Nov. 12, 2014

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 6 Penn State women's volleyball (25-3, 13-2) stretched its winning streak to nine consecutive matches with a straight set (25-14, 25-12, 25-21) win against Iowa (13-13, 5-10) Wednesday evening at Rec Hall.

In addition to eight straight sweeps, the Nittany Lions have now won the last 26 consecutive sets since dropping a pair on the road in a close five-set victory on the road at then-No. 14 Purdue October 17.

Redshirt junior Aiyana Whitney powered the PSU offense with a match-high 16 kills on .714 hitting. Senior Nia Grant and freshman Haleigh Washington rounded out a trio of double-digit hitters with 11 and 12 kills, respectively. Grant matched a career-high mark with a .846 hitting clip, while also leading the offense with a match-high six blocks.

Freshman Ali Frantti finished close behind with nine kills, while also tallying one ace, two digs and two blocks, including one solo stuff.

Senior Dominique Gonzalez anchored the defense with 10 digs, while senior Lacey Fuller finished second on the squad with eight.

Senior Micha Hancock paced the team to a .457 hitting percentage, passing out 41 assists to go along with three kills, three blocks and two digs.

Tied up early, 5-5, Penn State used a 3-0 spurt featuring a pair of kills from Washington to take over a three-point lead, 8-5. The Hawkeyes battled back with a 3-0 run to keep the frame knotted, 8-8. Regrouping, Frantti sparked a 5-0 streak that pushed the Nittany Lion lead into double-digit, 18-8, forcing Iowa to call a timeout.

The Nittany Lions came out of the break firing, widening the scoring streak to a 13-0 run with another eight consecutive points. Iowa looked to get back on track with a 4-2 stretch, 23-12, but Whitney put down a kill to make it match point, 24-12. Two Penn State attack errors thwarted the attempt before Washington secured a 25-14 win in the opening set with a kill.

Penn State opened set two on a 5-1 run to take control of an early advantage. The Hawkeyes came charging back with a 4-1 strike to arrive within one, 6-5. The Nittany Lions quickly answered with a 4-1 streak featuring kills from Hancock, Frantti and Washington to move back up by four, 10-6. Iowa cut off the momentum with a block, 10-7, but PSU rallied back with a 9-2 streak to bolster the advantage to 10, 19-9.

The Hawkeyes made one final attempt to mount a comeback with a kill, 19-10, but PSU cruised to set point, 24-12, on a 5-2 stretch capped off by kills from Washington and Frantti. An Iowa attack error handed the Nittany Lions a 25-12 win in the second set for a 2-0 lead in the match.

Trailing by one in set three, 6-5, a kill from Washington and an Iowa attack error lifted the Nittany Lions on top, 7-6. Iowa fought back with a 5-2 run to reclaim the lead, 11-9. Penn State responded with a 4-0 stretch that put PSU on top by two, 13-11, causing the Hawkeyes to call a timeout.

Iowa came rallying back with a 5-2 streak to reclaim the advantage, 16-15, prompting the Nittany Lions to call a timeout. Washington came out of the break with a kill to even the score, 16-16, but the Hawkeyes followed with another kill to remain on top, 17-16.

Settling into an offensive rhythm, the Nittany Lions answered with a 6-1 strike to move ahead by as many as four, 22-18. Making one final attempt to get back on track, the Hawkeyes used a 3-1 spurt to trim the margin to two, 23-21. A block from Grant and Courtney and a kill from Washington secured set three 25-21, completing the sweep.

Next up, Penn State closes out its four-match home streak capping off the weekend with a match against Minnesota. First serve between the Nittany Lions and the Golden Gophers is set for 7 p.m. in Rec Hall.