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No. 13 Ohio State in a rivalry match had no answer for outside attacker Brett Wildman.
The All-American finished with a match-high 10 kills and zero errors on a .526 attack percentage as No. 3/3 Penn State swept Ohio State 25-23, 25-21, 25-21 on Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio.
Wildman had eight kills in the final two games to help the Nittany Lions (14-3, 8-0 EIVA) extend their winning streak to a nation-best 10 matches. In addition, this was the fourth time this season that Wildman had double-digit kills and hit more than .400 against a nationally ranked team.
Setter Cole Bogner guided Penn State to out-hit Ohio State .310 to .137. The team has now had at least a .300 attack percentage in nine of its last 10 matches.
The Nittany Lions committed eight attack errors in the non-conference win – 15 more errors than the Buckeyes (9-7, 3-3 MIVA).
Along with the senior’s offensive performance, Wildman had four blocks against Ohio State. Middle attacker Toby Ezeonu ended with a match-high five blocks, while middle attacker Sam Marsh added four blocks.
Despite the road sweep, Penn State almost dropped the opening game.
Penn State trailed 19-13 before tying the game with a 7-1 run that featured two blocks from Marsh. The Nittany Lions also faced a 23-22 deficit but closed out the game on a 3-0 run, including an ace from Bogner to set up the game-point.
Sam Clark in the loss led all players with 15 kills on a .222 attack percentage. Clark, though, was the only Ohio State player who had at least five attack attempts and hit more than .200.
This was the first meeting between the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes as part of their annual home-and-home series. Penn State will play host to Ohio State on Sunday to conclude the series.