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Nov. 22, 2014
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - No. 4 Penn State women's volleyball (28-3, 16-2) powered past Maryland (9-20, 2-16) in straight sets (25-15, 25-18, 25-14) to earn its 12th consecutive victory on the road at the XFINITY Center Saturday evening.
The win marks the 11th consecutive straight set victory for the Nittany Lions, who have now won their last 35 consecutive sets.
Redshirt junior Aiyana Whitney fueled the offense with 11 kills, while freshman Ali Frantti followed close behind with nine kills on 15 errorless swings. Junior Megan Courtney added six kills on a team-high .750 hitting clip, while also tallying a squad-best nine digs. Freshman Haleigh Washington notched six kills on nine perfect swings, hitting .667 on the night.
Senior Micha Hancock paced the offense to a .421 hitting percentage as the Nittany Lions limited the Terps to .123 attacking. Hancock also led the team from the endline, matching a season-high mark with eight aces. Hancock's eight service aces marks the third time this year she's reached the mark.
Defensively, senior Nia Grant and Whitney led the way with four total blocks a piece. Senior Dominique Gonzalez logged eight digs.
Trailing by one early in the opening frame, 5-4, Washington sparked a 5-0 streak that lifted the Nittany Lions ahead by four, 9-5, prompting the Terps to call a timeout. Despite a Maryland error out of the break, 10-5, the Terps followed with a 4-2 stretch to narrow the gap to four, 14-10.
Whitney, Grant and Courtney halted the momentum with a triple block, but a Maryland kill and a PSU attack error kept the Terps within three, 15-12. Penn State regrouped with a 5-2 stretch to widen the margin to five, 20-14. UMD looked to break up the rhythm with a kill, 20-15, but the Nittany Lions closed out the frame on a 5-1 run to secure set one, 25-15.
Penn State shot out to a 9-3 advantage in set two to take control of an early lead. The Terps answered with six unanswered points to tie the frame, 9-9. The Nittany Lions stopped the streak with a kill, 10-9, but Maryland battled back with a 2-2 stretch to remain within one, 12-11. PSU rebounded with a 5-2 run to pull ahead by three, 17-14.
The Terps looked to mount a comeback with a kill, 17-15, but the Nittany Lions used 4-2 strike to build the advantage to four, 21-17, forcing Maryland to call a timeout. A PSU service error out of the break threatened to break up the rhythm, 21-18, but PSU wrapped up a 25-18 win in the second set with four consecutive points capped off by back-to-back aces from Hancock.
Leading by three in set three, 10-7, the Nittany Lions used a 6-0 run featuring two aces from Hancock to bolster the lead to nine, 16-7, causing the Terps to use their final timeout of the frame. The two teams traded service errors, 17-8, but Penn State followed with a 3-2 stretch to push the lead to double digits, 20-10.
A PSU service error trimmed the gap, 20-11, but the Nittany Lions surged ahead with a 5-3 stretch to secure a 25-14 win in set three to complete the sweep.
Penn State plays its final two matches of the regular season next week. The Nittany Lions open the week with a midweek matchup on the road at Northwestern Wednesday, Nov. 26, before returning home to host Nebraska in the season home finale Saturday, Nov. 29 at 8:30 p.m. on senior night.