Oct. 9, 2010
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The fourth-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team (13-4, 3-3 Big Ten) suffered a 3-1 (19-25, 25-27, 25-28, 24-26) setback to Indiana Saturday night.
This was Indiana's first win against Penn State in the series history. Penn State holds a 40-1 record against the Hoosiers dating back to 1982.
Senior Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) led the Nittany Lions with 16 kills, while freshman Deja McClendon (Louisville, Ky.) posted 14 and senior Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) tallied 15. Sophomore setter Kristin Carpenter (Mechanicsville, Va.) dished out 50 assists and led the team with 13 digs. Wilson posted a match-high seven blocks against the Hoosiers.
The Nittany Lions registered a .313 attack percentage, while the Hoosiers only hit .254. Penn State finished the night with 61 kills, one ace, 45 digs and 12.0 total team blocks. Indiana registered 53 kills, seven aces, 46 digs and 9.0 team blocks.
The Hoosiers opened the match taking a 3-0 lead on two kills by Jordan Haverly and an ace. Freshman Katie Slay (Raleigh, N.C.) put the Lions on the board with a kill, but Indiana used a 7-3 run for a 10-4 advantage. Penn State fought to within two, 11-9, but by midway through the frame Indiana had a 15-11 lead after two Hoosier kills and two PSU errors. The Hoosiers held on to at least a three-point edge until three Brown kills and one from junior Katie Kabbes (Raleigh, N.C.) had the Nittany Lions within one of tying the set, 19-18. Back-to-back Indiana kills had the Hoosiers ahead by three, 21-18, and Penn State calling a timeout. Indiana posted three straight points to be in set-point position, 24-18. McClendon pounded a kill for Penn State, but Penn State service error secured the set for the Hoosiers, 25-19. Penn State hit .286 in set one, while the Hoosiers hit .314. Brown led the Nittany Lions with six kills.
Indiana took the lead early in the second stanza, albeit slim. The Nittany Lions stayed within two until a 4-1 run by the Hoosiers had IU leading by four, 10-6. However, two Indiana errors and two McClendon kills had the score knotted at 10-10 and the Hoosiers taking a timeout. Indiana scored four of the next five points after the timeout for a 14-11 advantage forcing Penn State to call timeout. Brown followed the break with a kill, but the Hoosiers were soon up by five, 18-13, have a kill and a block by Haverly. Indiana held onto the lead until a Brown kill, a joint stuff by Slay and Carpenter and an IU attack error had the score tied at 21-21. After an Indiana timeout, the score tied twice more before a huge block by Carpenter and Wilson gave Penn State a slim 24-23 lead. Two consecutive Haverly kills put Indiana back in front, 25-24, and sent Penn State to the bench. A Wilson kill tied the score once again, but a Haverly kill and an IU ace closed out set two for the Hoosiers, 27-25. Indiana registered a .355 hitting percentage, while Penn State hit .297. McClendon led Penn State with seven kills.
The third set started out close with the score tying six times before a 5-0 run by the Hoosiers had Indiana ahead by five, 11-6. A 3-0 run by Penn State had the Nittany Lions with two, 11-9. It wasn't until a kill by senior Fatima Balza (Merida, Venezuela), two IU errors and a joint block by Wilson and Carpenter that Penn State took the lead, 16-14. An Indiana timeout failed to faze the Lions as their lead grew to four, 20-16 on two IU errors and a kill by freshman Maddie Martin (Tampa, Fla.). The Nittany Lions allowed the Hoosiers just two additional points before claiming set three, 25-18. Carpenter and Wilson each had a kill in the final push, while the Hoosiers aided the Nittany Lions with two errors. Penn State hit a blistering .522 and held the Hoosiers to a marginal .071 hitting.
The Nittany Lions took a 3-1 lead to begin the fourth set, but the Hoosiers used a 5-2 run to jump ahead, 6-5. The Hoosiers held on to the lead until two Wilson kills allowed Penn State to tie the set at 10-10. The score tied four times before two PSU errors pushed IU ahead by two, 16-14. Two Penn State kills and a block by Balza and Brown had the score tied once again at 18-18, but Indiana pushed back out in front with a solo block and an ace. After a Penn State timeout, another Penn State error increased the gap to three, 21-18, but a Martin putdown and a Hoosier attack error had PSU within one, 21-20. Penn State came back to tie it up at 23-23 and moved into set-point position on a Wilson kill. Indiana called a timeout and it was just enough to slow the Nittany Lions. An IU block, a PSU error and one final Haverly kill gave Indiana a 26-25 fourth set victory.
What's Next?
Nittany Lions return home to host Minnesota and Iowa on Oct. 15-16. Penn State's match with Minnesota will air on ESPN2 via tape-delay on Sunday, Oct. 17 at 1 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.