Oct. 8, 2010
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - In a match that came down to the wire, Penn State (13-3, 3-2 Big Ten) suffered a 3-2 (25-21, 25-18, 16-25, 18-25, 11-15) setback to Purdue (12-4, 3-2 Big Ten). It was Purdue's first win against the Nittany Lions since 1987. The match with the Boilermakers will re-air at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 12.
Freshman Deja McClendon (Louisville, Ky.) led all players with a career-high 20 kills and was third on the team with 11 digs. Senior Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) was second on the team with 15 kills and 14 digs. Senior libero Alyssa D'Errico (Byron, N.Y.) led Penn State with 19 digs. Sophomore Kristin Carpenter (Mechanicsville, Va.) dished out 50 assists and tied for first on the team with junior Katie Kabbes (Raleigh, N.C.) with three blocks each.
Penn State registered a .155 attack percentage against Purdue. The Nittany Lions totaled 58 kills, three aces, 71 digs and 10.0 total team blocks. Purdue finished the night with a .218 attack percentage and posted 60 kills, three aces, 79 digs and 13.0 team blocks.
The first set started out close with neither team taking an early lead. However, a PSU attack error and a block by Purdue's Kristen Arthurs and Catherine Rebarchak put the Boilermakers ahead by two, 7-5. Another Penn State attack error increased the gap to three, 8-5, but a Carpenter kill and a Purdue error had the Lions within one, 8-7. Penn State continued to trail the Boilermakers until four McClendon kills had the score knotted at 13-13. The Nittany Lions finally took the lead on back-to-back kills by Wilson, 16-14, before a Brown putdown and two Purdue errors moved Penn State ahead by four, 19-15. After a Boilermaker timeout, Purdue fought to within two, 20-22, courtesy of two Penn State errors. The Nittany Lions called a timeout to stave off the Boilermakers. McClendon followed the timeout with a kill before Purdue registered an attack error to put the Lions in set-point position. McClendon closed out the set for PSU, 25-21, with a kill. The Nittany Lions hit .340 in set one, while Purdue hit .200. McClendon led all players with seven kills and Brown tallied six.
Penn State carried the momentum into set two taking a 6-3 lead. Kabbes has three kills and a block to aid the Lions from the start. An error by PSU had the Boilermakers within two, 6-4, but four straight Purdue errors gave the Nittany Lions a 10-4 advantage. Purdue fought within five twice, but two big Penn State blocks and another Purdue error had Penn State's lead at seven, 15-8. Purdue rallied with three straight kills, but the Nittany Lions capitalized on two more Boilermaker errors and a kill by freshman Katie Slay (Raleigh, N.C.) to take a 19-12 lead and send the Boilermakers to the bench. Purdue scored three of the next five points to cut Penn State's lead to five, 20-15. A Purdue service error and a McClendon ace put Penn State back ahead by seven, 22-15. However, Purdue recorded three of the next four points to come within five, 23-18, and force the Nittany Lions to take a timeout. Brown pounded a kill and Wilson registered an ace to win the second frame, 25-18. Penn State attacked at a .135 clip, while the Boilermakers hit .090. The Nittany Lions out-blocked Purdue in the stanza, 5.0-1.0.
The Boilermakers held a slim lead to start the third frame taking a 6-5 lead. A Purdue error and a D'Errico ace had the score tied at 6-6, but a kill by Purdue's Katie Griffin had the Boilermakers back in front, 7-6. McClendon pounded a kill to knot the score at 7-7, but Purdue rallied with three straight points for a 10-7 advantage. By midway through the frame, Purdue had built a five-point lead, 15-10. Brown followed a Penn State timeout with a kill, but the Boilermakers took off on a 5-2 run for a 20-13 lead. The Nittany Lions took a second timeout and a Purdue service error had PSU within six, 20-14. Penn State was unable to steal any momentum from the Boilermakers. The Lions managed just two more points on a Wilson kill and a Purdue service error before the Boilermakers claimed set three, 25-16. Purdue hit .323 and held the Nittany Lions to just .056.
Purdue grabbed a 3-1 lead to begin the fourth set, but a McClendon kill and a Purdue error had the score tied at 3-3. The score tied twice more before another McClendon kill and a joint stuff but Carpenter and Slay gave the Nittany Lions a 7-5 edge. Purdue answered back tying the score at 7-7, but McClendon put the Lions back in the lead with another kill. When the Boilermakers knotted the score against at 8-8, McClendon was ready again pounding another kill to move Penn State back in front, 9-8. The lead was short-lived as a 5-2 run by the Boilermakers had Purdue leading, 13-11. Purdue's lead grew to five, 17-12, before Penn State rallied to cut the Boilermakers' lead to two, 17-15. After a Purdue timeout, a 3-1 run by Purdue had Penn State trailing by four, 20-16. Kabbes and McClendon posted Penn State's final two points as Purdue claimed set four, 25-18. The Boilermakers registered a .294 attack percentage in the fourth frame, while Penn State hit .128. McClendon had a set-high eight kills.
The Boilermakers leapt out to a 5-2 lead in the fifth set, but Penn State used a 4-1 run to tie the score at 6-6. Slay had two kills and a block during the run. McClendon pounded a kill to give the Lions a slim 7-6 lead and force Purdue to call a timeout. Two consecutive Purdue blocks by Jaclyn Hart and Arthurs put the Boilermakers back in front, 9-7. Penn State called a timeout and McClendon followed the break with a kill, but Purdue notched the next four points for a 13-8 lead. Brown pounded back-to-back kills to bring the Lions within three, 13-10, but a Purdue kill and a PSU error secured the fifth set win for the Boilermakers, 15-11. The Boilermakers hit .238 in the fifth set and held Penn State to .040 hitting.
What's Next?
Penn State is back in action on Saturday, Oct. 9 at Indiana at 7 p.m. The Nittany Lions return home to host Minnesota and Iowa on Oct. 15-16.
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.