In the marathon that is the Big Ten women's volleyball season, No. 4 Penn State, as expected, has gotten off to a quick start and is currently running in the lead pack.

The Nittany Lions (12-2, 3-0 Big Ten) continued to keep pace with fellow frontrunner and conference leader Wisconsin last night, as they swept Ohio State (30-18, 30-24, 30-24) in Columbus. Though at times sloppy, this match was controlled by the Lions throughout.

"Our passing was good, and that enabled [setter] Sam [Tortorello] to get a good distribution," Penn State head coach Russ Rose said. "It wasn't a great match. It was pretty sloppy at times, but we scored well out of the middle of the court again, so that was good."

Penn State middle hitters Christa Harmotto and Melissa Walbridge combined for 19 kills on .394 hitting, and nine blocks on the defensive end. Ohio State's blocking game was less than productive, as the No. 18 Buckeyes were out blocked 11.5-5, allowing the Lions to outhit them, .284-.186.

"We did the things that we needed to do to keep the pressure on them," Rose said of Penn State's defensive play. "They've got a couple players that are real good and tough to defend."

Freshman outside hitter Nicole Fawcett continued to dominate, recording 12 kills upon returning to her native Ohio.

Not everything on this night was good for the Lions, at least not good enough for Rose.

Penn State went up 14-9 in the third game, when the Buckeyes fought back to within two at 16-14. A Salyer kill, though, and a block from Tortorello and Harmotto aided in the Lions grabbing a 20-14 lead.

"In the third game we had a big lead and then we stopped playing and got really sloppy at the end," Rose said. "The goal should be to play the best you can, and not worry about the other team. We stopped playing, and that's a concern."

Penn State then picked up the pace again to close out the game and match.

"I'm pleased that we won, and we just need to continue getting better," Rose said.

"We're making some progress; Nic had some terrific shots tonight. We've just got some people that are playing a little too casual, and that concerns me."

Despite the typical coaching concerns, Rose knows his team is in the front pack of the Big Ten race.

And with each additional bit of progress they make, the Lions inch closer to that point at which they feel comfortable enough to make a sprint toward the finish.