Call us nuts, but we think Penn State will crack the Buckeyes
What: #23 Ohio State (14-7, 4-4 Big Ten) at #9 Penn State (13-5, 6-2 Big Ten)
When: Wednesday, Oct. 19th at 7 p.m.
Where: University Park, PA – Rec Hall.
Media: live stream – BigTenNetwork.com; rebroadcast on Big Ten Network on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 12:30 p.m.
About Penn State
Wednesday night’s match against Ohio State should be a good test for whether Penn State is finally ready to start firing on all cylinders. For “all cylinders” think 6-1 So. OH Deja McClendon, 6-4 So. RS/Opp Ariel Scott, and the middles 6-6 So. Katie Slay and 6-2 Fr. Nia Grant. There have been matches when the Nittany Lions have managed two of the three (counting “the middles” as one), but in recent matches, never all three.
For reasons not completely within her control (there is a new setter, and opposing teams have been keying on her), but which aren’t completely outside her control (read confidence, adjusting to a new setter and adjusting to opposing teams keying on her), Deja has been in a slump. In the four matches preceding the Purdue match, she had a .121 attack percentage. That’s a slump for Deja McClendon.
Against Purdue and Indiana, McClendon may have emerged from that slump, as she hit .377 for the weekend with 27 total kills. We thought that was terrific, but in an interview with Matt Howland, head coach Russ Rose wasn’t quite ready to say “she’s back”:
She might have been in a little slump offensively, and I wouldn’t say two matches takes you out of a slump. But she did have back to back nights where she played well offensively. There were a couple of swings that Deja had this weekend that were terrific swings. She stepped up.
For the weekend, A. Scott (#4 in the Big Ten with 4.13 kills/set) wasn’t far behind, as she totaled 21 kills and hit .375 against the Hoosiers, but a less impressive .128 against Purdue. Katie Slay (#3 in the Big Ten in attack % at .331) had a nice night against Indiana (6 kills, .333 attack %), but Nia Grant struggled in that match (1 kill, -.333 attack %) after what appeared to be a breakout match against Purdue (10 kills, .389 attack %).
So, there are signs that everyone is, however fitfully, starting to warm up. Now if everyone could get hot in the same match . . . well, that would be very difficult for their opponent. We hope it’s against the Buckeyes.
One thing to look for in the match will be the serving battle between Penn State’s 5-11 Fr. S Micha Hancock, who leads the Big Ten with .84 service aces/set, and Ohio State’s 6-1 Jr. OH Emily Danks, who is second in the Big Ten with .47 aces/set, and has 156 career aces (sixth all-time at Ohio State, trailing Kristi Neuman (1983-86) who had 159, and Gabriele Jobst (1991-94) who had 157). Both can lead their teams on extended runs, and given Penn State’s struggles wtih serve-receive, Danks could have a big match. Of course, Hancock has been pretty effective against most teams, so she could too. For the fans, it should be fun to watch. For the players receiving their serves, probably not so much.
Another key player for the Nittany Lions are 5-6 So. L Ali Longo, who is 9th in the Big Ten with .29 service aces/set and 9th with 3.87 digs/set. Against Purdue and Indiana she led the team with 30 total digs.
About the Buckeyes
Ohio State’s head coach Geoff Carlston should be very grateful that 6-0 Jr. OH Mari Hole decided after last season to transer to the Buckeyes from UCLA. She is leading Ohio State in points/set (4.68) and kills/set (4.12) and is second on the team with 2.66 digs/set. She earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors on September 12th.
Emily Danks is more than just a serving weapon for Ohio State. She is second on the team in points/set ( 4.48) and in kills/set (3.57), and her .288 attack % also ranks second on the team. 6-2 Sr. MB Kelli Barhorst is third on the team with 2.93 points/set and leads the team with a .326 attack %. 6-1 So. OH Kaitlyn Leary’s 2.35 kills/set ranks third on the team. 6-3 Jr. MB Mariah Booth’s .239 attack % is third best for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State’s 6-0 Fr. S Taylor Sherwin is averaging 11.10 assists per set; 6-0 Jr. S Amanda Peterson has averaged 9.67. In the back row, 5-5 Sr. L/DS Sarah Mignin leads the team with 4.64 digs/set. She earned Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors for September 12th. As noted above, Hole ranks second at 2.66 digs/set, while 5-10 Fr. L/DS Alyssa Winner is third with 2.05 digs/set. Barhorst leads the team with 1.09 blocks/set and Booth is second with .85.
In the head-to-head competition category, Ohio State lost to Purdue 3-1 (25-16, 18-25, 25-16, 25-20) Saturday night in Holloway Gymnasium, whereas Penn State defeated the Boilermakers 3-1 the previous evening. Purdue was able to hold Mari Hole to a .125 attack %, but Kelli Barhorst had 13 kills and hit .400.
