Aug. 31, 2007
Lincoln, Neb. - Junior outside hitter Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio) set a new rally-scoring record with 31 kills as the third-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team outlasted No. 18 Cal Poly in five games (30-24, 30-27, 26-3, 27-30, 15-7) Friday night in Lincoln, Neb.
The Nittany Lions improve to 3-0 as the Mustangs even their record at 2-2.
Fawcett's career-high 31 kills, which came on .414 hitting, makes her the first Nittany Lion player since Mishka Levy exactly five years ago to record more than 30 kills in a match.
Junior middle hitter Christa Harmotto (Aliquippa, Pa.) produced 14 kills on .333 hitting for the Lions as sophomore outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) chipped in 13 and senior middle hitter Melissa Walbridge (Yardley, Pa.) notched 11 kills on a season-high .455 hitting. As a team, Penn State attacked at a .280 clip as Cal Poly hit .273.
Sophomore setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) directed the offense for the majority of the match, dishing out 61 assists, just two shy of her career high, while also contributing five kills, five digs and four blocks.
Sophomore Jessica Yanz (Bolingbrook, Ill.) provided six assists, two digs and two blocks for the Lions as well.
Junior libero Roberta Holehouse (Joppa, Md.) tallied a match-high and season-high-tying 22 digs as senior Kate Price (Fraser, Mich.) notched a season-best 19 digs to go along with her five kills. Hodge chipped in eight digs as freshman Alyssa D'Errico (Byron, N.Y.) posted seven digs.
Penn State recorded seven service aces to Cal Poly's five, with Hodge producing three aces, Price adding two and Fawcett and senior Ann Naylor (Los Angeles, Calif.) providing one each.
The Nittany Lions outblocked the Mustangs 13.0 to 5.0, led by Harmotto with a season-high nine stuffs as Fawcett and Glass also each tallied four blocks and Walbridge and Price added two.
Kylie Atherstone led Cal Poly with 25 kills as Ali Waller notched 22 and Jaclyn Houston notched nine. Chelsea Hayes dished out 63 assists and Kristin Jackson provided 22 digs as Waller and Atherstone notched 15 and 12, respectively. Houston led the Mustangs with three blocks.
Penn State came out in the fifth game on fire, taking the 8-0 lead aided by consecutive Glass and Harmotto blocks, a Hodge ace and two Fawcett kills.
Cal Poly got on the board with a Nittany Lion attack error but a Walbridge kill extended the lead to 11-3 and a Hodge kill made it 13-4. Following a Mustang timeout, a Lion kill and a Cal Poly kill made it 13-6 and the teams traded service errors before a Glass kill ended the game, 15-7.
The first game was a virtual deadlock, with both teams trading points on a regular basis in a contest that featured 17 ties and seven lead changes. A Hodge service ace put Penn State up 13-12 but Cal Poly took the 16-15 lead on a Nittany Lion attack error. The Mustangs gave two points back with hitting errors of their own to make the score 17-16 in favor of Penn State. The squads exchanged points several times, with consecutive Fawcett kills, a Naylor ace and another Fawcett put-away giving the Nittany Lions the 26-22 lead. Out of a Cal Poly timeout, a Mustang kill was quickly followed by another Fawcett kill, a Cal Poly attack error and a Fawcett solo block to put Penn State ahead 29-23 before a Fawcett kill ended the game, 30-24. Fawcett led all players with 11 kills on .381 hitting, compared to 13 kills as a team for the Mustangs.
Penn State jumped out to the quick 3-0 lead to start the second game behind two Fawcett kills and a Walbridge overpass kill. The Nittany Lions maintained the lead, with a Fawcett overpass kill making it 8-3 but Cal Poly chipped away at the hole, coming within two at 11-9 on a kill from Waller. A Harmotto and Glass block pushed the lead back to four at 16-12 and another block, this one from Fawcett and Harmotto, put Penn State ahead 18-13.
Another Fawcett kill and a Hodge ace extended it to 20-13 but Cal Poly produced five kills to pull within three at 21-18 and force a Penn State timeout. A Fawcett kill and Mustang attack error gave the Nittany Lions the 24-19 lead before Cal Poly's Atherstone added two more kills to pull the Mustangs within three at 25-22. A Harmotto kill put Penn State up 27-23 but a Cal Poly kill and block trimmed the Lion lead to two at 28-26. A Fawcett kill, her 19th of the match, made it 29-26 before a Walbridge kill ended the game, 30-27.
Cal Poly took the 8-4 advantage to begin the third game on two kills from Waller and another from Atherstone. Lion kills from Fawcett and Price pulled Penn State within three at 10-7 but Cal Poly maintained the lead, going up 14-9 on a block from Waller and Olowolafe. Out of a Penn State timeout, the squads traded points three times before a Lion service error, a Waller kill out of the backrow, a Penn State attack error and a Cal Poly block gave the Mustangs the 22-12 lead and forced a Lion timeout. Out of the break, a Cal Poly service error and a Hodge kill off a great dig by D'Errico pulled the Lions within 22-14. The teams traded kills and a Hodge kill brought Penn State to within seven at 23-16. A Harmotto kill trimmed the lead to 25-18 and following a Cal Poly kill from Waller to put the Mustangs ahead 27-19, a Cal Poly net violation and a block from Fawcett and Walbridge sparked a 7-0 Penn State run, including a Fawcett ace, to pull within two at 28-26. But a Penn State attack error and a Cal Poly kill ended the game, 30-26.
A block by Harmotto and Yanz coupled with a Harmotto kill put Penn State up 10-8 to begin the fourth game. A monster Yanz solo block and a Fawcett kill cross court at 11 feet gave the Lions the 12-9 lead. But Cal Poly crept back in, taking the 17-15 lead aided by four consecutive Penn State errors. Kills from Walbridge and Hodge knotted the game at 17-17 but the Mustangs claimed the next three points on a Lion service error and consecutive kills from Waller to go ahead 20-17 and force a Penn State timeout. A Mustang service error out of the break, along with a block by Harmotto and Glass pulled the Nittany Lions within one at 20-19. The squads traded points four times, with a Cal Poly service error knotting the score at 24-24. Following a Cal Poly attack error to put Penn State up 25-24, the Mustangs responded with two kills and an ace to take the 27-25 lead and force a Nittany Lion timeout. A Hodge kill out of the break trimmed the deficit to one at 27-26 but Cal Poly responded with a kill and a block to help them force a fifth game at 30-27.
Penn State remains in Nebraska, facing the top-ranked Cornhuskers on Sunday, Sept. 2 at 3:00 p.m. CT in Omaha, Neb., at the Qwest Center. The Nittany Lions return home to host the Penn State Classic on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 7-8 at Rec Hall. Penn State will face St. John's on Friday at 6:00 p.m., with a pep rally for the Penn State-Notre Dame football game following. Saturday morning opens up at 9:00 a.m. with the Nittany Lions taking on Colgate before Penn State faces Virginia Commonwealth at 2:00 p.m. to close out action in the tournament.
For more information on the Penn State women's volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com.