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Nov. 29, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 4 Penn State women's volleyball (30-3, 18-2) closed out the regular season with a straight set victory (25-21, 25-15, 25-16) against No. 10 Nebraska (20-9, 14-6) on senior night Saturday evening at Rec Hall.
The victory marks the 14th consecutive win for the Nittany Lions, as Penn State has earned its last 13 straight by way of a 3-0 decision. PSU has also won its last 41 consecutive sets. The 30-3 regular season record also marks the 27th season the Nittany Lions have earned at least 30 wins.
Freshman Ali Frantti led the offense with a match-high 17 kills on .536 hitting, adding five digs and one solo stuff. Junior Megan Courtney followed close behind with eight kills, while also tallying nine digs and two blocks.
Freshman Haleigh Washington had six kills and a match-high four blocks, while senior Nia Grant totaled five kills.
After opening the match with back-to-back aces, senior Micha Hancock led the team from the endline with four aces. Dishing out 33 assists, she also tallied eight digs, three blocks and two kills.
Penn State shot out to an 8-0 start in set one led by four aces from Hancock. The Huskers halted the momentum with a 7-2 streak to trim the gap to three, 10-7. A Nebraska attack error gave the Nittany Lions an opportunity to spark a run, but the Huskers followed with two kills and a block to move within one, 11-10.
PSU regrouped with a 4-0 strike to rebuild the advantage to five, 15-10 heading into the media timeout. The Huskers came out of the break with three straight to keep within two, 15-13, but Penn State answered back with a trio of kills to pull ahead by four, 18-14. Nebraska continued to chip away at the advantage, using a 6-3 stretch to cut the lead back to one, 21-20.
The Nittany Lions rallied down the stretch as a kill from Washington and an ace from freshman Lainy Pierce sparked a 4-1 run that carried Penn State to a 25-21 win in the first set.
Trailing by two early in set two, 3-1, Penn State got back on track with a 7-1 stretch, extending the lead to four, 8-4. Nebraska fought back with a 3-2 spurt to remain within three, 10-7, but the Nittany Lions scored the next four straight led by three kills from Frantti to double the advantage, 14-7. The Huskers cut off the streak with a kill, 14-8, but PSU continued to roll, using a 5-2 run to bolster the lead to nine, 19-10.
Nebraska looked to regroup with a kill and a block in between a kill from Washington, 20-12, but Penn State held off the attempt with a 4-1 streak to arrive at set point, 24-14. A PSU attack error thwarted the first attempt, before a Husker attack error handed the Nittany Lions a 25-15 win and a 2-0 lead heading into the intermission.
The Nittany Lions got out to a hot start in set three, using an 8-3 run for an early advantage. Penn State and Nebraska continued to trade points, 13-8, until the Huskers surged within two, 15-13, following a 5-2 streak. Penn State came charging back with an 8-2 run to pull ahead by as many eight, 23-15.
A PSU attack error interrupted the momentum, but Hancock and Washington responded with a block to bring the Nittany Lions to match point, 23-16. One more kill from Grant closed out a 25-16 win to complete the sweep.
Next up, the Nittany Lions will await seeding in the 2014 NCAA DI Women's Volleyball National Championship. The selection show is set for Sunday, Nov. 30, 2014 at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU.