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Sept. 12, 2015
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Top-ranked Penn State (8-0) captured the Golden Dome Invitational crown with a straight set (25-17, 25-19, 25-16) win against Notre Dame (4-5) Saturday evening at Purcell Pavilion.
The Nittany Lion victory extends the Penn State winning streak to 28 consecutive matches, dating back to its first win in the stretch on Oct. 17, 2014.
Senior Megan Courtney and sophomore Ali Frantti fueled the offense with a team-high 14 kills apiece. Courtney added 15 digs and four blocks for her third double-double of the season.
Freshman libero Keeton Holcomb logged her second consecutive 20-dig performance, leading the team with 20 digs. Sophomore Haleigh Washington led the blocking unit with five total blocks.
Redshirt freshman Bryanna Weiskircher paced the team to a .320 hitting percentage, dishing out 40 assists to go along with six digs and two blocks.
Penn State and Notre Dame traded points early in the match to keep it close. Tied at 11-11, Washington sparked a 3-0 spurt that lifted the Nittany Lions ahead by as many as three, 14-11, prompting Notre Dame to call a timeout. Courtney came out of the break with a kill to make it 15-11, before a service error cut off the streak.
The Irish followed with a service error, but regrouped with a kill to trim the margin to three, 16-13. Pulling ahead, Frantti sparked a 4-2 stretch that widened the Nittany Lion advantage to five, 20-15, causing Notre Dame to call its final timeout of the frame.
Notre Dame came out of the break with a kill, 20-16, but Courtney answered with three consecutive kills to send PSU ahead, 23-16. An Irish error on the next play set the Nittany Lions up for set point, 24-16. A Penn State service error held off the attempt before Whitney, Washington and Courtney teamed up for a triple block to secure a 25-17 win in the first set.
The Nittany Lions jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the second set, causing the Irish to call an early timeout. Notre Dame came out of the break with a kill, 8-4, but served long to keep PSU ahead by five, 9-4. Penn State continued to roll with back-to-back blocks from Washington and Weiskircher, widening the advantage to seven, 11-4.
Notre Dame came battling back with a 5-2 streak to arrive within three, 13-9. A kill from Frantti and an ace from Washington brought Penn State back up by six, 15-9, prompting the Irish to call their final timeout of the set. Notre Dame came out of the timeout with a 3-0 burst to shave the PSU lead back to three, 15-12. A block from Thelen and a kill from Courtney made it 17-12, but a
Notre Dame kill moved the Irish within four, 17-13. From there, Penn State managed to maintain at least a five-point lead, 22-16, until a pair of Irish kills put
Notre Dame back within four, 22-18, prompting PSU to call a timeout. A kill from Frantti and a Notre Dame attack error out of the break set Penn State up for set point, 24-18. The Irish held off one attempt before serving into the net to hand PSU a 25-19 win in the second set.
Penn State and Notre Dame kept it tight early in the third set. With the score knotted, 11-11, a pair of Irish attack errors gave the Nittany Lions a two-point edge, 13-11. Courtney continued the momentum with a kill to make it 14-11, causing the Irish to call a timeout. Penn State used a 3-1 strike capped off by kills from Courtney and Frantti to go up 17-12, prompting the Irish to call another timeout. The Notre Dame timeout didn't slow down the Nittany Lions, as Penn State used an 8-4 run out of the break to cruise to a 25-16 win in the third set to complete the sweep.
Penn State remains on the road next week, traveling to Tampa, Fla. for the South Florida Invitational. The Nittany Lions take on Auburn Friday, Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. before meeting St. John's and South Florida Saturday, Sept. 19 at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively.