Penn State has just three home regular -season matches left. This weekend is the final two-game homestand of the year, as the Nittany Lions host Ohio State on Thursday and No. 11 Purdue on Saturday for Senior Night and the White Out.
Heading into Thursday night’s showdown with the Buckeyes, Penn State is on a three-match win streak and up to No. 13 in the AVCA poll after handling ranked opponents Oregon and Indiana over the weekend. Now the question is: Can head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley’s team keep the momentum going?
How to watch Ohio State vs. Penn State
- Date: Thursday, October 29
- Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
- Venue: Rec Hall
- How to Watch (TV): Big Ten Network
- Streaming: FuboTV
- Ohio State record: 10-10 (3-7)
- Penn State record: 15-5 (7-3)
Penn State vs. Ohio State series history
Penn State leads the all-time series against Ohio State 56-21, with the first match taking place in 1981. The Nittany Lions are sporting a five-match win streak over the Buckeyes, dating back to 2023; however, prior to that win streak, the Buckeyes had a three-match win streak of their own.
- All-time meetings: 77
- PSU all-time record vs. Purdue: 56-21
- Last meeting: 11/16/2025 - 3-2 Penn State W (Rec Hall)
- Last Ohio State win: 10/29/2022 - 3-2 (Rec Hall)
Key players to watch for Penn State and Ohio State
Penn State: Kennedy Martin
Obviously, the two-time first-team All-American right side is always going to be a player to watch for Katie Schumacher-Cawley’s team, but she’s playing especially well right now. Over Penn State’s win against Oregon and Indiana this past weekend, Martin averaged 6.56 points/set and hit .465. That’s absurd efficiency for such a high-volume attacker.
Martin had just six total attacking errors over the eight sets of play this past weekend. It’s no wonder she was named the AVCA National Player of the Week. How setter Alexis Stucky varies the offensive attack for the Nittany Lions will be crucial, but you know there will be plenty of balls going to the right -side pin, and plenty of kills because of that.
Ohio State: Naomy Govou
Offensively, Ohio State is No. 17 of 18 Big Ten teams in hitting percentage at .218, and No. 15 in kills. Still, the points have to come from somewhere, and for most of the season, they’ve come from 5-foot-9 outside hitter Noamy Govou, who is a member of the French national team.
Ohio State fell to Indiana and Oregon over the weekend, and against the Ducks, Govou had a double-double with 16 kills and 15 digs. While leading the team in kills with 277, Govou is hitting under .200.
Ohio State at Penn State women’s volleyball prediction
Ohio State has lost to every ranked opponent it has faced this season, so coming into the matchup at No. 13, Penn State, it is riding a three-match losing streak heading into Happy Valley on Thursday. The Buckeyes don’t seem to have the offensive firepower to hang with the upper-echelon teams in the Big Ten, taking just one set from those ranked opponents this season, and with Penn State firing on all cylinders offensively right now, it’s hard to see the Buckeyes keeping pace.
It would take a tremendous defensive performance from the Buckeyes to pull off the upset on the road Thursday night, and while Govou is excellent in the back row, her height, or lack thereof, can be a limiting factor along the net. Ohio State is 17th out of the 18-team Big Ten in blocks/set, which will make it tough to slow down Martin and the Nittany Lions.
Maybe Ohio State can steal a set in this one, but I expect Penn State to keep rolling.
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