Nov. 3, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., Nov. 2, 2007 - The top-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team downed Purdue in three games (30-24, 30-14, 30-28) Friday night at Rec Hall in front of 3,672 fans. The Nittany Lions improve to 21-2 overall and 13-0 in the Big Ten while the Boilermakers fall to 13-11 and 6-7 in the conference.
Junior outside hitter Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio) and sophomore outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) both pounded 13 kills as freshman middle hitter Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) posted 10 kills on .421 hitting. Redshirt freshman opposite Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) notched nine kills on .467 attacking while junior middle hitter Christa Harmotto (Aliquippa, Pa.) notched eight kills on .500 hitting. As a team, Penn State attacked at a .319 clip while holding Purdue to hitting .111.
Sophomore setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) dished out 49 assists and added three kills and eight digs as junior libero Roberta Holehouse (Joppa, Md.) led all players with 12 digs. Both Hodge and senior Kate Price (Fraser, Mich.) recorded seven digs as Fawcett and Harmotto each provided five, a career-high-tying mark for Harmotto.
The Nittany Lions outblocked the Boilermakers, 10.0 to 8.0, led by Wilson with five, Harmotto with four and Glass and Fawcett with two apiece. Penn State also racked up eight service aces, including a career-high-tying four from Fawcett.
Danita Merlau led Purdue with nine kills as Stephanie Lynch chipped in eight and Carrie Gurnell posted six. Jaclyn Hart dished out 15 assists and Kelli Miller posted 11 digs. Lynch headed the blocking list with four stuffs.
The match started off even, with two Wilson kills putting the Nittany Lions ahead 15-13 heading into the television timeout. Penn State maintained the slim lead, going up 20-16 on Brown kill but Purdue scored four of the next five points to pull within one at 21-20 capped by a block from Hart and Lynch. A Harmotto kill halted the run and maintained the slim Lion lead, and kills from Hodge and Glass extended the advantage to three at 24-21. Following a Boilermaker timeout, a Merlau kill aided Purdue in pulling within two at 25-23 but a Boilermaker service error and three consecutive Hodge kills put Penn State up 29-23 before a Brown kill ended the game, 30-24. Hodge posted seven kills in the game as Wilson posted six. Penn State outdug Purdue 19-8 in the stanza.
The Nittany Lions began the second game on fire, jumping out to the 10-3 lead aided by two Holehouse aces and a Harmotto solo block. Penn State remained in control, going up 17-5 on a Price service ace and 20-8 on a triple block from Fawcett, Glass and Wilson. A Hodge kill made it 24-8 before a Fawcett kill extended the lead to 26-14 and a Fawcett service ace ended the game, 30-14. The Nittany Lions racked up 6.5 team blocks in the stanza.
A Brown kill and Harmotto solo block put Penn State up 11-7 to begin the third game before a Fawcett kill and Purdue attack error gave the Lions the 18-13 lead. Kills from Hodge and Brown made it 22-17 but the Boilermakers fought back to knot the game at 23-23 on a kill and solo block by Hart. Out of a timeout, two Fawcett kills put Penn State up 25-23 and out of the break the run continued, with Glass and Fawcett kills and a Purdue error giving the Nittany Lions the 28-23 lead. Three Lion errors pulled the Boilermakers within two at 28-26 and the teams traded kills before a Purdue ace from Anne Mastandrea trimmed the Lion lead to one at 29-28. Out of a Penn State timeout, a Brown kill gave the Lions the game, 30-28.
Penn State remains at home, hosting Indiana on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. at Rec Hall. The contest between the Nittany Lions and Boilermakers will air on ESPN2 on Sunday, Nov. 4 at 12:00 p.m. ET.
For more information on the Penn State women's volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com .