Sept. 14, 2013
Final Stats (PDF) I Final Stats (HTML)
FORT MYERS, Fla. - The No. 3 Penn State women's volleyball team (5-1) recorded its fifth 3-0 straight-set victory of the season with a 25-20, 25-22, 25-10 win against Central Arkansas (7-2) on Saturday morning in the Hilton Garden Inn Homewood Suites Classic.
Sophomore Megan Courtney led the PSU offense with 10 kills, while also tallying five blocks. Senior Ariel Scott followed closely behind with eight kills, adding one dig and an ace. Senior Katie Slay notched a team-best eight total blocks, including two solo blocks.
Penn State opened the match on an 8-3 streak, helped out by kills from Courtney and McClendon and aces from Hancock and Gonzalez. Following a kill from UCA's Heather Schnars, the Sugar Bears capitalized on two PSU attacking errors to come within two, 8-6. The Nittany Lions answered back with a 3-1 spurt, capped off with a service ace from Grant to make it, 11-7, but Central Arkansas managed to remain within range.
With the set knotted at 12-12, Penn State used a 6-1 run to move ahead by five, 18-13. After a kill from Courtney and two more Central Arkansas attacking errors, 23-16, the Nittany Lions looked to close out the set. The Sugar Bears answered back with 4-1 run to jump within four, 24-20. Prieto Cerame halted the streak with a solo stuff to seal the opening set, 25-20 in favor of the Nittany Lions.
PSU got out to a hot start in the second set, using a 7-1 run to claim an early advantage. Penn State continued to build on the momentum until UCA stormed back within three, 10-7, following three straight points. Later in the frame, Penn State used a 4-0 streak, featuring two kills from McClendon to take five-point advantage, 19-14.
The Lions couldn't quite shake the Sugar Bears as Central Arkansas chipped away at the PSU lead, tying the game at 21-all following a 5-0 spurt. Penn State answered back with a 4-1 stretch to close out the second set with a 25-22 victory.
The Nittany Lions came out firing in the third set, using a 14-1 advantage for an early double-digit lead, helped out by two kills each from Scott and Slay and two aces from Hancock. Central Arkansas was unable to stop the offensive momentum, as Penn State continued to dominate at the net, taking an eventual 25-10 victory in the final frame for a win in straight sets.
The Nittany Lions are back in action tonight, taking on tournament host Florida Gulf Coast University at 7 p.m. in Alico Arena. The 2013 Penn State women's volleyball season is presented by Rockvale Outlets.