Oct. 28, 2014
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| Rec Hall | University Park, Pa. | |
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 6 Penn State women's volleyball (21-3, 9-2) recorded its 18th straight set victory of the season with a dominant 3-0 win (25-15, 25-22, 25-12) against No. 17 Ohio State (16-7, 7-4) Tuesday evening at Rec Hall.
Senior Micha Hancock paced the offense to a .372 hitting percentage, tallying five kills on seven errorless swings to go along with four digs and a season-high seven blocks.
With 31 assists, Hancock eclipsed the 5,000 career assists mark, making her the sixth Nittany Lion in program history to reach the milestone. With 5, 010 all-time assists, she is the first to accomplish the feat since Alisha Glass (2006-09).
Six different Nittany Lions recorded at least three kills in the win, led by freshman Ali Frantti, junior Megan Courtney and redshirt junior Aiyana Whitney, who all led the team with eight kills apiece.
Freshman Haleigh Washington finished second on the team with seven kills on .462 hitting, while also finishing tied for first on the team with seven blocks, including a trio of solo stuffs.
Senior Nia Grant also recorded a multi-block performance, putting up five blocks, while also serving up a pair of aces.
Penn State opened the match on a 5-3 run before the Buckeyes put down a kill to arrive within one, 5-4. Three consecutive OSU errors and a block by Washington and Hancock quickly bolstered the lead to five, 9-4, forcing the Buckeyes to call a timeout. Ohio State looked to halt the momentum with a kill, 9-5, but Washington and Frantti connected on back-to-back kills to make it 11-5.
The Buckeyes responded with a 4-2 stretch to narrow the gap the four, 13-9, but Grant sparked a 5-1 streak with a kill to lift the Nittany Lions ahead by as many as eight, 18-10, causing OSU to use its final timeout of the frame. Ohio State looked to regroup with a 3-2 stretch, 20-13, but Penn State continued to surge, using a 5-2 streak to arrive at set point, 24-15. An ace from Grant closed out a 25-15 win in the first set.
Trailing by five, 6-2, in set two, Penn State used a 3-1 spurt to trim the deficit to three, 8-5. Despite trading kills with the Buckeyes for the next few points, the Nittany Lions continued to trail by as many as four, 11-7. Looking to get back on track, PSU put together another 3-1 strike to move within tow, 12-10, but an OSU kill kept the Buckeyes on top, 13-10.
A Nittany Lion attack error cut off the momentum, 14-11, but Penn State rallied back with a 4-1 run to tie the frame, 15-15. The two teams continued to fight point-for-point, knotting the score two more times before a kill from Frantti and an ace from freshman Lainy Pierce broke open a 17-all tie, lifting Penn State ahead, 18-17.
Ohio State came storming back with three unanswered points to take over a two-point advantage, 20-18. The Nittany Lions matched the effort with a 3-0 strike to jump ahead, 21-20, forcing OSU to call a timeout. Ohio State came out of the break with a kill to tie the stanza, 21-all, but a Buckeye service error and a block from Washington and Hancock gave the Nittany Lions a 23-21 edge.
The Buckeyes made one final attempt to mount a comeback with a kill to move within one, 23-22, but a block and a kill from Washington sealed a 25-22 win in the second set to give the Nittany Lions a 2-0 lead in the match.
Down by one early in the third set, 2-1, Penn State used a 5-0 run capped off by back-to-back aces from Frantti to take over a four-point lead, 6-3. A service error interrupted the streak, but Penn State regrouped with five more unanswered points to charge ahead by eight, 11-3. The Buckeyes put an end to the run with a kill, but Penn State continued to power ahead, constructing a 6-2 run to push the advantage into double digits, 18-6.
Ohio State attempted to get back on track with a kill and a PSU attack error, but Penn State used a 4-2 stretch to keep the lead in double digits, 22-10. The Buckeyes fired two more kills in between one from Washington to make it 23-12, but another kill from Washington made it match point, 24-12. An OSU attack error handed the Nittany Lions a 25-12 win in the third set to complete the sweep.
Next up, Penn State wraps up the week on the road, traveling out to Columbus, Ohio to face the Buckeyes in another conference tilt. PSU and OSU square off Friday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. ET.