Oct. 1, 2008
The top-ranked Penn State women¹s volleyball team remained undefeated with a three-set win over Indiana (25-17, 25-18, 25-19) Wednesday night in Bloomington, Ind. The Nittany Lions improve to 15-0 and 3-0 in the Big Ten while the Hoosiers fall to 8-7 and 0-3 in the conference.
Junior outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) led all players with 14 kills as senior outside hitter Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio) posted 13 kills on .450 hitting as sophomore opposite Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) notched a season-high 11 kills on .625 hitting. Senior middle hitter Christa Harmotto (Aliquippa, Pa.) and sophomore middle hitter Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) each recorded eight kills as the Nittany Lions attacked at a .434 clip.
Junior setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) directed the offense with 48 assists and added five kills on six swings. Fawcett and sophomore Alyssa D¹Errico (Byron, N.Y.) led the team with nine digs apiece. D¹Errico replaced senior Roberta Holehouse (Joppa, Md.) who was out with a sprained ankle. Hodge added in five digs as Brown posted four.
Indiana outblocked Penn State, 8.0 to 7.0. Harmotto led the Lions with five stuffs as Glass notched four and Wilson and Brown tallied two apiece.
Two Penn State blocks  one from Harmotto and Brown and another from Harmotto and Glass, aided the Lions in taking the 7-4 lead. Two more Wilson and Glass blocks pushed the score to 12-6 before a Fawcett put-away made it 14-9. The Hoosiers scored the next three points on two blocks and a Lion error to pull within two at 14-12 but a Brown kill gave Penn State the 15-12 lead headed into the television timeout. Out of the break, a Brown and Harmotto stuff coupled with kills from Harmotto and Brown gave the Nittany Lions the 18-14 lead. A Fawcett kill and consecutive Wilson put-aways pushed the Penn State advantage to 22-16 before kills from Fawcett and Hodge along with an Indiana attack error gave the Lions the game, 25-17. Penn State racked up five blocks in the stanza while Fawcett, Wilson and Hodge all posted four kills.
The Nittany Lions grabbed the 9-6 lead on a Wilson kill in the second game but Indiana fought back to knot the game at 10-10 aided by two blocks. A Brown kill broke the stalemate and a Harmotto overpass kill extended the cushion to two at 12-10. The Lions maintained the slight advantage, going ahead 13-11 and then 15-13 on Hodge kills. Out of the television timeout, Penn State kills from Fawcett and Harmotto pushed the score to 17-13 and following an Indiana timeout, three Hoosier errors aided the Lions in taking the 20-14 lead. After two Indiana scores, Penn State kills from Fawcett, Hodge and Brown helped the Nittany Lions take the game, 25-18. Brown and Hodge led the Lions with six and five kills, respectively.
Indiana jumped out to the quick 6-2 lead in the third stanza behind three kills and two Penn State errors. The Nittany Lions chipped away at the deficit, with a Brown kill pulling the Lions to within two at 9-7. The teams traded points three times before kills from Fawcett and Hodge knotted the game at 12-12. Three ties ensued before a Lion net violation and an Indiana kill following a long rally put the Hoosiers up 17-15. The teams traded points before a Harmotto kill, two Hodge kills and a Fawcett bomb out of the backrow swung the momentum to the Lions and gave them the 20-18 lead. Following a Hoosier kill, a Harmotto slide kill and a Fawcett block pushed the score to 22-19 and forced an Indiana timeout. Out of the break, another Fawcett solo block grazed the line and a Hodge ace made it 24-19 before a Glass and Harmotto block ended the game, 25-19.
The Nittany Lions return home Saturday for a very special contest live on the Big Ten Network. Penn State will meet up with Michigan State in the first annual ³Dig Pink² match for breast cancer awareness. The Nittany Lions have teamed with the Side-Out Foundation to raise funds and fans are encouraged to wear pink to the match and to visit www.GoPSUsports.com to donate.
For more information on the Penn State women¹s volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com . The Penn State women¹s volleyball 2008 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets and The Outlets At Hershey.