

Penn State comes in with a three-game win streak. 

Since 1998, Ohio State and Penn State have played each other 40 times. In those 40 matches, Penn State has the clear advantage, going 32-8.

Let's take a look at how both schools did in their last 10 matches: