Sept. 20, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 3 Penn State women's volleyball (12-1) captured the Penn State Alumni Classic title with a straight set victory (25-11, 25-17, 25-10) against East Carolina (6-2) Saturday evening in Rec Hall.
Freshman Ali Frantti and junior Megan Courtney led the offense with 10 kills each. Freshman Haleigh Washington, senior Nia Grant and redshirt junior Aiyana Whitney followed close behind with seven kills each.
Senior Micha Hancock guided the Nittany Lion offense to a .466 team hitting percentage, dishing out 33 assists to go along with four digs, two blocks and a season-high eight aces.
Leading the team with standout offense and defensive performances throughout the weekend, Whitney earned Penn State Alumni Classic MVP honors, while senior Dominique Gonzalez joined her on the all-tournament team. Gonzalez added a team-high five digs in the win against the Pirates.
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Penn State shot out to a 12-1 lead one featuring four aces from Hancock. The Pirates slowed the momentum with a 2-1 burst, 13-3, but a kill from Grant and an ECU attack error kept the Nittany Lions on top, 15-3. East Carolina regrouped with a 4-2 stretch, shaving the lead back to 11, 18-7.
The Nittany Lions responded with a 6-1 streak, featuring two kills from Whitney, to arrive at set point, 24-9. The Pirates held off the attempt with a kill and a block, 24-11, but Hancock locked up a 25-11 win in the set with an ace.
PSU opened set two on a 7-2 streak for a comfortable cushion in set two. Holding on, the Pirates battled on a 3-2 stretch to remain within three, 9-6. Rebounding, Whitney, Frantti and Grant all sparked a 5-1 run with consecutive kills to double the Nittany Lion lead, 14-7. East Carolina pounded a kill to halt the attack, 14-8, but Penn State continued to surge, using a 7-2 run capped off by kills from Whitney and Grant go up by as many as 11, 21-10.
Attempting to mount a comeback, the Pirates used a 5-1 scoring streak to cut the lead back to seven, 22-15. A service error interrupted the rhythm, but ECU followed with a kill to keep the strike alive, 23-16. Frantti responded with a kill to make it set point, 24-17, but an East Carolina block held off the attempt. Washington followed with a kill to secure a 25-17 win in set two.
Penn State jumped out to a 6-2 lead in set three, helped out by a trio of ECU attack errors. The Nittany Lions followed a PSU service error with an ace to put an end to the run, 6-3, but Penn State answered with a 10-1 stretch capped off by an ace from sophomore Carley Muller to go up, 16-5. ECU attempted to get back on track with a 2-1 strike that narrowed the gap to 10, 17-7, but Penn State rolled to a 25-10 win in the third set on an 8-3 run to lock up the sweep.
With win number 1,137, head coach Russ Rose has once again surpassed current Hawaii head coach Dave Shoji for first place on the all-time DI NCAA wins list.
The Big Ten slate awaits the Nittany Lions next week as Penn State hits the road to open the conference portion of the schedule at No. 4 Wisconsin. PSU will square off against the Badgers in a rematch of the 2013 NCAA national finals Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m. ET in Madison, Wis. The midweek matchup will broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.