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Oct. 30, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 9 Penn State women's volleyball team (19-4, 9-3 Big Ten) earned a 3-1 (25-16, 25-21, 23-25, 25-23) win against Purdue at home in Rec Hall Saturday evening. Three Nittany Lions posted double-digit kills and four registered double-digit digs. Penn State's home winning streak now sits at 86 straight matches.
Senior Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) led the Nittany Lions with a career-high 23 kills. The opposite also had 13 digs. Freshman Deja McClendon (Louisville, Ky.) was second on the team with 16 kills and senior Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) had 10. Senior libero Alyssa D'Errico (Byron, N.Y.) had a match-high 19 digs, while McClendon tallied 15 and senior Cathy Quilico (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) had 12. Sophomore Kristin Carpenter (Mechanicsville, Va.) dished out 51 assists. Wilson and freshman Katie Slay (Raleigh, N.C.) had four blocks each.
The Nittany Lions hit .301 against the Boilermakers (15-8, 6-6 Big Ten) and totaled 64 kills, two aces, 74 digs and 8.0 total team blocks. Purdue registered a .155 attack percentage and recorded 51 kills, two aces, 68 digs and 7.5 team blocks.
Despite Purdue grabbing an early 3-1 lead, the Nittany Lions used a 3-0 run to take control, 4-3. Purdue's Jaclyn Hart tied it up with a kill and the score tied twice more before an 8-1 Penn State run moved the Lions ahead by, seven, 14-7. The Boilermakers fought to within four, 14-10, with four straight points. A 3-1 PSU run, including two kills by Brown, gave the Lions a 17-11 lead and forced Purdue to call a timeout. The two teams went back and forth with Penn State continuing to maintain control and not allow the Boilermakers to gain any momentum. With a 19-16 lead, Penn State closed out set one with a 6-0 run for a 25-16 set one win. Carpenter and Wilson joined forces for two blocks in the run, while Quilico had an ace and McClendon pounded a kill.
The Boilermakers took a slim 3-2 lead to start the second frame and held onto the lead until almost halfway through the set. Trailing 10-9, a 3-0 run with two points from Brown pushed Penn State in front for the first time, 12-10. Purdue didn't give up easily and came back to knot the score at 13-13. The score tied three more times before a 4-0 Penn State run had Penn State in the lead by four, 20-16. After a Purdue timeout, the Boilermakers cut the gap to two, 20-18, but a Wilson kill kept Purdue at bay. Kills from Brown and Balza had the Lions leading by four, 23-19, as the set began to wind down. A PSU error and a kill by Kristen Arthurs allowed the Boilermakers back within two, 23-21, but McClendon and Brown each put down a kill for a 25-21 second set victory.
Penn State hopped out to a 3-1 lead in set three, but two kills from Purdue's Anna Drewry and two PSU errors had the Boilermakers ahead, 5-4. The teams traded the lead twice before two points by Purdue had the Boilermakers leading 10-8. Penn State fought back to tie it up at 12-12, but Purdue didn't waste any time grabbing a two-point lead, 16-14, on a PSU service error and a kill from Catherine Rebarchak. The Boilermakers maintained its slim lead until two errors had the set tied up at 20-20. Purdue called a timeout, and tallied two straight kills for a 22-20 advantage. The Nittany Lions managed to come within one point of tying the set on two occasions, but a late Purdue timeout and another Rebarchak kill gave Purdue set three, 25-23.
The Nittany Lions wasted no time in the fourth and final set taking a 4-1 lead thanks to kills from Brown, freshman Ariel Scott (Ridgewood, N.J.) and McClendon. However, Purdue used a 4-0 run for an 8-7 edge. The score tied three times before a Brown kill and a Purdue error moved Penn State in front by two, 12-10. Penn State held onto the lead until back-to-back Boilermaker kills had the score knotted at 15-15 halfway through the stanza. Carpenter slammed a kill to put the Lions back in the lead, but a PSU attack error had the score tied again at 16-16. The score tied once more before two consecutive kills by Brown had Penn State leading by two, 19-17, and Purdue calling a timeout. The Boilermakers registered an attack error after the break and took their second timeout. Arthurs notched a kill after the break, but a 3-0 Penn State run saw the Lions lead by five, 23-18. Arthurs tallied another kill, but a kill by Brown put Penn State in match point position, 24-19. The Boilermakers held the Lions for three straight point forcing PSU to head to the bench. Purdue's Tiffany Fisher posted a kill after the timeout, but Wilson pounded a kill to win the set, 25-23, for Penn State.
What's Next?
The Nittany Lions are back on the road next weekend with their second meetings of the regular season with Michigan and Michigan State. Penn State faces the Wolverines on Friday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. and the Spartans on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m.
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.