Nov. 9, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. - The top-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team swept Northwestern (30-24, 30-20, 30-27) Friday night in Evanston, Ill. The Nittany Lions improve to 23-2 and 15-0 in the Big Ten while the Wildcats fall to 15-11 and 6-9 in conference action.
Junior outside hitter Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio) led all players with 17 kills as redshirt freshman opposite Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) notched 14 kills on .450 hitting, sophomore outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) posted 11 kills and junior middle hitter Christa Harmotto (Aliquippa, Pa.) recorded seven kills.
Sophomore setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) dished out 45 assists as junior libero Roberta Holehouse (Joppa, Md.) led all players with 16 digs and senior Kate Price (Fraser, Mich.) notched nine digs. Fawcett and Hodge each tallied eight digs in the match as Glass added in six.
Each team recorded 9.5 team blocks as Harmotto led the Lions with seven stuffs and Glass added in five. Hodge also recorded all three of Penn State's service aces.
Lindsay Anderson led Northwestern with 12 kills as Elyse Glab dished out 31 assists. Courtnie Paulus topped the squad with 15 digs as Chelsy Hyser notched four blocks.
Penn State started the match on fire, jumping out to the 6-0 lead on kills from Harmotto and Fawcett, two Hodge aces and two blocks, one from Harmotto and Glass and another from Fawcett and Harmotto. Kills from Harmotto and Wilson pushed the lead to 8-2 but Northwestern fought back to pull within three at 11-8. Another Hodge ace and a Fawcett kill gave the Nittany Lions the 16-9 advantage and a Fawcett kill down the line made it 17-12. Two Wildcat blocks helped them pull within four at 21-17 but kills from Brown and Hodge pushed the score to 23-18 and another Brown kill put Penn State up 27-22 before two Hodge kills and a Northwestern attack error ended the game, 30-24. Brown led the Lions with six kills in the stanza.
Nittany Lion kills from Harmotto, Fawcett, Wilson and Brown started off the second game for Penn State, 8-3, but Northwestern responded with five of the next six points to pull within one at 9-8. The teams traded points before kills from Brown and Harmotto, a Wildcat attack error and kills from Fawcett and Hodge pushed the score to 15-9. A Harmotto and Glass block maintained the Penn State lead at 19-13 and kills from Fawcett and Brown pushed it to 24-17. A Brown putaway, a Harmotto solo block and a Hodge kill gave the Nittany Lions the 27-18 lead before three Fawcett kills in the final four points ended the game for Penn State, 30-20. Fawcett racked up six kills in the game as the Nittany Lions attacked at a .424 clip for the stanza.
Penn State again jumped on top early, going up 5-0 capped by a Harmotto and Glass block. Kills from Fawcett and Hodge and a triple block from Walbridge, Glass and Fawcett extended the lead to 8-2. A Walbridge kill made it 9-4 but Northwestern responded with two kills to help it pull within five at 11-6. Brown and Hodge kills pushed the Lions up 14-7 and back to back Hodge kills made it 16-9. But Northwestern fought back, scoring eight of the next 10 points to trim the Lion lead to one at 18-17 and force a Penn State timeout. Out of the break, kills from Fawcett and Hodge and a Northwestern attack error put the Nittany Lions back on top, 21-17, and the teams traded points twice, with a Walbridge kill putting Penn State ahead, 23-19. Back to back Northwestern blocks brought it within two at 23-21 but a Wildcat service error put the Lions back on top, 24-21. Following two more exchanges of points, a Walbridge and Glass block and a Brown kill put Penn State up 28-24. The teams traded kills but two Nittany Lion errors pulled the Wildcats within two at 29-27 and forced a Penn State timeout. Out of the break, a Hodge kill ended the game, 30-27.
Penn State remains on the road, facing Michigan State on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 5:00 p.m. in East Lansing, Mich. The contest will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.