Aug. 28, 2010
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The top-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team continued play in the Carolina Classic with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-11, 25-10) victory.
Freshman Deja McClendon (Ridgewood, N.J.) led the Nittany Lions with 13 kills on .414 hitting. Senior Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) was second on the team with eight kills. Sophomore Kristin Carpenter (Mechanicsville, Va.) was the starting setter and dished out 25 assists and tied for second on the team with six digs. Junior libero Alyssa D'Errico (Byron, N.Y.) has four aces and ateam-best 15 digs. Senior Fatima Balza (Merida, Venezuela) and McClendon had five blocks eight, while Brown had four.
After falling behind 4-1 to start, the Nittany Lions battled back to take a 6-4 lead. Two kills by senior Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.), one by D'Errico, a Quilico ace and a Villanova attack error put the Lions in front and forced a Wildcat timeout. The Wildcats came within one, 7-6, but Penn State's momentum began to grow after two Villanova errors and a McClendon kill for a 10-7 lead. By midway through the frame, the Nittany Lions were up by five, 15-10. Despite the Wildcats managing to tally a kill, three points by Penn State had the Lions ahead by seven, 18-11, and sent Villanova to the bench a second time. Three straight kills by Nova's Morgan Petkovich slowed the Lions and allowed the Wildcats within four, 18-14. A 6-2 run by Penn State, including two kills by McClendon and two dual blocks by McClendon and Balza, put the Lions in match-point position, 24-19. The Wildcats managed three additional points before a Brown kill secured set one for PSU, 25-19.
Penn State took a 3-1 lead to open the second set and maintained the two-point lead until two Allison Williams kills had the Wildcats within one, 4-3. A 7-0 run by PSU gave the Nittany Lions firm control of the lead, 11-3. Three straight Nova points put the Wildcats within five, but Penn State was back up by eight, 14-6, after two Villanova errors and a PSU block. The Nittany Lions allowed the Wildcats just five more points before embarking on a 5-0 run to win set two, 25-11. Penn State capitalized on four Villanova errors, as well as two kills by McClendon and one each from Martin and Wilson.
The Nittany Lions grabbed a 6-3 lead to start the third set. Despite a Villanova kill, two Wildcat errors kept Penn State comfortable ahead, 8-4. Two more Nova errors, two Penn State blocks and kills from McClendon and Brown put Penn State ahead by eight, 12-4. A Wildcat timeout failed to slow as their lead grew to double-digits, 18-7. Two D'Errico aces and three Wildcat errors kept Penn State in control. The Nittany Lions closed out the third and final set with a joint block by McClendon and freshman Katie Slay (Raleigh, N.C.) for a 25-10 win.
What's Next?
The Nittany Lions close out their first weekend of play in a 5:30 p.m. matchup against Campbell.
For more information on the Penn State women's volleyball team, please visit GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State women's volleyball 2010 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets and The Outlets at Hershey.