Sept. 2, 2007
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OMAHA, Neb. - The defending national champion and top-ranked Nebraska women's volleyball team turned out to be too much for No. 3 Penn State as the Nittany Lions fell in three games (20-30, 21-30, 27-30) Sunday afternoon at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. The crowd of 13,081 was the largest regular-season women's volleyball-only crowd in NCAA history.
Sophomore outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) led the Nittany Lions with 15 kills as junior middle hitter Christa Harmotto (Aliquippa, Pa.) posted 11 kills. Junior outside hitter Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio) tallied six kills as senior middle hitter Melissa Walbridge (Yardley, Pa.) provided five kills on .455 hitting.
Sophomore setter Jessica Yanz (Bolingbrook, Ill.) directed the offense for most of the match, dishing out 22 assists as sophomore Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) provided 11 assists at the start of the match and the beginning of the second game.
Junior libero Roberta Holehouse (Joppa, Md.) provided a match-high 15 digs as Hodge and senior outside hitter Kate Price (Fraser, Mich.) posted seven digs and freshman defensive specialist Alyssa D'Errico (Byron, N.Y.) tallied six digs. Nebraska outdug Penn State 56-43 for the match.
Penn State won the blocking battle, 12.5 to 8.0, led by Harmotto and Fawcett with six, a career-high-tying mark for Fawcett. Walbridge added in a season-high-tying five stuffs as Yanz provided a personal-best four blocks.
The Huskers claimed the serving game, racking up five aces while not allowing the Nittany Lions to post any.
Nebraska finished with four players in double-digit kills, led by 2006 National Player of the Year Sarah Pavan with 12 kills. All-Americans Jordan Larson and Christina Houghtelling added in 11 and 10 kills, respectively, as sophomore middle hitter Kori Cooper also provided 10 kills. All-American setter Rachel Holloway dished out 42 assists and libero Rachel Schwartz notched 14 digs as Larson and Houghtelling each added 12 digs. Cooper and All-American Tracy Stalls both tallied four blocks for the Huskers.
Nebraska took the early 6-4 lead on a Stalls solo block and a Pavan service ace before two kills from Harmotto and consecutive Walbridge put-aways helped Penn State come back to within two at 9-11. Following a Husker kill from Pavan, a Nittany Lion kill and a block from Fawcett and Walbridge trimmed the Nebraska lead to one at 12-11. But the Huskers went up 16-13 on a kill from Houghtelling and three consecutive kills by Larson, Stalls and Holloway pushed the Nebraska lead to 19-13. Back to back Hodge kills and a Husker attack error brought the Nittany Lions within three at 19-16 but Nebraska took three of the next four points to go up 22-17 on a Larson kill. A Hodge put-away was quickly followed by two kills from Nebraska to put the Huskers ahead 24-18 and force a Penn State timeout. Out of the break, two more Houghtelling kills extended Nebraska's lead to 26-18 and the Huskers continued their run, scoring four of the next six points on three kills and an ace to take the first game, 30-20. Hodge led the Lions with five kills as Harmotto contributed four on .444 hitting.
The Huskers came out and dominated the start of the second game, taking the 8-1 lead on a Larson kill before Penn State came alive, with a Fawcett kill sparking a 4-0 Nittany Lion run to bring PSU within three at 8-5. Following a Husker kill and block, the team traded points twice before a Harmotto kill and a block by Harmotto and Yanz pulled the Nittany Lions to within three at 13-10. But Nebraska went on a run, claiming the next five points to pull ahead 18-10. It was Penn State's turn for the run next, as two monster blocks by Harmotto and Yanz coupled with a Hodge backrow kill off the tape turned into a 6-0 Nittany Lion run to bring them within two at 18-16, capped by a block by Harmotto and Fawcett. The Huskers answered with a block of their own from Larson and Cooper and the squads exchanged points three times, with a Fawcett and Walbridge block pulling Penn State within three at 22-19. But two Nittany Lion errors and a Husker kill from Larson put Nebraska back up 25-19. Following a Hodge kill, two Nebraska kills and a Penn State attack error put Nebraska up 28-20 before a Stalls ace and Larson kill gave the Huskers the second game, 30-21.
The third game remained even early on as a Fawcett kill evened the score at 5-5. The squads exchanged points three more times before two Penn State errors and a Nebraska kill from Cooper put the Huskers up 12-8. But two Nebraska errors and three Hodge kills swung the lead in Penn State's direction, putting it ahead 13-12. Three Husker points out of a timeout gave them the 15-13 lead but a Harmotto kill and a triple block by Walbridge, Yanz and Fawcett knotted the game at 17-17. The Huskers took the next three points, including two on kills, to go ahead 20-17. Following a Pavan ace to put Nebraska up 21-17, consecutive Lion kills from Fawcett and Walbridge trimmed the Husker lead to two at 21-19. However, Nebraska claimed six of the next eight points to go up 27-21. A block by Blair Brown and a Yanz kill trimmed the Husker lead to four at 27-23 but two Nebraska extended the score to 29-23. A Nebraska attack error along with a Harmotto solo block, a double block by Harmotto and Fawcett and another Husker attack error brought Penn State to within two at 29-27 and forced a Nebraska timeout. But out of the break, a Stalls kill ended the game, 30-27.
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.