Sept. 4, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The three-time defending national champion Penn State women's volleyball team continued play in the Hampton Inn Classic Saturday morning with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-15) victory against Colgate (3-2). Penn State's record-breaking winning streak currently sits at 107 consecutive matches won.
Freshman Deja McClendon (Louisville, Ky.) led the Nittany Lions (5-0) once again with 10 kills and tied for second on the team with four blocks. Senior Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) was second on the team with eight kills, while senior Fatima Balza (Merida, Venezuela) had seven kills on eight swings with only one error for a .750 hitting percentage. Balza led the team with a match-high seven total blocks. Sophomore Kristin Carpenter (Mechanicsville, Va.) and Mikinzie Moydell (Parker, Colo.) split time at setter. Carpenter dished out 13 assists, while Moydell had 23. Senior libero Alyssa D'Errico (Byron, N.Y.) finished the match with 11 digs and an ace.
The Nittany Lions registered a .403 attack percentage and totaled 40 kills, 39 assists, two aces, 40 digs and 9.5 total team blocks. The Raiders attacked at a -.030 clip and had 24 kills, 23 assists, two aces, 27 digs and just 1.0 team block.
The first set started out closed with neither team able to break away early. It wasn't until a 4-0 Penn State run that the Nittany Lions earned some breathing room, 12-7. Penn State held onto at least a four-point lead until a Colgate service error began a 6-1 run by the Lions. Brown, Balza and McClendon teamed up for two blocks in the run, while Carpenter and Brown each contributed a kill. A kill by Colgate's Logan Keala cut off the Nittany Lion run, but a Balza kill and Brown block had Penn State three points from taking set one. Michelle McCarthy tallied one final kill for the Raiders, before another Balza kill and two Colgate errors gave the Lions set one, 25-14.
Penn State opened set two taking a 7-2 lead. Brown and Balza teamed up for two blocks, while McClendon contributed a solo block to start. The Nittany Lions posted three more points before Colgate called a timeout. The Raiders followed the break with a kill, but Penn State's lead continued to grow. By midway through the set, a putdown by senior Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) gave the Lions a 15-8 advantage. Moydell, Wilson and McClendon each tallied a kill for an 18-8 lead, but the run was cut short by two PSU errors. The squads traded points until back-to-back Penn State kills put the Nittany Lions' lead into double-digits, 22-12. The Raiders managed just three more points before a setter dump by Moydell gave Penn State a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-15 second set win.
The third set started much like the first, with neither team managing to take a substantial lead. It wasn't until a 3-0 run by the Lions, including a solo stuff by Balza and a Brown kill, that Penn State grabbed a strong lead, 10-6. The Raiders fought back to within one, 13-12 after three straight kills and a PSU error. However, my midway through the frame Penn State was back up by three thanks to a joint stuff by McClendon and Balza and a Raider error. After a Colgate timeout, the Lions went on a 7-0 run, with two McClendon kills, one by Moydell and one by Balza, for a 23-13 lead. The Raiders recorded two points on a PSU error and a kill by Alexis Griffith, but it was too little too late. Penn State won the third and final set after a Brown kill and a Colgate error, 25-15.
What's Next?
The Nittany Lions are back in action tonight at 7 p.m. against Virginia Commonwealth in the final match of the Hampton Inn Classic. Penn State is back on the road next weekend at the Nike Big Four Volleyball Classic where they will take on Florida on Friday, Sept. 10 and either Texas or Stanford on Saturday, Sept. 11.
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