Nov. 6, 2009
MADISON, Wis. - The No. 1 Penn State women's volleyball team (25-0, 13-0) swept Wisconsin 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-21) Friday night to extend its winning streak to 89 straight matches. The Nittany Lions are now tied with the Stanford women's tennis team for third place on the NCAA's Division consecutive wins list.
Senior Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) led Penn State with 13 kills, while freshman Darcy Dorton (Muncie, Ind.) and junior Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) tallied eight kills apiece. Junior Alyssa D'Errico (Byron, N.Y.) registered a match-high 12 digs and senior setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) dished out 31 assists. Junior Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) had a team-high eight blocks and recorded both of Penn State's aces.
Penn State attacked at a .287 attack percentage and held the Badgers (11-11, 6-7) to .000. The Nittany Lions finished the night with 40 kills, 39 assists, two aces, 41 digs and 12.0 total team blocks. Wisconsin posted just 28 kills, 26 assists, 25 digs and 6.0 team blocks.
Penn State wasted no time in the first set taking a 5-0 lead. The Nittany Lions were a wall at the net with Wilson teaming up with first Dorton and then Glass to put PSU up 2-0. Kills from Wilson and Dorton and an attack error by Wisconsin brought the score to 5-0 and Wisconsin called a timeout. Brittney Dolgner finally put the Badgers on the board with a kill, but the Nittany Lions maintained a strong lead, 8-3, thanks to a Wisconsin error and another Wilson kill. Wisconsin worked to within four on two occasions, but a Dorton kill and a Wilson/Glass block had Penn State leading by six, 13-7. By midpoint of the frame, Penn State had a seven-point advantage, 16-9. Two straight kills by Hodge increased Penn State's lead to 18-10. The Nittany Lions led 20-13 when Wisconsin took a second timeout. Wisconsin would manage only two more points before PSU closed out the set, 25-15.
The Nittany Lions took a 3-1 lead in the first set, but a kill from Elle Ohlander and a Wisconsin ace had the score tied, 3-3. Hodge gave Penn State the lead, 4-3, and Wisconsin would only manage one more point while the Nittany Lions surged ahead to an 11-4 lead. Dolgner finally scored a point for the Badgers, but errors began to plague Wisconsin and Penn State found itself leading 16-7. After a Wisconsin timeout, the Badgers recorded two straight points. However, a Wilson kill, a Wisconsin error and PSU block put the Nittany Lions ahead by double-digits, 19-9. Wisconsin's Caity DuPont cut off the Penn State run with a kill, but Hodge fired back to keep Penn State ahead by 10, 20-10. Two Wisconsin errors and a Brown kill had the Nittany Lions within two points of taking set two, 23-11. A Penn State error gave Wisconsin its final point of the second set. A Hodge kill and another Badger error secured the second set for PSU, 25-13.
Penn State led 4-0 early in the third set, but kills by Janelle Gabrielsen and Alexis Mitchell, a PSU error and a Wisconsin ace had the score tied, 4-4. Junior Fatima Balza (Merida, Venezuela) put Penn State back in the lead, but Wisconsin did not let up and had tied the Nittany Lions again at 7-7. Dorton notched a kill for an 8-7 lead, but Mitchell and Allison Wack blocked a Wilson attack to make it 8-8. The score tied twice more before a Badger error gave Penn State the lead for good. Kills from Brown and Hodge and a Wilson ace gave Penn State some much-needed breathing room, 15-11, and Wisconsin took a timeout. After the break, Wisconsin came within two, 16-14, after a PSU error and a Mitchell kill, but Penn State was back ahead by four, 19-15 thanks to kills by Hodge and Brown and Balza block. Two Wisconsin errors, kills form Dorton and Hodge and Penn State block gave Penn State a 25-21 third set win.
The Nittany Lions are back in action Saturday at Iowa. The Nittany Lions meet the Hawkeyes at 7 p.m. Live stats will be available via a link at GoPSUsports.com.
For more information on the Penn State women's volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State women's volleyball 2009 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets and The Outlets At Hershey.