Sept. 6, 2008
University Park, Pa. - The top-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team swept George Washington (25-18, 25-15, 25-11) Saturday morning to improve to 5-0 for the year. The Nittany Lions host Villanova tonight at 8:00 p.m. at Rec Hall to close out action in the Nittany Lion Invitational. 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.
Junior outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) and senior outside hitter Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio) led the Lions with 13 and 12 kills, respectively, as sophomore Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) posted nine kills on .533 hitting.
Junior setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) dished out 38 assists and led the squad with seven digs along with senior libero Roberta Holehouse (Joppa, Md.). Sophomore Alyssa D'Errico (Byron, N.Y.) notched five digs as Hodge and Fawcett both posted four.
Penn State tallied eight blocks in the win, with sophomore middle hitter Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) leading the way with five stuffs, including three solo efforts. Fawcett and senior middle hitter Christa Harmotto (Aliquippa, Pa.) both posted three blocks.
A Wilson kill gave Penn State the 10-6 lead in the first game but George Washington fought back to tie the set at 11-11 on a Lion attack error. The teams remained even, with a Fawcett kill pushing the Lions up 17-16 before a Wilson kill, a service ace from junior Kelsey Ream (State College, Pa.) and a Fawcett and Wilson block extended the Lion lead to 20-16. A solo Wilson block and a Brown kill ended the stanza, 25-18.
The Nittany Lions took the 15-8 lead in the second game behind kills from Fawcett, Brown and Hodge along with a Fawcett service ace. Another Fawcett kill pushed the score to 18-11 and a Brown kill and Wilson block made it 23-14 before a George Washington error ended the game, 25-15.
Penn State jumped out to the quick lead in the third set, going up 6-2 on two blocks, one from Harmotto and Hodge and another from Harmotto and Brown. Behind strong service from D'Errico that included two aces, the Nittany Lions went up 13-3 and a Fawcett kill pushed the score to 18-5. A Wilson kill and Glass ace made it 22-8 before kills from Brown and Hodge ended the game, 25-11.
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.