“(We won by showing the) ability to keep fighting and not getting distracted by any kind of errors or what we’re doing,” said head coach Cathy George. “Just remembering what we’re about. So we got back to some of the foundational issues and some of the things that we talked bout early in the year.”

It’s the seventh-straight loss for the reeling Buckeyes, who are 1-8 since falling to MSU on Sept. 29. The win for MSU at the time was the second of six-straight, who started the streak by beating then-No. 1 Penn State two days previously.

Excessive errors were a huge factor in the four-game slide. So it’s no coincidence that errors were kept at a minimum. George said the higher level of aggressive play helped prevent mistakes with the ball.

“You make errors when you start to be tentative, and I think because we went for it, we had fewer errors,” George said. “I think there’s a misconception that the more careful you play, the less errors you have. I actually think it’s the opposite.”

Senior outside hitter Lauren Wicinski led the team in kills with 14. Senior middle blocker Alexis Mathews posted eight kills and eight blocks.

The Spartans found their groove early, building an 11-5 lead on the strength of their own attacking. However, Ohio State began to find there’s after a timeout, cutting the lead to 14-11 after a run.

MSU regained control, outscoring the Buckeyes 5-1 to take an 18-11 lead. Ohio State proceeded to go on a 4-2 run to trim the lead to 20-15. Ohio State managed to keep the match reasonably close, but MSU finished with a double-block to take the first set, 25-21.

The Spartans continued their strong play in the second set, going to an 8-3 lead before an Ohio State timeout.

Ohio State scored two out of of the timeout, but Mathews responded with a kill. MSU continued to roll, pushing the lead to 14-7 before Ohio State called another timeout.

The Buckeyes upped the intensity out of the timeout, outscoring MSU 10-6 to trim the lead to 20-17. A timeout couldn’t slow Ohio State down, as they eventually cut the lead to 21-20. After a few traded points, Reinig sent in a kill to give MSU a 23-21 cushion. However, Ohio State followed with a score to trim the lead to one again.

The Buckeyes eventually tied the game, 23-23, prompting George to call another timeout. Wicinski scored a kill out of the timeout to give MSU set point, and Mathews followed by scoring on a block to win the second set for MSU, 25-23.

Ohio State started the third set strong, building a 7-4 lead. Ohio State maintained the lead until Mathews and Wicinski continued their strong play to tie the game at 11 apiece.

MSU built a 16-13 lead after a series of errors from Ohio State. After the score reached 18-13, Ohio State called a timeout.

The Spartans continued their momentum, outscoring Ohio State 7-4 the rest of the way to complete a three-set sweep — and end a four-game slide.

Tomorrow, the Spartans will look to upset a familiar team in No. 2 Penn State. A win against the Nittany Lions started the 6-0 conference start, and MSU knows what they need to do if they want a repeat.

“They’re a very aggressive team, and they’re going to want to kick our butt tomorrow,” said junior libero Kori Moster. “We’ve shown that we’re capable of exploiting the weaknesses. That’s what we’ve shown the first time we played against them. We took advantage of the things we knew we could do against their defense. We’re going to have to do the same thing tomorrow night.”