The Ohio State women’s volleyball team lost in straight sets to 9th-ranked Penn State Wednesday night at St. John Arena (25-22, 25-21, 25-18).
The match featured 22 ties and nine lead changes, but OSU couldn’t seem to get in a serving rhythm.
“Our serving just wasn’t great tonight,” OSU coach Geoff Carlston said. “We’ve got to go back and we’ll work on that tomorrow.”
The much bigger Penn State team created problems for the Buckeyes all night on the front lines.
“They changed their blocking strategy. They committed on their middles,” senior outside hitter Anna Szerszen said. “We weren’t able to adapt fast enough.”
Sophomore outside hitter Emily Danks led the Buckeyes with nine points, including six kills.
Reigning Big Ten Player of the Week Kelli Barhorst was held to three points as Penn State adjusted to defend her early.
“We were setting the same ball to her and they we’re defending it well,” Carlston said.
Sophomore setter Amanda Peterson was productive off the bench for the Buckeyes.
“Amanda Peterson came in and did a nice job of changing up the flow,” Carlston said.
The Buckeyes look to improve their defense as they move farther into Big Ten play.
“Our defense needs to perform better on the block,” senior setter Betsy Hone said. “We need to crash in, put our helmets on and play some defense.”
With the loss, OSU drops to 16-6 on the season and 4-5 in Big Ten play. They travel to Evanston, Ill., to take on 22nd-ranked Northwestern Friday night at 7 p.m.
