Nov. 24, 2007
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Behind a season-high 25 kills from sophomore outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.), the top-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team defeated Michigan in four games (30-21, 30-22, 30-32, 30-21) Saturday night in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Nittany Lions improve to 28-2 and end the Big Ten season with a perfect 20-0 record for the fourth time in program history and the seventh time in conference history.
Junior middle hitter Christa Harmotto (Aliquippa, Pa.) and junior outside hitter Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio) each contributed 15 kills, with Harmotto's coming on .565 hitting. Redshirt freshman opposite Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) added in 11 kills on .529 hitting as freshman middle hitter Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) notched 11 kills. Penn State attacked at a .447 clip for the match.
Sophomore setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) dished out 65 assists and added three kills and 10 digs as Fawcett led the team with 11 digs and junior libero Roberta Holehouse (Joppa, Md.) notched 10 digs. Penn State outdug Michigan, 54-45.
The Nittany Lions also claimed the blocking battle, 15.0 to 4.0. Harmotto led the way with nine stuffs as Brown notched five and Wilson and Hodge both added three.
Katie Bruzdzinski led Michigan with 25 kills on .412 hitting as Lyndsay Miller and Veronica Rood both contributed nine kills.
Kills from Fawcett, Hodge, Brown and Harmotto helped Penn State go up 10-7 to start the match before put-aways from Harmotto and Hodge along with a Michigan attack error pushed the lead to 14-8. Out of a Michigan timeout, the teams traded points twice before a Wolverine service error, a Lion block by Wilson and Brown and two Hodge kills gave Penn State the 20-10 lead. Kills from Harmotto and Hodge made it 25-15 before two Wilson kills and a Brown and Wilson block pushed the score to 29-19. But Michigan scored the next five points on three kills and two Lion errors to make it 29-21 before a Fawcett kill ended the game, 30-21. Hodge led the Lions with eight kills on .538 hitting as Fawcett, Wilson and Harmotto each chipped in three kills.
Penn State jumped out to the quick 4-0 lead behind two Harmotto kills, a Harmotto and Fawcett block and a Hodge service ace down the line. A Wilson kill made it 7-2 but Michigan fought back, pulling within three at 10-7 on kills from Bruzdzinski and Zimmerman. A Hodge kill made it 11-7 but the Wolverines kept close, coming within two at 14-12 on a Lion attack error. A Wilson kill and solo block coupled with a Michigan attack error pushed the Lion lead to five at 17-12 and kills from Harmotto and Hodge made it 20-16. Following a Wolverine kill from Miller, Penn State scored four of the next five points to go up 24-18, and a Brown put-away made it 26-20. Bruzdzinski responded with a kill before a Wilson kill and a block from Harmotto and Brown pushed the Lion lead to 28-21 before Harmotto and Brown kills ended the game, 30-22.
Michigan took the 5-2 lead on back to back Bruzdzinski aces and maintained the advantage, going up 12-10 on a Brudzdzinski kill. Fawcett and Brown kills pulled Penn State within two at 14-12 but a Sarah Draves kill made it 15-12 going into the media timeout. A Michigan kill and ace out of the timeout pushed its lead to 17-12 but a Fawcett kill, a triple block from Brown, Harmotto and Hodge along with for Harmotto kills pulled the Lions within one at 19-18. The teams traded errors and kills, with a Fawcett kill off the top of the block again trimming the Wolverine lead to one at 21-20. The squads exchanged kills and a monster block by Hodge and Wilson knotted the game at 22-22. Two ties ensued and a Brown kill pushed Penn State ahead 25-24. Michigan's Miller responded with a kill of her own to tie the game at 25-25 and a Hodge kill put the Lions back on top. The squads exchanged kills and a Wolverine kill from Beth Karpiak put them ahead 27-26 and forced a Penn State timeout. Out of the break, a Fawcett kill evened the score but a Bruzdzinski kill put Michigan ahead 28-27. Following a Wolverine attack error to tie the game at 28-28 the teams traded kills, with a Fawcett kill off the top of the block knotting the game at 29-29. The teams traded points before a Lion service error and a Bruzdzinski kill ended the game in favor of Michigan, 32-30.
The fourth game picked up where the third left off, with a Wilson and Brown block putting Penn State up 8-7. A Lion error and two Michigan kills swung the lead in the Wolverines' direction, 10-8 and the teams traded points before the Nittany Lions caught fire, scoring the next seven points on kills from Hodge and Fawcett and two solo Harmotto blocks and one from Glass, along with a Harmotto and Fawcett double block to put Penn State ahead, 16-11. The teams traded kills and a Hodge put-away out of the backrow gave the Lions the 18-13 lead. The squads exchanged kills two more times, with a Hodge rollshot kill to the middle of the floor giving Penn State the 20-15 lead and forcing a Michigan timeout. Out of the break, the Wolverines responded with a kill and ace to pull within three at 20-17 before a Brown kill, Harmotto solo block and a double block from Hodge and Harmotto made the cushion six at 23-17. Out of another Michigan timeout, a Hodge kill and Wolverine attack error pushed the score to 25-17 but two Michigan kills from Bruzdzinski pulled the Wolverines within six at 25-19. The teams traded kills and two Michigan errors pushed the Lion lead to 28-20 and following a kill from Bruzdzinski, Penn State kills from Hodge and Fawcett ended the game, 30-21.
The match will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network on Sunday, Nov. 25 at 6:00 p.m. ET.
The NCAA selection show is slated for Sunday, Nov. 25 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The First and Second Rounds of the NCAA Championship will be held on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 30-Dec. 1 at campus sites, and Rec Hall will host one of four NCAA Regional Championships on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 7-8. Friday's Regional semifinal matches are scheduled for 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., with the winners of each contest squaring off on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. live on ESPNU. The winners of each of the four NCAA Regionals travel to Sacramento, Calif., for the National Semifinals on Thursday, Dec. 13, with the National Championship match scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 15.