Sept. 21, 2013
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior Ariel Scott led the No. 1 Penn State women's volleyball team (9-1) to the Penn State Classic title with a season-high 13 kills in a 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-6) victory against Yale (6-2) on Saturday night in Rec Hall.
Seniors Deja McClendon and Katie Slay earned Penn State Classic All-Tournament team honors for their performances this weekend, along with junior Dominique Gonzalez.
Along with a team-high 13 kills, on .550 hitting, Scott also posted two blocks. Sophomore Megan Courtney also hit double-digits for the Nittany Lions, registering 11 kills, two assists, five digs and four blocks, including one solo block.
McClendon followed closely behind with nine kills, two assists, an ace and seven digs. Junior Nia Grant also recorded a season-high mark with eight kills for a team-best .636 hitting clip.
Gonzalez recorded another top defensive performance this evening, posting a squad-best 16 digs. She combined for a team-high 44 digs across all three matches this weekend.
Penn State claimed a 6-2 advantage early in the opening set, helped out by a stretch of four consecutive kills from Scott and Slay, with two from Courtney. The Bulldogs managed to stay in the hunt for the lead, trimming the advantage back to two, 9-7, after kills from McHaney Carter and Jesse Ebner.
The Nittany Lions held off a Bulldog advance with an 8-2 run, led by three more kills from Slay and two from Scott to move ahead by eight, 17-9. Capitalizing on a PSU serving error and three straight attacking errors, the Bulldogs climbed back within three, 17-14.
The Lions called a timeout to regroup and came out of the break firing, delivering yet another 8-2 streak to capture a 25-16 win in the first set. Courtney led the team in the opening frame with six kills on nine errorless swings.
Both teams kept it tight in the beginning portion of the second set. With Yale within three, 7-4, PSU pulled ahead with four straight points, 10-5, forcing the Bulldogs to call time. Yale came out of the break solid and continued to chip away at the Penn State advantage, fighting within two, 12-10, after pounding a pair of kills.
Regaining momentum, PSU responded with a 12-2 stretch to put Gonzalez at the line for set-point, 24-12, after Courtney capped off the run with a kill. Yale made one last attempt to stay in the game, using four kills and PSU attacking error to make it 24-17, but redshirt sophomore Aiyana Whitney connected on a kill to close out the set, 25-17.
Up by two in the match, the Nittany Lions got out to a hot start in the third set, using an 11-1 run to construct an early advantage. Maya Midzik managed to send over a kill for the Bulldogs, but Penn State continued to power on, delivering seven straight points, bolstering the lead to 18-2.
Following a PSU attacking error, the Nittany Lions gave up just four more points to the Bulldogs, while tallying seven to secure the win with a 25-6 victory in the final frame.
Penn State remains home next weekend, kicking off the 2013 Big Ten slate with a match against No. 14 Michigan State at 7 p.m., Friday, Sept. 27. The Nittany Lions then host No. 10 Michigan at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 28. The 2013 Penn State women's volleyball season is presented by Rockvale Outlets.