Penn State women’s volleyball embraces Rec Hall advantage in upset win over No. 3 Ohio State

When Penn State women’s volleyball stepped onto the Rec Hall hardwood Sunday afternoon, it did so with three straight home sweeps to its credit.

The No. 20 Nittany Lions may as well partner with a broomstick company, because that trend continued with a 3-0 blue and white victory over the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes as Russ Rose’s program improved to 9-3 on the year and 2-0 in the early goings of Big Ten competition.

The last time Penn State lost a set at home dates back to March 6, when the Nittany Lions downed then-No. 11 Purdue after dropping the second set of the match against the Boilermakers.

But what makes Rec Hall so great? It’s not the banners in the rafters, the shiny floor panels or even the venue’s proximity to the ever famous West cookies at Waring Commons — to the players, it’s all about the fans who file into the bleachers night in and night out.

“I think we say it all of the time: We have the best fans in the country,” senior setter Gabby Blossom said. “We love our fans, and we love the energy they give us.”

The announced attendance for Sunday’s upset win was 3,807, and Penn State thrived off of its fans’ energy and crowd noise all match long in a contest that was closer than the final score.

Penn State won each set 25-19, 27-25 and 25-21, respectively, and had to dig out of late deficits in both the second and third sets.

And despite the lopsided 3-0 match victory, Rose expected each set to come down to the wire against the Buckeyes.

“The conference has great talent, great support and great coaching all across the board, so you should expect the games to be close,” Rose said. “We practice hard, and we do things where we recognize it doesn’t matter who’s on the other side. At some point in time, it’s gonna be close.”

While she’s in her first season in a Penn State uniform, fifth-year outside hitter Erika Pritchard knows a thing or two about playing in the Big Ten. She played four seasons at conference foe Maryland before transferring to the Nittany Lion program prior to the 2021 campaign.

“You just gotta respect everybody and know that it’s going to be a dogfight every time,” Pritchard said.

A top-three team in the country according to the AVCA Coaches Poll, Ohio State came into conference play with an unblemished 10-0 record. But in its first two Big Ten tilts against Purdue and Penn State, respectively, it hasn’t been able to register a win.

The Nittany Lions, on the other hand, came in having already dropped three matches. And yet, Rose’s team is one of five Big Ten teams to start the conference slate with a 2-0 record.

Senior right-side hitter Jonni Parker, who has made the All-Big Ten first team twice, said the conference’s parity is what makes it the best conference in college volleyball.

“The Big Ten is super competitive, and that’s what makes it fun,” Parker said. “Every night’s going to be fun, and you know it’s going to be a good game.”

Parker finished with 12 kills and five digs, giving her 144 kills and 64 digs on the year.

Penn State may have came away with a straight-set victory, but the match wasn’t without its fair share of mishaps. The blue and white committed seven service errors in the third set alone, totaling nine such mistakes throughout the entire contest.

On the wrong end of one of those errors herself, Blossom sees areas of improvement to focus on before the Nittany Lions next take the court.

“There’s a couple of things to work on, but we’re happy right now,” Blossom said. “We’ll get to the gym tomorrow and work on those things.”

The blue and white are set to travel to Maryland for its next matchup on Wednesday, the players’ vision remains tunneled on their next opponent.

“The season keeps going,” Blossom said. “This is a great win and we’ll celebrate now, but tomorrow — we focus on Maryland.”