Sept. 19, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 1 Penn State women's volleyball closed out its final non-conference weekend with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-12) victory against Temple (4-5). The Nittany Lions open Big Ten play next weekend on Sept. 25 in a 7 p.m. matchup at Northwestern. Penn State remains undefeated on the season with a 12-0 record.
Senior Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) had another stellar match notching a season-high 24 kills while attacking a .538 clip. Junior Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) was second on the team nine kills on 14 swings. Senior setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) dished out 40 assists against the Owls and led the team in blocks with fie. Junior libero Alyssa D'Errico (Byron, N.Y.) was the team digs leader with 15 and also posted three aces.
The Nittany Lions registered a .453 attack percentage, while holding Temple to .098. PSU totaled 48 kills, 43, assists, 35 digs and eight team blocks. Temple finished the night with 24 kills, 24 assists, 25 digs and five team blocks.
Freshman Darcy Dorton (Muncie, Ind.) opened the match for the Nittany Lions with a kill, but the Owls weren't far behind with a kill by Jackie Morrison. Junior Fatima Balza (Merida, Venezuela) added a second kill, but a PSU error and a TU block would give the Owls a slim, 3-2, lead. Hodge tied the set at 3-3 with a kill and Wilson followed suit moments later to give Penn State the lead for good. Temple kept it close thanks to Yun Yi Zhang, but the Nittany Lions finally began to build their lead after a kill from sophomore Katie Kabbes (Raleigh, N.C.). Back-to-back kills from Hodge that put the Nittany Lions ahead, 17-9, sent Temple to the bench for a timeout. Zhang tallied four kills after the timeout, but one kill each from Hodge and Wilson with a Temple error mixed in would keep Penn State ahead by seven, 20-13. After another Zhang kill, Dorton, Balza and Glass combined for a block, but a kill by Morrison and a TU block had Penn State taking a time out of their own. Dorton posted a kill and the Owls made an error to bring Penn State within two points of a set one win. Temple took a second timeout, but Balza and Hodge each had a kill to close out the first set, 25-16.
The Nittany Lions took an 8-1 lead in the second set as errors seemed to continue to plague the Owls. After a Temple timeout, the Nittany Lions only increased their lead to nine, 11-2, after kills from Hodge and Dorton. Despite a kill from Zhang and a block by Jovana Radojevic and Jasmine Waters, the Owls would not come within less than six points of the Nittany Lions for the remainder of the set. Hodge continued to dominate for PSU moving the Lions ahead 17-9 with two straight kills. After a Penn State service error, Hodge would add two more kills and Wilson one to give the Nittany Lions a 20-11 advantage. Temple took a timeout but it failed to slow Penn State. Hodge would tally two more kills and Glass and Dorton would each post one to give PSU a 25-13 second set victory.
Junior Cathy Quilico (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) jump-started the third set with an ace and Hodge followed it up with a kill for a 2-0 PSU lead. Two PSU errors would allow Temple to tie the set, 2-2, but kills from Hodge and Wilson and an ace from D'Errico had Penn State leading by three, 5-2. TU fought back to within one point, 6-5, but Hodge would keep the Nittany Lions safely in the lead with a kill and an ace. Zhang would tally a kill to bring TU within two, 8-6, but the Nittany Lions increased their lead to six, 12-6, thanks to a Wilson kill, a block and an ace by junior Jessica Ullrich (Wheaton, Ill.). Temple took a timeout and slowed the Nittany Lions enough to come back to within five, 15-10. However, two kills from Hodge and another D'Errico ace moved PSU back up by seven, 19-12. The Nittany Lions closed out the set and match with two kills each by Wilson and Glass and one from Hodge.
The Nittany Lions are back in action on Sept. 25 and 26 with matches at Northwestern and Illinois, respectively to open the Big Ten slate. Both are set to begin at 7 p.m. Penn State returns home on Oct. 2-3 to take on Iowa and Wisconsin. The 2008 Big Ten Championship banner will be raised to the Rec Hall rafters in a ceremony prior to the Iowa match and the 2008 NCAA National Championship banner will be raised before the Nittany Lions meet the Badgers. Live stats will be available for both matches via a link at www.GoPSUsports.com.