Stat Joust (Big Ten Only)
Below are the Conference Only team and individual Big Ten rankings for Penn State and Ohio State.
| HITTING PERCENTAGE |
S |
K |
E |
TA |
Pct. |
|
|
1. |
Nebraska |
32 |
429 |
136 |
1063 |
.276 |
|
3. |
Ohio State |
30 |
425 |
161 |
1070 |
.247 |
|
7. |
Penn State |
31 |
403 |
170 |
1091 |
.214 |
|
12. |
Indiana |
29 |
306 |
207 |
934 |
.106 |
| Opponent Hitting Pct. |
S |
K |
E |
TA |
Pct. |
|
|
1. |
Illinois |
33 |
413 |
224 |
1215 |
.156 |
|
3. |
Penn State |
31 |
359 |
176 |
1064 |
.172 |
|
10. |
Ohio State |
30 |
398 |
152 |
1040 |
.237 |
|
12. |
Indiana |
29 |
370 |
115 |
869 |
.293 |
| ASSISTS |
S |
No. |
Avg/S |
|
|
1. |
Ohio State |
30 |
397 |
13.23 |
|
8. |
Penn State |
31 |
373 |
12.03 |
|
12. |
Indiana |
29 |
284 |
9.79 |
| KILLS |
S |
No. |
Avg/S |
|
|
1. |
Ohio State |
30 |
425 |
14.17 |
|
8. |
Penn State |
31 |
403 |
13.00 |
|
12. |
Indiana |
29 |
306 |
10.55 |
| BLOCKS |
S |
BS |
BA |
Total |
Avg/S |
|
|
1. |
Illinois |
33 |
10 |
176 |
98.0 |
2.97 |
|
4. |
Penn State |
31 |
19 |
126 |
82.0 |
2.65 |
|
7. |
Ohio State |
30 |
20 |
100 |
70.0 |
2.33 |
|
12. |
Iowa |
27 |
9 |
48 |
33.0 |
1.22 |
| SERVICE ACES |
S |
No. |
Avg/S |
|
|
1. |
Penn State |
31 |
50 |
1.61 |
|
6. |
Ohio State |
30 |
31 |
1.03 |
|
12. |
Indiana |
29 |
18 |
0.62 |
| DIGS |
S |
No. |
Avg/S |
|
|
1. |
Purdue |
29 |
488 |
16.83 |
|
6. |
Penn State |
31 |
455 |
14.68 |
|
7. |
Ohio State |
30 |
434 |
14.47 |
|
12. |
Indiana |
29 |
330 |
11.38 |
| Hitting % (Min. 3.0 TA/set) | Cl |
S |
K |
E |
TA |
Pct. |
|
|
1. |
Fisher, Tiffany-Purdue | SR |
29 |
75 |
16 |
139 |
.424 |
|
3. |
Slay, Katie-Penn State | SO |
31 |
60 |
20 |
121 |
.331 |
|
6. |
Booth, Mariah-Ohio State | JR |
30 |
61 |
21 |
129 |
.310 |
| KILLS | Cl |
S |
No. |
Avg/S |
|
|
1. |
Turner, Ariel-Purdue | JR |
29 |
144 |
4.97 |
|
4. |
Scott, Ariel-Penn State | SO |
31 |
128 |
4.13 |
|
5. |
Hole, Mari-Ohio State | JR |
30 |
111 |
3.70 |
| ASSISTS | Cl |
S |
No. |
Avg/S |
|
|
1. |
Tabberson, Mia-Minnesota | JR |
28 |
328 |
11.71 |
|
5. |
Peterson, Amanda-Ohio State | JR |
29 |
295 |
10.17 |
|
6. |
Hancock, Micha-Penn State | FR |
31 |
311 |
10.03 |
| SERVICE ACES | Cl |
S |
No. |
Avg/S |
|
|
1. |
Hancock, Micha-Penn State | FR |
31 |
26 |
0.84 |
|
2. |
Danks, Emily-Ohio State | JR |
30 |
14 |
0.47 |
|
9. |
Longo, Ali-Penn State | SO |
31 |
9 |
0.29 |
| BLOCKS | Cl |
S |
BS |
BA |
Total |
Avg/S |
|
|
1. |
Dorn, Anna-Illinois | FR |
33 |
2 |
48 |
50.0 |
1.52 |
|
2. |
Slay, Katie-Penn State | SO |
31 |
11 |
34 |
45.0 |
1.45 |
| DIGS | Cl |
S |
No. |
Avg/S |
|
|
1. |
Bashen, Blair-Purdue | SR |
29 |
140 |
4.83 |
|
9. |
Longo, Ali-Penn State | SO |
31 |
120 |
3.87 |
|
10. |
Mignin, Sarah-Ohio State | SR |
29 |
110 |
3.79 |
| POINTS | Cl |
S |
K |
SA |
BS |
BA |
Total |
Avg/S |
|
|
1. |
Turner, Ariel-Purdue | JR |
29 |
144 |
6 |
5 |
15 |
162.5 |
5.60 |
|
4. |
Scott, Ariel-Penn State | SO |
31 |
128 |
1 |
2 |
25 |
143.5 |
4.63 |
|
6. |
Hole, Mari-Ohio State | JR |
30 |
111 |
5 |
7 |
8 |
127.0 |
4.23 |
|
10. |
Danks, Emily-Ohio State | JR |
30 |
93 |
14 |
2 |
19 |
118.5 |
3.95 |