Oct. 28, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The eighth-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team (16-5, 9-2 Big Ten) earned a 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-16, 25-20) win against Iowa Friday night at Rec Hall. Three Nittany Lions posted double-digit kills, while four recorded double-digit digs.
Penn State welcomes No. 1 Nebraska to Rec Hall on Saturday, Oct. 29 for an 8 p.m. match. It will be Nebraska's second visit to Rec Hall and first as a Big Ten conference member. The match airs live on the Big Ten Network. It is a Code Blue Blast event for all Penn State students with a valid student ID.
Sophomore Ariel Scott (Ridgewood, N.J.) led the Lions with a match-high 20 kills, while sophomore Maddie Martin (Tampa, Fla.) and Katie Slay (Raleigh, N.C.) had 10 kills apiece. Freshman Micha Hancock (Edmond, Okla.) dished out 47 assists and had a match-best four aces. Sophomore Ali Longo (Littleton, Colo.) had a team-best 18 digs, while Hancock totaled 16, Martin had 14 and sophomore Deja McClendon (Louisville, Ky.) had 12. Slay led the team at the net with six total blocks, while freshman Nia Grant (Warren, Ohio) posted five, including three solo.
Penn State hit .242 against the Hawkeyes (11-13, 1-10 Big Ten), while totaling 58 kills, nine aces, 81 digs and 11.0 total team blocks. Iowa hit .191 and had 50 kills, five aces, 78 digs and 6.0 team blocks.
Iowa took control in the first set grabbing a 4-1 lead. The Nittany Lions trailed until a 4-0 run put them narrowly in the lead, 11-10. The Hawkeyes pounded a kill to knot the score at 11-11 and the score tied four more times before a joint stuff by Martin and Grant and a Martin ace had Penn State up by two, 17-15. After an Iowa timeout, Penn State maintained the lead with a 3-1 run forcing a second Hawkeye timeout. The Lions' lead grew to five with back-to-back Hancock aces, but two PSU errors had the Hawkeyes back within three, 23-20. After a Penn State timeout, kills from Martin and Scott secured set one for PSU, 25-23.
The Hawkeyes started off set two much like the first with a 4-1 lead. The Nittany Lions failed to recover and trailed for the entirety of the set. Midway through the frame the Lions were within three, 13-10, but Iowa had a five-point advantage as the set began to wind down, 20-15. Iowa's lead grew to five, 23-17, three kills and an ace. Penn State used a timeout, but couldn't slow the Hawkeyes who capitalized on two PSU errors for a 25-18 win.
The Nittany Lions leapt out to a 6-0 lead in the third frame forcing an early Iowa timeout. The Hawkeyes closed the game to four, 9-1, but kills from Grant and Hancock and a solo stuff by Grant had PSU leading, 12-5. Iowa burned its second timeout, but the Nittany Lion lead grew to 10, 16-6, with the help of two Grant aces. A 4-1 Iowa run had the Hawkeyes within seven, but two straight errors moved Penn State up by nine, 19-10. The teams went back and forth for the remainder of the set with Iowa coming no closer than eight points. Penn State won set three, 25-16, for a 2-1 lead in the match.
The fourth and final stanza started out close. It took a 4-1 Penn State run for the Lions to develop a slim three-point lead, 11-8. Iowa called a timeout and eventually fought to tie it up at 15-15. The score would tie four times before kills from Martin and McClendon gave Penn State a two-point edge, 21-19. Iowa called a second timeout, but it was too little, too late, as a Longo ace and two Scott kills earned the Lions a 25-20 fourth set victory.
For more information on the Penn State women's volleyball team, please visit GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State women's volleyball 2011 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets.