Sept. 5, 2008
University Park, Pa. - Junior Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) and freshman Katie Kabbes (Raleigh, N.C.) each recorded eight kills in two games as the top-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team cruised to a three-set victory (25-8, 25-16, 25-9) Friday night to open the home season at Rec Hall in front of 2,642 fans. The Nittany Lions improve to 4-0 while the Blackbirds fall to 0-1.
Penn State continues play on Saturday at noon against George Washington before closing out play in the Nittany Lion Invitational at 8:00 p.m. versus Villanova. Both matches are at Rec Hall and one ticket is good for both contests. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for youth and $2 per person for groups of 10 or more. Penn State students can gain free admission with their PSU ID and all tickets will be available at the door.
Gametracker will be available for both matches and a live online broadcast can be seen at www.GoPSUsports.com for the 8pm Villanova contest.
All 14 players on the Nittany Lion roster saw action in the contest, with Kabbes' eight kills a career high and Hodge's eight kills coming on .636 hitting. Sophomores Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) and Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) each notched six kills while senior middle hitter Christa Harmotto (Aliquippa, Pa.) tallied five kills for the evening. With her fourth kill of the match, coming in the first game, Harmotto joined an elite group of student-athletes with 1,000 career kills. She is just the 20th Lion player in history to reach the plateau and joins teammates Hodge and senior Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio) on the prestigious list. Penn State recorded 41 kills for the match on .492 hitting while limiting Long Island to 14 kills on -.095 attacking.
Junior setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) dished out 33 assists and added three kills on an errorless five swings while senior libero Roberta Holehouse (Joppa, Md.) posted a match-high eight digs. Glass, Hodge and sophomore Alyssa D'Errico (Byron, N.Y.) all picked up five digs while junior Kelsey Ream (State College, Pa.) notched three. Kabbes and freshman defensive specialist Megan Shifflett (Falls Church, Va.) both tallied one. Junior Kimi Hohl (DeKalb, Ill.), sophomore Cathy Quilico (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and freshman Heather Tice (Allentown, Pa.) also saw action in the contest in serving and defensive capacities. The Nittany Lions outdug the Blackbirds, 32 to 14, and recorded three service aces, with two coming from senior Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio).
Penn State outblocked Long Island, 11.0 to 6.0. Harmotto and Wilson led the way with four stuffs each and Glass and Kabbes each posted three. Brown tallied two blocks and Fawcett and Ream both recorded one.
Svetlana Simic led the Blackbirds with five kills and four digs as Quinn Williams and Agatha Baliddawa both notched three kills. Chelsey Stanton directed the offense with 10 assists and Williams recorded three blocks, including one solo effort.
The Nittany Lions took the 12-4 lead to start the match behind a Fawcett ace, a Wilson and Brown block and a Hodge kill. Put-aways from Wilson and Harmotto extended the lead to 16-7 and a Glass and Harmotto block made it 18-7. Two Harmotto kills and a Wilson and Fawcett block pushed the score to 21-8 before a Ream service ace and a Glass kill off a pass from D'Errico ended the set, 25-8. Penn State sided out at 100% in the stanza, going 8-for-8 with 11 kills on .526 hitting.
Penn State remained in control in the second game, with two Hodge kills giving the Lions the 11-6 lead. A Kabbes kill made it 13-7 and a Brown kill coupled with two Long Island errors pushed the Penn State advantage to 18-12. Three Hodge kills aided the team in going up 21-14 before a Kabbes solo block and kill ended the set, 25-16. Hodge recorded seven kills on nine attacks to hit .667 while Kabbes added in four kills on six swings to hit .500.
A Kabbes kill put Penn State up 8-3 in the third set and a Wilson kill along with a Kabbes and Wilson block made it 16-6. A Kabbes kill to make it 20-9 sparked a Lion run, and aided by Hohl's serving and kills from Ream and Kabbes, Penn State took the game, 25-9. Wilson and Kabbes both notched four kills and Holehouse picked up six digs as the Lions attacked at a .524 clip with 14 kills while holding the Blackbirds to one kill on -.263 hitting.
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.