Oct. 31, 2014

COLUMBUS, Ohio - No. 6 Penn State women's volleyball (22-3,10-2) swept past No. 17 Ohio State (16-8, 7-5) in straight sets (25-13, 25-16, 25-18) Saturday evening at St. John Arena to close out a home-and-home series against the Buckeyes with a 2-0 mark. The Nittany Lion win also marked Penn State's 19th straight set victory of the season.

Freshman Ali Frantti fueled the offense with 14 kills on .448 hitting, adding five blocks, three digs and two aces. Freshman Haleigh Washington put down eight kills on .429 hitting, while also leading the blocking effort with a career-high nine blocks. Senior Nia Grant and redshirt junior Aiyana Whitney recorded seven kills each to finish tied for third on the squad in the category.

Senior Micha Hancock paced the team to a.321 hitting clip, dishing out 32 assists to go along with four digs and three blocks.

The PSU defense limited the Buckeyes to a .065 team hitting percentage. Senior Dominique Gonzalez led the defensive effort with double-digit digs notching a match-high 15 digs. Senior Lacey Fuller followed close behind with seven digs.

Penn State jumped out to a 4-1 lead capped off by consecutive aces from Frantti. The Buckeyes quickly regrouped with a 4-1 streak to tie the frame, 5-5, but two costly errors pulled PSU back on top, 7-5. Ohio State looked to get back on top with a kill, 7-6, but Courtney sparked a 6-2 stretch that lifted the Nittany Lions ahead by as many as five, 13-8, forcing OSU to call a timeout.

A PSU service error and an Ohio State ace trimmed the gap to three, 13-10, but Penn State continued to match the Buckeyes point-for-point to maintain a three-point cushion, 16-13. From there, the Nittany Lions did not look back, using a 9-0 streak featuring three blocks and a kill from Washington to secure a 25-13 win in the first set. Down 5-4 early in set two, Washington put down back-to-back kills to push Penn State ahead by one, 6-5. The Nittany Lions continued the momentum, following with a 5-1 strike featuring two kills and a block from Frantti to widen the advantage to five, 11-6, causing the Buckeyes to call a timeout.

After an ace from Gonzalez, 12-6, Ohio State looked to cut off the streak with a 3-1 spurt, 13-10, but a net violation and a kill from Whitney brought Penn State back up by five, 15-10. OSU made another attempt to get back on track with a kill, 15-11, but a 3-1 PSU stretch kept Penn State up by six, 18-12. The Buckeyes came out of their final timeout of the stanza with another kill, 18-13, but a block by Washington and Courtney and a kill from Frantti made it 20-13.

The Buckeyes made one final attempt to get back on track with a kill, 20-14, but PSU closed out the frame on a 5-2 run capped off by three consecutive kills from Grant and Whitney to take set two, 25-16.

Penn State came out of the intermission on a 6-2 run to take control of an early lead. Ohio State responded with a 3-0 strike to arrive within one, 6-5, but a service error and a block by Washington and Hancock kept the Nittany Lions up, 8-5. An Ohio State kill and a PSU error brought the Buckeyes back within one, 8-7, before Washington sparked a 5-1 run with a kill and a block to make it 13-8.

Ohio State looked to rally with a 3-1 streak, arriving within three, 14-11, but a trio of OSU errors kept the Nittany Lions ahead, 17-12. Penn State quickly regrouped with a 4-1 run to push the lead into double digits, 22-12. Rallying, the Buckeyes came battling back with a 4-1 strike to cut the advantage to seven, 23-16.

Washington halted the run with a kill to make it match point, 24-16. Ohio State made one final attempt to mount a comeback with a kill and a block, 24-18, but Frantti sealed a 25-18 win in the third set with a kill to complete the sweep.

Next up, Penn State returns home from the road to open a four-match homestand beginning with a pair of matchups against the Big Ten conference newcomers. The Nittany Lions welcome Rutgers Friday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. before hosting Maryland Saturday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall.