Nov. 5, 2008
University Park, Pa. - The top-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team used 13.0 team blocks to help it claim a three-game victory over Indiana (25-13, 25-14, 25-22) Wednesday night at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions improve to 25-0 and 13-0 in the Big Ten while the Hoosiers fall to 14-11 and 6-7 in league action.
"We weren't sharp tonight," said head coach Russ Rose. "I thought our middles played well and Nicole blocked well and had two nice defensive plays at the end of the third game. Some days you play well and some days you're your own worst enemy. We weren't very efficient tonight in some of the areas where we're normally efficient."
Senior middle hitter Christa Harmotto (Aliquippa, Pa.) led all players with 10 kills on an errorless 14 swings to hit .714 as junior outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) and senior outside hitter Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio) contributed nine and eight kills, respectively. Sophomore middle hitter Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) posted five kills on .556 hitting as the Lions hit .333 as a team for the match.
Junior setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) dished out 31 assists seven digs and Hodge led the defense with nine digs as senior libero Roberta Holehouse (Joppa, Md.) provided eight digs. Penn State out-dug Indiana, 37-31.
The Nittany Lions dominated the blocking game, racking up 13.0 team blocks to the Hoosiers' 2.0. Wilson led the way with a season-high-tying nine stuffs as Fawcett set a new season best with eight blocks. Harmotto added three blocks for the Lions as Hodge chipped in two.
Harmotto tied her career high with two service ace while Fawcett and Hodge each contributed one.
Penn State started the match out on fire, going up 8-2 on aces from Hodge and Harmotto along with a Hodge kill. A Hodge and Harmotto block gave the Lions the 12-6 advantage and a Fawcett kill made it 17-10. A Fawcett and Harmotto block along with a Harmotto kill pushed the score to 19-12 before two Fawcett kills and a Wilson put-away aided Penn State in taking the game, 25-13. Fawcett, Harmotto and Hodge all recorded three kills in the set as Hodge picked up five digs.
The Nittany Lions again jumped out to the early lead in the second set, taking the 4-0 advantage on three Indiana errors and a Fawcett and Wilson block. But the Hoosiers fought back to knot the game at 7-7 and the teams traded points twice before Harmotto and Fawcett kills along with a block by the duo gave Penn State the 12-9 lead. Four Indiana errors and a Wilson and Brown block put the Nittany Lions ahead 17-11 before a Wilson kill made it 20-12. Wilson teamed up with Hodge for another block to push the score to 22-12 before a Hoosier attack error gave Penn State the game, 25-14.
The third stanza featured 16 ties and seven lead changes, with a Fawcett kill and Indiana attack error putting Penn State ahead 13-11. After another Fawcett kill to put the Lions up 14-12, the Hoosiers stormed back to grab the 15-14 advantage on a Hayley Koetter ace. A Wilson kill out of the television timeout knotted the score at 15-15 and five ties ensued, with consecutive Fawcett kills putting Penn State ahead 21-20. A Hoosier kill from Erica Short tied the game at 21-21 and a Lion ball-handling error gave Indiana the 22-21 lead. A Fawcett and Wilson block evened the score at 22-22 and a Fawcett ace gave the Lions the 23-22 advantage before consecutive Hodge kills ended the game, 25-22.
Penn State takes to the road for a Friday contest at Michigan State at 6:30 p.m. in East Lansing, Mich. The Lions remain on the road next weekend, traveling to Illinois and Purdue on Nov. 14-15.
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.