Sept. 28, 2012
MADISON, Wis. - No. 1 Penn State women's volleyball (13-1, 3-0 Big Ten) earned a convincing 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-7) win against Wisconsin (13-3, 1-2 Big Ten) on Friday evening. Junior Deja McClendon (Louisville, Ky.) eclipsed the 1,000 career kills milestone and now has 1,012 for her career.
McClendon led all players with 14 kills, while junior Ariel Scott (Ridgewood, N.J.) posted 12 and sophomore Nia Grant (Warren, Ohio) had 11. Sophomore Micha Hancock (Edmond, Okla.) dished out 46 assists and had a team-high three aces and four kills. Sophomore Dominique Gonzalez (San Antonio, Texas) and McClendon each recorded 16 digs and freshman Megan Courtney (Dayton, Ohio) had 15. Junior Katie Slay (Raleigh, N.C.) led Penn State with four blocks.
The Nittany Lions hit .370 against the Badgers and totaled 54 kills, five aces, 56 digs and 8.0 total team blocks. The Badgers hit .135 and posted 28 kills, no aces, 37 digs and 8.5 team blocks.
The Nittany Lions grabbed a 6-2 lead to start the match. Penn State had a three-point lead near the midpoint of the set, 12-9, but Wisconsin closed the gap to one, 14-13. A kill by Scott sparked a 6-1 run giving Penn State a 20-14 advantage. The Badgers fought to within three, 22-19. However, that was the closest the Badgers would come as two errors and a block by Slay and Courtney closed out set one for PSU, 25-19.
The teams went back and forth in the second set before Wisconsin took a two-point lead, 6-4. Kills from Scott and McClendon knotted the score at 6-6 and Penn State finally took the lead, 8-7, after a solo stuff by Slay. The score tied twice more before a Hancock kill and a Carpenter ace put Penn State on top, 10-9. Soon after a 4-0 PSU run had Penn State leading 15-11 and Wisconsin taking a timeout. Penn State's lead grew to seven, 19-12, thanks to a Scott kill and a block and a kill from Grant. The Badgers worked to within three, 23-20, thanks to a 3-0 run, but Hancock pounded a kill to put the Nittany Lions at set point, 24-20. The Badgers put down one final kill before McClendon secured set two for Penn State with a kill, 25-21.
Penn State leapt out to a 7-2 lead to send Wisconsin to the bench for a timeout. Penn State's run continued increasing its lead to nine, 11-2, when the Badgers used a second timeout. The Badgers ended the lengthy PSU run with a block, but a kill by Courtney put the Lions back ahead by nine, 12-3. The Badgers pounded a kill, but Penn State answered with a 5-0 run for a 17-4 advantage. The Nittany Lions allowed the Badgers only three additional points as Penn State closed out the match on an 8-3 run for a 25-7 win.
Penn State is back in action on Saturday, Sept. 29 at No. 10 Minnesota. Action is set for 8 p.m. ET.
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.
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