Dec. 8, 2007
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., Dec. 7, 2007 - The top-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team swept Michigan (30-15, 30-18, 30-18) Friday night in front of 3,779 rowdy fans to advance to the NCAA Regional Final match for the 11th time in school history. The Nittany Lions (31-2) face #17 BYU Saturday night at Rec Hall at 6:30 p.m. in a rematch of the 1998 NCAA Regional Semifinal, with the winner earning a berth in the NCAA National Semifinals. The match will be broadcast live on ESPNU.
Sophomore outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) recorded a match-high 15 kills on .355 hitting as junior outside hitter Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio) contributed 12 kills as junior middle hitter Christa Harmotto (Aliquippa, Pa.) notched 10 kills on .444 hitting. Freshman middle hitter Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) and redshirt freshman Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) each recorded five kills, on .455 and .444 hitting, respectively. Penn State attacked at a .384 clip for the match while holding Michigan to hitting .021.
Sophomore setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) dished out 38 assists as junior libero Roberta Holehouse (Joppa, Md.) produced a match-high 18 digs and Hodge added in six.
The Nittany Lions claimed the serving battle, recording eight aces while allowing the Wolverines four. Holehouse tallied a match-high three winners as Fawcett and Hodge provided two and senior Kate Price (Fraser, Mich.) notched one.
Penn State also dominated the blocking game, racking up 16.5 blocks to Michigan's 5.0. Wilson racked up nine stuffs as Glass, Fawcett and Harmotto all recorded six.
For Michigan, Katie Bruzdzinski notched 10 kills as Beth Karpiak and Lyndsay Miller each tallied five. Lexi Zimmerman dished out 22 assists and Stesha Selsky picked up eight digs as Miller led the blocking list with three stuffs.
The Nittany Lions sprinted out of the gates, taking the 9-3 lead on three Fawcett kills and a block by Fawcett and Wilson. Kills from Harmotto and Hodge helped Penn State maintain the advantage and a Brow kill put the Nittany Lions ahead 20-10. A Hodge kill and Holehouse ace pushed the lead to 24-12 and a Hodge kill, Price ace and block by Harmotto and Hodge gave Penn State the 27-13 cushion. Kills from Harmotto and Hodge along with a Fawcett, Harmotto and Glass block ended the game, 30-15. Penn State attacked at a .406 clip in the game as Hodge notched seven kills on .500 hitting and Holehouse picked up seven digs.
Penn State again grabbed the lead, going up 14-10 on a Brown kill and 19-12 on two Fawcett kills and a Michigan attack error. A Fawcett and Wilson block and Fawcett kill pushed the lead to 21-13 before a Wilson and Hodge stuff made it 25-14. The teams traded kills twice and a Hodge kill and Harmotto solo block put the Nittany Lions ahead 28-16 before a Harmotto kill and Glass ace ended the game, 30-18. Hodge posted five kills on an errorless nine swings as Penn State hit .455 in the stanza.
Four blocks, three kills from Fawcett and strong serving from senior Kara Callahan (Bloomington, Ill.) gave the Nittany Lions the 15-6 lead heading into the media timeout. Out of the break the teams traded points before a Fawcett and Harmotto block, a Harmotto overpass kill and an amazing play by Price, who dove into the stands to save a ball, gave Penn State more momentum and the 20-8 lead in the third game. A Harmotto and Glass block out of the break continued the roll and put-aways from Wilson and Fawcett extended the score to 24-10. The teams traded points twice and a Holehouse ace and Hodge kill put Penn State ahead 29-12 but Michigan fought back to score the next six points before a Harmotto kill ended the game, 30-18. The Nittany Lions recorded six blocks in the set to hold Michigan to hitting -.034.
Penn State has reached the Regional Final contest on 11 occasions, with the last coming last season at Washington. The Nittany Lions have an overall record of 51-25 in the NCAA Championship, including five trips to the NCAA Semifinals (1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999) and one National Championship (1999). Penn State is 33-3 in NCAA Tournament matches at Rec Hall and has won its last 36 consecutive contests within the friendly confines.
The winners of each of the four NCAA Regionals on Dec. 8 travel to Sacramento, Calif., for the National Semifinals on Thursday, Dec. 13, with the National Championship match scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 15.