Aug. 31, 2012
Final Stats
Photo Gallery
Big Four Tournament Central
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The fourth-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team (4-0) defeated No. 9 Stanford, 3-2 (25-13, 25-27, 25-23, 23-25, 15-13) Friday night in front of more than 5,000 fans packed into Rec Hall. Penn State faces No. 2 Texas on Saturday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m.
Penn State improved to 7-7 all-time against the Cardinal (2-2). It was the Nittany Lions' first win against Stanford since the 2008 NCAA National Championship.
Junior Ariel Scott (Ridgewood, N.J.) led the Lions with 26 kills. Junior Deja McClendon (Louisville, Ky.) posted 16, while junior Katie Slay (Raleigh, N.C.) had 10. Sophomore setter Micha Hancock (Edmond, Okla.) posted 53 assists, had a match-high three aces and a career-high 23 digs. Sophomore Dominique Gonzalez (San Antonio, Texas) was second on the team with 22 digs, while McClendon posted 11 and sophomore Lacey Fuller (San Diego, Calif.) had 10. Slay led the team in blocks with six, and McClendon, Hancock and sophomore Nia Grant (Warren, Ohio) added four blocks apiece.
Penn State hit .231 against the Cardinal and totaled 74 kills, five aces, 99 digs and 12.5 team blocks. Stanford recorded a .173 hitting percentage with 60 kills, four aces, 100 digs and 10.0 team blocks.
The Nittany Lions dominated the first set. After a 4-0 start, the Nittany Lions' had a 9-4 advantage when Stanford called its first timeout. Despite a Cardinal kill, a 4-1 run by Penn State had the Lions leading by seven, 13-6. Stanford used its second timeout and Penn State's lead grew to eight before a 4-0 Cardinal run had Stanford trailing by only four, 16-12. Penn State called a timeout and closed out the set with a 9-1 run for a 25-13 victory. Scott had three kills in the final run, while Stanford notched four errors to aid Penn State.
Stanford grabbed a 4-0 lead to start the second set, and despite an attack error, the Stanford lead grew to six, 7-1, to force the Nittany Lions to call a timeout. Penn State closed the gap to four, 8-4, with kills from Slay and Scott and a Gonzalez ace. However, Stanford's Brittany Howard sparked a 5-0 run with a kill for a 13-4 lead. Penn State used its second timeout and slowly began a comeback. Trailing by nine, 19-10, freshman Megan Courtney (Dayton, Ohio) pounded a kill to begin an 11-1 run, which put Penn State into the lead, 21-20. Stanford called two timeouts during the run, but Penn State failed to slow down. The teams traded points as the set came to a close with the lead changing hands three times. Stanford had a 25-24 lead when Scott put down a kill to knot the score at 25-25. Stanford's Morgan Boukather put Stanford at set point with a kill before a PSU error secured set two for the Cardinal, 27-25.
The third frame was close from the start with neither team able to develop a lead greater than two points. More than halfway through the set, kills from McClendon and Grant moved Penn State ahead by two, 18-16. After a Stanford timeout, a PSU error and a kill from Boukather had the score tied at 18-18. McClendon put the Lions on top, 19-18, but Stanford scored another point to make it 19-all. A Cardinal service error and a Scott kill had the Lions back ahead by two, 21-19, and Stanford back on the bench. Two straight PSU errors had the score tied at 21-21 and Penn State calling a timeout. Two straight PSU kills had Penn State ahead, 23-21. Slay pounded a kill to move the Lions into set point position before a Cardinal error gave Penn State a 25-23 third set win.
Despite a close start in the fourth set, midway through the stanza Stanford was leading by five, 15-10. An ace and a block increased Stanford's lead to seven, 17-10, and had Penn State taking a timeout. Penn State fought to within five, 18-13, but an error and a Stanford kill had the Lions trailing by seven, 20-13, once again. Penn State used its second timeout and pounded three kills to come within four, 21-17. Stanford called a timeout, but Penn State wouldn't go away. Kills from Grant, Scott, Slay and Courtney had the Lions within one, 24-23. Stanford used its final timeout and pounded a kill to take a 25-23 victory and tie the match at 2-2.
The lead changed hands three times at the start of the fifth and final set before back-to-back Stanford errors had the Lions with an 8-6 lead. After a third error and a Hancock kill that gave Penn State a four-point lead, 10-6, Stanford headed to the bench. A Scott kill and a Hancock ace had Penn State ahead, 13-6, before a 5-0 run by the Cardinal had Stanford trailing by only one, 13-12. An attack error gave put Penn State at match point, 14-12, but a Boukather kill delayed the conclusion. Penn State called a timeout and Courtney sealed the deal with a kill for a 15-13 Penn State win.
For more information on the Penn State women's volleyball team, please visit GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State women's volleyball 2012 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets.
Penn State women's volleyball is on Twitter. Follow @PennStateVBALL. The Nittany Lions are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstatewomensvolleyball.