Nov. 10, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich., Nov. 10, 2007 Â The top-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team downed Michigan State in three games (30-27, 30-21, 30-24) Saturday night in East Lansing, Mich. The Nittany Lions improve to 24-2 and 16-0 in the Big Ten while the Spartans fall to 16-12 and 7-9 in league action.
Sophomore outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) led all players with 16 kills on .371 hitting while junior middle hitter Christa Harmotto (Aliquippa, Pa.) posted 14 kills on .619 hitting and junior outside hitter Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio) notched 12 kills. Redshirt freshman opposite Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) tallied eight kills as senior middle hitter Melissa Walbridge (Yardley, Pa.) recorded six kills on .625 hitting. As a team, Penn State attacked at a .396 clip.
Sophomore setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) dished out 49 assists as junior libero Roberta Holehouse (Joppa, Md.) provided a match-high 11 digs and Hodge added seven. The Nittany Lions recorded five aces on the night, with Fawcett and Hodge each producing two and Holehouse adding one.
Penn State outblocked Michigan State, 10.0 to 6.5, led by Harmotto and Brown with five apiece and Walbridge tallying four.
Katie Johnson and Ashley Schatzle led Michigan State with 15 and 14 kills, respectively. Lauren O¹Reilly dished out 38 assists and Miken Trogdon and Heather McDaniel each provided nine digs. Vanessa King led the blocking list with four stuffs.
Michigan State took the early lead to begin the match, going up 10-6, before two Lion kills and a Holehouse ace pulled Penn State within one at 11-10. Two Spartan kills were quickly answered by two Harmotto putaways and the teams traded points before a Michigan State kill put it ahead 15-13 heading into the media timeout. Out of the break, another Harmotto kill brought Penn State within one at 14-15 but two Lion errors pushed the Michigan State advantage to three at 17-14. After trading kills twice, a Hodge putaway and block by Brown and Harmotto trimmed the Spartan lead to one, 19-18.
Following a Penn State serving error, a Harmotto kill, Michigan State attack error and block by Hodge and Harmotto gave the Nittany Lions the 21-20 lead. The teams exchanged points and a Harmotto kill sparked a 4-0 Penn State run, capped by a Harmotto and Glass block, to put the Nittany Lions up 25-22. Michigan State scored the next two points on kills but a Harmotto putaway and consecutive Fawcett kills extended the Penn State lead to four at 28-24. But the Spartans fought back, claiming three of the next four points to pull within two at 29-27, but a Fawcett kill ended the game for the Lions, 30-27. Harmotto led the Lions with seven kills on .545 hitting and added four blocks as both Fawcett and Hodge chipped in five kills.
Two Fawcett service aces started out the second game for the Nittany Lions but the Spartans took back the lead, going up 8-5 on a Lion attack error and 10-7 on a Johnson kill out of the backrow. But kills from Fawcett, Walbridge, Harmotto and Hodge coupled with a Walbridge and Brown block helped Penn State even the game at 12-12. The teams traded points before kills from Hodge and Harmotto, a Glass solo block and a double block from Harmotto and Hodge put the Nittany Lions ahead 16-13. Following a Michigan State kill, Penn State continued the run, taking the next four points on a Fawcett kill, a Spartan ball-handling error and consecutive Hodge service aces to go ahead 20-14. The teams traded points several times, with three consecutive Michigan State errors giving the Lions the 25-17 lead. A Brown kill and Brown and Walbridge block extended the Penn State lead to 27-17 but three straight Michigan State kills pulled it within seven at 27-20. A Brown and Walbridge block and kills from Hodge and Brown aided the Nittany Lions in taking the game, 30-21.
The third game featured eight ties before a Harmotto overpass kill gave Penn State the 13-12 lead. Following a Lion error, Fawcett and Walbridge kills sparked a 5-0 Penn State run to give the Nittany Lions the 18-13 advantage and force a Michigan State timeout. Out of the break, the teams traded points and a Fawcett and Walbridge block put Penn State up 20-14 before a Walbridge kill made it 22-17. The Nittany Lions remained on top, with a Harmotto kill giving Penn State the 26-21 lead before kills from Fawcett and Brown and a Spartan attack error ended the game, 30-24.
Penn State returns home for its final weekend at Rec Hall, hosting Wisconsin and Illinois on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 16-17. Friday night versus the Badgers will be ³Think Pink² night for breast cancer awareness and Saturday night versus the Illini will be Senior Night, honoring seniors Kara Callahan, Maggie Case, Ann Naylor, Kate Price and Melissa Walbridge for their contributions to Penn State and women¹s volleyball. Both matches are slated to begin at 7:00 p.m.
For more information on the Penn State women¹s volleyball team, please visit http://www.GoPSUsports.com.