Sept. 19, 2008
University Park, Pa. - The top-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team needed only an hour and six minutes to sweep Yale (25-7, 25-13, 25-16) Friday night at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions improve to 10-0 while the Bulldogs fall to 3-1.
Penn State continues action in the Hampton Inn Penn State Classic on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. with New Hampshire before taking on Saint Louis at 7:00 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door and are $5 for adults, $3 for youth and $2 per person for groups of 10 or more. Penn State students are free with their PSU ID.
Against Yale, junior outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) led all players with 12 kills on an errorless 18 attacks to hit .667 and senior middle hitter Christa Harmotto (Aliquippa, Pa.) posted seven kills on .667 hitting while sophomores Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) and Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) each contributed six kills. As a team, Penn State hit .478 while holding Yale to a -.022 team attacking percentage.
Junior setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) dished out 30 assists and along with Hodge, led the squad with six digs. Senior outside hitter Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio) picked up five digs in two games as senior libero Roberta Holehouse (Joppa, Md.) notched four digs. The Nittany Lions outdug the Bulldogs, 36-20.
Penn State dominated the blocking game, led by Wilson with a season-high nine stuffs, one shy of her career best. Brown contributed a season-best seven blocks while Harmotto posted five and Fawcett recorded three.
The Nittany Lions also controlled the serving game, racking up 10 aces and committing only five errors. Holehouse led the way with four winners, Fawcett and sophomore Alyssa D'Errico (Byron, N.Y.) each posted two and junior Kelsey Ream (State College, Pa.) and freshman Megan Shifflett (Falls Church, Va.) both recorded one.
For Yale, Alexis Crusey led the way with five kills as Cat Dailey and Bridget Hearst both tallied four.
Penn State used consecutive blocks and kills from Brown, Harmotto and Glass to take the 9-3 lead to open up the match. A Harmotto and Glass block coupled with kills from Hodge and Wilson pushed the score to 13-4 and a Wilson and Brown block along with Wilson and Hodge put-aways made it 17-6. A Brown kill gave Penn State the 19-7 lead and aided by two Hodge kills, two Holehouse service aces and two Yale attack errors, the Nittany Lions closed out the set on a 7-0 run to take the game, 25-7. Penn State tallied 16 kills on an errorless 20 swings to hit .800 and sided out at 100% in the game (8-for-8).
The second game remained closer early on, with a Fawcett and Harmotto block putting Penn State up 8-4. The teams traded points several times, with a Hodge kill and Holehouse ace pushing the Lions ahead, 15-9. Out of a Yale timeout the squads exchanged kills before a D'Errico service ace sparked a 4-0 Penn State run to take the 20-10 lead. After three more exchanges of points, a Fawcett, Wilson and Brown block was quickly followed by a Brown and Wilson stuff to give Penn State the game, 25-13. Harmotto and Hodge each contributed three kills in the set as Fawcett, Wilson and Brown each posted three blocks.
Another D'Errico ace knotted the third set at 5-5 and three ties ensued before a Glass and Wilson block and kills from Wilson and freshman Katie Kabbes (Raleigh, N.C.) pushed the Lions up 11-8. Two blocks by Kabbes and Wilson and another form Wilson and Brown gave Penn State the 16-8 lead before a Holehouse ace made it 19-10. Two Hodge kills aided the Lions in taking the 21-11 lead before two Kabbes kills ended the game, 25-16. Hodge and Kabbes each posted four kills in the game as Wilson racked up five blocks.
For more information on the Penn State women's volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State women's volleyball 2008 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets and The Outlets At Hershey.