Nov. 8, 2014

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 6 Penn State women's volleyball (24-3, 12-2) topped Maryland (9-16, 2-12) in straight sets (25-11, 25-18, 25-15) Saturday evening in Rec Hall. The victory extends the Nittany Lion winning streak to eight consecutive matches, with the last seven straight by way of a 3-0 decision.

A trio of double-digit performers led the Nittany Lion offense. Freshman Ali Frantti led the group with 13 kills, adding three digs, one block and one ace. Redshirt junior Aiyana Whitney and freshman Haleigh Washington rounded out the trio with 10 kills each. In addition to Washington's team-high .769 hitting clip, she also totaled five blocks.

Senior Nia Grant logged six kills on nine errorless swings, while also tying for second on the team with five blocks.

Senior Micha Hancock paced the team to a .474 hitting percentage, dishing out 38 assists. She also notched two aces, six digs and led the squad with seven blocks, matching a season-high mark. Senior Dominique Gonzalez contributed to the defensive effort, tallying 12 digs.

"Maryland tested us in number of areas," head coach Russ Rose said. "I thought a couple of the girls played really well under the pressure of those tests and a couple of the girls were a little subpar in their performance," Rose added. "Anytime you can have a great crowd and good energy in the building and the young kids play well, you should feel pleased about that."

Penn State opened the match on a 6-1 run to take control of an early advantage. Maryland battled back on a 4-3 stretch to keep within four, 9-5, but the Nittany Lions followed with six unanswered points to push the lead into double digits, 15-5.

Maryland used a 3-2 spurt to narrow the gap, 18-9, but Grant and Whitney sparked a 5-1 streak to widen the advantage to 12, 23-10. The Terrapins made one final attempt to get back on track with a kill, but a kill from Washington followed by a block by Hancock and Washington secured set one, 25-11.

Trailing by one in set two, 5-4, Washington and Hancock paired up for a block to open up a 5-0 run that put the Nittany Lions on top, 9-5. UMD cut off the momentum with a kill, 9-6, but PSU followed with a 4-1 streak to remain on top, 13-8. Maryland battled back with three straight to arrive within two, 13-11.

PSU responded with a block and a kill to extend the lead to four, 15-11, but couldn't sustain the momentum as the Terrapins used a 5-2 run to move within one, 17-16. Regrouping, Penn State fired back with a 5-0 streak to build the lead to six, 22-16. A PSU service error broke up the stretch, but a Maryland service error and a kill from Frantti lifted the Nittany Lions to set point, 24-17. The Terps held off one attempt with a kill, 24-18, but Frantti put down one final kill to lock up set two, 25-18.

The Nittany Lions came out of the intermission on a 7-2 run featuring two aces from Hancock. Maryland answered back with a 3-2 burst to jump within four, 9-5. Penn State responded with a 5-2 run to double the advantage, 14-7, forcing the Terrapins to call a timeout. Maryland came out of the break with a block and a kill to trim the gap to four, 14-10, but PSU answered with the next four consecutive points capped off by an ace from Grant to go up by as many eight, 18-10.

Maryland fought back with a 3-1 strike to move within seven, 19-13, but the Nittany Lions surged to match point with the next five consecutive points, 24-13. The Terps made one final attempt to mount a comeback, holding off two attempts with back-to-back blocks. Washington thwarted the attempt with a kill to wrap up a 25-15 win in set three to complete the sweep.

Next up, Penn State wraps up its four-match home streak with a pair of Big Ten conference matchups. The Nittany Lions welcome Iowa for a midweek contest Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. before hosting Minnesota Saturday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall.