Oct. 5, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The eighth-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team (11-4, 4-1) earned a hard-fought 3-2 (25-19, 22-25, 25-18, 13-25, 15-11) victory against Northwestern on Wednesday night. The Nittany Lions have now won 68 consecutive conference matches at home in Rec Hall.
Sophomore Deja McClendon (Louisville, Ky.) was one of three players who tallied double-digit kills with a team-best 16. Sophomore Ariel Scott (Ridgewood, N.J.) put down 13 and sophomore Katie Slay (Raleigh, N.C.) posted 10. Freshman Micha Hancock (Edmond, Okla.) dished out 43 assists and had seven kills and four aces. Sophomore Ali Longo (Littleton, Colo.) led the team with 18 digs, while Scott and sophomore Maddie Martin (Tampa, Fla.) recorded 13 and 11, respectively. Slay led the team at the net with eight total blocks.
Penn State hit .229 against the Wildcats (10-5, 1-4) and totaled 59 kills, four aces, 74 digs and 11.0 total team blocks. Northwestern hit .180 for the match with 52 kills, 10 aces, 61 digs and 9.0 team blocks.
The first set was close from the start but near the midpoint of the set, a 3-0 Lion run had Penn State up by three, 12-9. The Wildcats kept it close, trailing by no more than three for much of the remainder of the set. With a 20-18 edge, the Nittany Lions used a 4-0 run with kills from McClendon and Slay to move into set point position, 24-18. The Wildcats managed one final point courtesy of a PSU error before Hancock pounded a kill for a 25-19 first set win.
The Nittany Lions leapt out to an 8-2 lead to start off set two. However, an 8-0 Northwestern run had the Wildcats on top, 10-8. Penn State kept it close and managed to regain the lead, 15-13, after a kill from freshman Nia Grant (Warren, Ohio) and a NU error. Northwestern didn't give up and managed to tie it up at 18-18. A Wildcat kill and a PSU error pushed Northwestern back into the lead, 20-18. Despite a Penn State timeout, Northwestern held onto enough momentum to take a 23-22 lead. Hannah Crippen notched an ace and Stephanie Holthus put down a kill for a 25-22 win.
Penn State rallied back in set three for a convincing 25-18 win for a 2-1 lead in the match. The Nittany Lions took a convincing 7-3 lead to start the set and never relinquished control to the Wildcats. Northwestern called its first timeout with Penn State leading 11-5, but a 7-3 Penn State run saw the Lions with a double-digit lead, 18-8. Northwestern headed to the bench a second time and slowed the Lions enough to close the gap to seven, 24-17. The Lions called a timeout and despite an attack error, the Nittany Lions claimed set three, 25-18.
The fourth set was all Northwestern as they grabbed a 10-6 lead after four PSU errors. Despite a Hancock kill, a 10-2 Wildcat run had the Lions trailing by 11, 20-9. The Wildcats continued on a roll as the Nittany Lions tallied just four more points before Holthus closed out the fourth for 25-13 win, tying the match at two sets apiece.
The Nittany Lions wasted no time in the fifth and final frame taking a 4-0 lead to force a Wildcat timeout. Penn State continued to dominate as two NU errors and three Scott kills helped PSU move ahead to a 9-3 advantage. After a second Wildcat timeout, momentum shifted slightly allowing Northwestern to come within three, 12-9. Penn State called a timeout and Slay tallied a kill to increase the lead to four, 13-9. Back-to-back Northwestern kills had the Wildcats within two, 13-11, but a McClendon putdown and a joint stuff by Scott and Grant closed out the set for a 15-11 win.
Penn State is back in action on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 8 p.m. vs. top-ranked Illinois. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling 1-800-NITTANY or at the Rec Hall ticket office prior to the match.
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.