Oct. 20, 2010
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The No. 9 Penn State women's volleyball team defeated Ohio State, 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-18) Wednesday evening. The Nittany Lions are back in action on Saturday, Oct. 23 at Northwestern. Action is set for 8 p.m. ET.
Senior Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) led Penn State (16-4, 6-3 Big Ten) with 13 kills, while senior Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) and freshman Deja McClendon (Louisville, Ky.) had nine kills apiece. Sophomore setter Kristin Carpenter (Mechanicsville, Va.) dished out 35 assists and tied for second on the team with eight digs. McClendon had a team-best nine digs, while senior Alyssa D'Errico (Byron, N.Y.) registered eight. Wilson led all players with two blocks.
Penn State hit .309 and held Ohio State (16-6, 4-5 Big Ten) to .202. The Nittany Lions totaled 42 kills, five aces, 39 digs and 3.0 total team blocks. The Buckeyes closed out the match with 35 kills, two aces, 37 digs and 3.0 team blocks.
The Nittany Lions opened the match taking an 8-3 lead. Penn State was aided by four OSU errors, as well as kills from Wilson, Brown and McClendon. The Buckeyes fought back to tie the set at 12-12, but an OSU service error put the Lions in front by one, 13-12. The score tied three more times before a Wilson kill and a block by senior Fatima Balza (Merida, Venezuela) and Carpenter put Penn State up by two, 17-15. McClendon followed up with a kill of her own and Ohio State called a timeout. The Buckeyes crept within one, 19-18, but an OSU service error and Brown kill put the Lions ahead by three one again, 21-18. Ohio State managed to challenge the Nittany Lions twice more, but Brown kept the PSU out of trouble with two kills. Leading 23-22, Wilson and McClendon each pounded a kill to secure set one for Penn State, 25-22.
Penn State took a 2-0 to start the second stanza, but a PSU error and a kill by OSU's Emily Danks had the score knotted at 2-2. Neither team could build any momentum as the score tied five more times before the Nittany Lions took a 9-8 lead on back-to-back Buckeye errors. A 3-0 run by the Buckeyes gave them an 11-9 advantage. Penn State answered right back with a 4-1 run for a slim 13-12 edge. Two PSU errors after a Wilson kill allowed the Buckeyes to tie the set at 14-14. The score tied five times before an OSU put Penn State on top, 20-19, and sent the Buckeyes to the bench for a timeout. Brown followed the break with a kill, but a PSU service error kept OSU within one, 21-20. An OSU error and a D'Errico ace put Penn State ahead by three, 23-20. Ohio State called a second timeout, but it failed to faze the Lions who used kills from Brown and Scott to claim set two, 25-21.
PSU opened the third frame taking a 2-0 lead, but a kill by OSU's Allie Schwarzwalder and two straight PSU errors had OSU in front, 3-2. The score tied twice before a 3-0 PSU run pushed Penn State ahead, 7-4. The Nittany Lions continued to control the set and, thanks to kills by Balza, Brown and McClendon, had a 14-9 lead midway through the frame. After an Ohio State timeout, a 3-0 Buckeye run moved OSU to within two, 14-12. The Buckeyes kept it close until a 4-0 PSU run, capped off by a Penn State ace, had Penn State leading 20-14. Ohio State's Katie Dull cut off the run with a kill, but a Wilson kill and two OSU attack errors had Penn State in set point position, 24-18. McClendon closed out the set for PSU with a kill for a 25-18 Nittany Lion win.
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.