Nov. 17, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The seventh-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team defeated Ohio State (20-10, 8-9 Big Ten), 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-21), Wednesday evening in a midweek matchup. The Nittany Lions home-match winning streak now stands at 89 consecutive matches.
Senior Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) led Penn State with 19 kills on 29 attempts with only one error for a match-high .621 attack percentage. Brown was also second on the team with 11 digs. Sophomore Kristin Carpenter (Mechanicsville, Va.) dished out 39 assists, while senior libero Alyssa D'Errico (Byron, N.Y.) had a match-high 15 digs and two aces. Senior Fatima Balza (Merida, Venezuela) led the Nittany Lions at the net with six total blocks.
Penn State (24-4, 14-3 Big Ten) registered a .356 attack percentage and held the Buckeyes to .149. The Nittany Lions totaled 46 kills, six aces, 48 digs and 8.0 total team blocks. The Buckeyes finished the match with 28 kills, 28 digs and 7.0 team blocks.
The Lions took a 6-2 lead to start the match The Buckeyes grabbed two points on a PSU error and a kill by Kelli Barhorst, but two straight OSU errors had Penn State with an 8-4 lead. After an early Buckeye timeout, Penn State's lead grew to six on a kill by Brown and a D'Errico ace. Ohio State fought to within three, 12-9. Senior Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) put down a kill for Penn State to make it 13-9, but Anna Szerszen answered with a kill of her own. A 3-0 Penn State run pushed the Lions ahead by six, 16-10, and sent the Buckeyes back to the drawing board. Ohio State managed to come within five of Penn State, but a solo stuff and a kill by Wilson had Penn State leading by seven, 21-14. The Buckeyes managed two final points before Penn State closed out the set on a 3-0 run for a 25-16 win.
Penn State wasted not time in the second set taking a 7-3 lead. Three kills by freshman Deja McClendon (Louisville, Ky.), one from Balza and an OSU attack error had Penn State leading by six, 12-6, when the Buckeyes called their first timeout. Following the timeout, the Nittany Lions held on to at least a five-point lead until an ace and a kill by Wilson had PSU up by seven, 17-10. The Buckeyes called a second timeout, but failed to slow the Lions. Penn State closed out the second set with an 8-3 run for a convincing 25-14 victory. Brown and Balza each had two kills in the run, while Brown and D'Errico recorded one ace apiece.
The Nittany Lions took a 4-1 lead to start the third and final set, but soon after a 3-0 run by the Buckeyes had the Buckeyes in front, 8-7. An OSU service error knotted the score at 8-8, but Penn State followed it up with one of their own to give the Buckeyes back the lead, 9-8. Two Brown kills sandwiching one by OSU's Amanda Peterson and an Ohio State error put the Lions back in front, 11-10. However, it took another kill by Brown and an OSU attack error to give Penn State the lead for good at 13-12. Penn State maintained a slim two-point edge until a 3-1 Nittany Lion run had the gap at four, 20-16. Ohio State called a timeout and the lead grew to five, 21-16, before a 3-0 Buckeye run had OSU within two, 21-19. Penn State called a timeout and Brown followed it up with a kill to send Ohio State back to the bench. The Buckeyes answered with a kill and a block to be within one of tying the set, 22-21, but two consecutive Penn State kills had the Nittany Lions in set point position, 24-21. An OSU attack error closed out the set in Nittany Lion favor, 25-21.
What's Next?
Penn State closes out its home slate on Friday, Nov. 19 against No. 25 Northwestern at 7 p.m. This year's senior class will be honored prior to the match with the Wildcats.
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.