Though Penn State (1-0) built a seven-point lead in the first game, the margin was cut to 29-28 after two straight kills from Ohio State senior outside hitter Pieter Orlee. An Ohio State service error ended the game at 30-28.
In the second game, the Lions squandered a 5-0 opening run when the Buckeyes (0-1) tied the game at 10 with a kill from junior outside hitter Tom Tantrow. The score was tied several more times before kills from Koljesar and senior setter Jose Quinones set game point at 29-27. The Lions held on to win the game 31-29, due, in part, to an impressive hitting percentage of .571.
Ohio State squandered a 5-1 opening run of their own in game three when Penn State tied the game at 16 with an ace serve by junior outside hitter Kevin Hodge. After a Penn State service error, the Buckeyes took the game 30-25, outhitting the Lions .306 to .104.
"We weren't real sharp in game three, but we kept playing defense and touching balls so that gave us momentum going into game four," Slenker said.
In game four, the Buckeyes once again could not hold on to a 5-1 opening lead. Down 17-14, Penn State's Koljesar brought the Lions back, scoring two kills. Two Ohio State errors ended a string of ties, giving Penn State a 24-22 advantage.
Despite struggling in the third game and early in the fourth, the Lions didn't panic and maintained their poise, Pavlik said. Following a game-turning dig by sophomore outside hitter Rhonee Rojas, Penn State closed the game and the match with an ace serve from Rojas, who was a late substitution for the Lions.
"Rhonee (Rojas) had a great week of practice," Pavlik said. "He was making a lot of great defensive plays."
Despite some shaky play in their first match, the Lions didn't what they needed to do to get the win.
"We turned the big points when we had to," Pavlik said. "We were able to never let the game get out of hand."
Orlee tried to keep the Buckeyes in the match leading all players with 25 total kills. Sophomore outside hitter Ricardo Garcia added a career-high 11 kills and sophomore setter Mark Peckham led the Buckeye offense dishing out 47 assists. Two-time EIVA Player of the Year Jose Quinones led the Penn State offense with 57 assists.
Recently, Penn State had some trouble with Ohio State, losing seven of the past eight meetings.
"We have experience behind us and we used that as motivation," said Koljesar. "What happened in the past is in the past."
With a victory to open the season, Penn State can begin to look ahead to Hawaii, who will be their opening opponent in the Outrigger Invitational in Honolulu, Hawaii on Thursday. The Lions' home-opener against St. Francis is slated for Jan. 29 at 7:30 p.m. at Rec Hall.
With a competitive schedule and many top-ranked opponents ahead, the pressure to win has not been alleviated by defeating Ohio State.
"I hope the pressure is around us all year," said Lions coach Mark Pavlik. "This is something that the team is going to thrive on. I think we can deal effectively with competitive pressure."
