Oct. 17, 2014
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| Holloway Gym | West Lafayette, Ind. | |
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Behind a trio of double-digit hitting performances, No. 7 Penn State women's volleyball (17-3, 5-2) outlasted No. 14 Purdue (16-3, 6-1) in five sets (26-24,23-25,22-25,25-23,15-9) on the road Friday evening in Holloway Gym to hand the Boilermakers their first Big Ten conference loss of the season.
Redshirt junior Aiyana Whitney led the offense with a career-high 18 kills, adding two digs and three blocks. Freshman Ali Frantti followed close behind with 16 kills, adding seven digs. Senior Nia Grant rounded out the group with 12 kills on a team-high .429 hitting percentage, while also tallying two aces, two digs and three blocks.
Senior Micha Hancock logged a stellar performance from the service line, registering a match-high six aces. Hancock also notched a double-double with 58 assists and 10 digs.
Five Nittany Lions recorded at least three blocks in the win, led by freshman Haleigh Washington who matched a career-high mark with eight blocks. Junior Megan Courtney finished second on the team with five blocks, while also tallying 14 digs. Senior Dominique Gonzalez aided in the defensive effort with a team-high 16 digs.
Penn State shot out to a 4-1 lead in set one, capped off by back-to-back aces from Hancock, forcing the Boilermakers to call an early timeout. Purdue came out of the break with a 3-1 spurt to narrow the gap to one, 5-4. Whitney cut off the streak off the streak with a kill, 6-4, but the two teams continued to trade points, tying the frame four more times.
Knotted at 9-9 in opening frame, Purdue scored three straight to pull ahead by three, 12-9, causing the Nittany Lions to call a timeout. The Boilermakers came out of the break with a kill, but Washington responded with a kill to spark a 4-1 PSU strike that lifted the Nittany Lions within one, 14-13. Purdue followed with a kill and a block to move back up by three, 16-13, before Penn State put together a 3-0 stretch to tie the score, 16-16.
Purdue put down a kill to take the lead, 17-16, but Whitney pounded back-to-back kills to give the Nittany Lions the edge, 18-17, causing the Boilermakers to call a timeout. Purdue came storming out of the break with a trio of kills to reclaim the advantage, 20-18. Whitney quickly sparked a 3-0 streak that put PSU on top, 21-20, but Purdue answered with two kills to re-take the lead, 22-21.
Penn State regrouped with a 3-1 strike to arrive at set point, 24-23. The Boilermakers managed to hold off one attempt with a kill, but a kill from Frantti and an ace from Hancock secured a 26-24 win in the first set.
Trailing by three in set two, 5-2, Penn State rallied back with six unanswered points, capped off by a block from Washington and Courtney to take control of a three-point lead, 8-5. The Boilermakers answered with two kills to shave the lead back to one, 8-7, but a block from Hancock and Washington and a Purdue attack error kept the Nittany Lions on top, 9-8.
Both Penn State and Purdue battled back and forth for the remainder of the second stanza, tying the set 10 more times. Locked at 19-all, Grant fired a kill before pairing up with Washington for a block to pull the Nittany Lions ahead, 21-19. Unable to shake the Boilermakers, Purdue responded with three consecutive kills to go up by one, 22-21. Whitney looked to spark some momentum with a kill, 22-22, but Purdue used a 3-1 stretch to close out the second set with a 25-23 win, tying the match, 1-1.
The Boilermakers opened the third set on a 5-1 run, building an early lead. Frantti put an end to the streak with a kill, but Purdue followed with a 3-1 strike to go up by as many as five, 8-3, forcing Penn State to call a timeout. Penn State came out of the break with a 4-1 streak to trim the advantage to two, 9-7. The Boilermakers cut off the streak with a kill, but a service error kept the Nittany Lions within two, 10-8.
With Penn State unable to settle into an offensive rhythm, Purdue used a 7-3 run to construct a six-point lead, 17-11. Rebounding, Whitney sparked a 6-1 run that vaulted PSU within one, 18-17. The Boilermakers followed with a 4-2 stretch to remain on top, 22-19. Frantti looked to mount a comeback with a kill, 22-20, but an attacker error made it 23-20. A Purdue service error gave the Nittany Lions another opportunity, 23-21, but Boilermaker kill and a PSU error handed Purdue set three, 25-22.
Penn State and Purdue opened set four fighting point-for-point, until PSU cracked open a 5-all tie with a 6-2 run to move ahead by four, 11-7. PSU continued to maintain at least a two-point lead, 17-15, until Purdue used a 4-1 stretch to tie the frame, 18-18, causing the Nittany Lions to use a timeout. PSU came out of the break with a 3-1 strike to stretch the lead to two, 21-19, but a kill from Purdue put the Boilermakers back within one, 21-20. PSU used a kill a block to pull ahead by three, 23-20, before two consecutive Boilermaker kills erased the lead, 23-22.
Battling ahead, Whitney put down a kill to make it set point, 24-23, but the Boilermakers answered with a kill to hold off the attempt. Courtney quickly followed with a kill to secure set four, 25-23, forcing a fifth set.
Penn State jumped out to a 4-1 lead in set five led by two kills and an ace from Grant. Purdue narrowed the gap with short 2-1 burst, 5-3, but a service error gave the Nittany Lions a three-point cushion, 6-3. The Boilermakers looked to get back on track with a block, 6-4, but a kill from Washington and a Purdue error put PSU ahead, 8-4, at the crossover.
Two Penn State errors moved the Boilermakers within two, 8-6, following the break, but PSU answered with a 4-1 streak to bring the Nittany Lions up, 12-7. From there, PSU didn't look back, cruising to a 15-9 win in the fifth frame to secure a 3-2 win.
Penn State is back in action tomorrow night, traveling to Indiana to take on the Hoosiers. First serve between PSU and IU is set for 7 p.m. in University Gym.