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TAMPA, Fla. -- Three Nittany Lions recorded double figure kills as top-ranked Penn State women's volleyball (9-0) powered past Auburn (7-3) in straight sets (25-11, 25-16, 25-19) Friday evening in the first match of the USF Invitational.
The victory stretches the Penn State winning streak to 29 consecutive matches, dating back to Oct. 20, 2014.
Sophomore Haleigh Washington led a trio of double digit hitters with a team-high 11 kills on 13 perfect swings, adding one ace, two digs and three blocks, including two solo stuffs.
Redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney and senior Megan Courtney finished tied for second on the team with 10 kills each. Whitney added three blocks, while Courtney totaled four digs.
Sophomore Ali Frantti chipped in seven kills, finishing second on the team with six digs. Redshirt freshman Bryanna Weiskircher paced the team to a .444 hitting percentage, dishing out 36 assists to go along with three digs and one ace.
Freshman libero Keeton Holcomb logged her third consecutive double digit dig performance with a match-high 17 digs.
Penn State jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first set before a USF kill and a Nittany Lion blocking error drew the Tigers within one, 4-3. Penn State answered back with an 8-1 run to surge ahead by as many as six, 11-5, prompting Auburn to call a timeout.
Frantti looked to continue the momentum with a kill, but a Nittany Lion service error interrupted the rhythm, 12-6. The Tigers looked to regroup with a kill, 12-7, but Courtney sparked a 5-2 stretch that lifted the Nittany Lions ahead by eight, 17-9, causing Auburn to call its final timeout of the frame.
Penn State continued to roll out of the break, closing out the set on an 8-2 run, capped off by a clutch overpass kill from Washington to secure a 25-11 win in the first set.
The Nittany Lions shot out to an 8-2 lead in the second set, helped out by a pair of kills from Whitney. The Tigers called an early timeout looking to slow the momentum, but Washington came out of the break with a kill to bolster the advantage to seven, 9-2. Auburn looked to halt the run with a kill, 9-3, but PSU responded with a 5-4 stretch to double the lead, 14-7.
The Tigers came battling back with back-to-back kills to pull within five, 14-9, prompting Penn State to call a timeout. Whitney came out of the huddle with a kill, 15-9, but two consecutive kills from Auburn and a PSU attack error trimmed the gap to three, 15-12.
Rallying, Courtney, Whitney and Washington put away three consecutive kills to build the Nittany Lion advantage back to six, 18-12, causing Auburn to call a timeout. Courtney came out of the break with a kill, but Auburn follow with another kill to make it 19-13.
From there, Penn State did not look back as Washington opened up a 5-2 run that vaulted the Nittany Lions to set point, 24-15. The Tigers held off one attempt with a block, but an Auburn service error on the next attempt handed Penn State a 25-16 win in the second set.
Penn State shot out to a 6-1 advantage in the third set, causing Auburn to call another early timeout. The Tigers came out of the timeout with a kill, but could not sustain the moment as PSU responded with a 4-2 strike to construct a six-point cushion, 10-4.
The Tigers made another attempt to get back on track with a kill, 10-5, but Penn State answered with a 7-5 stretch capped off by consecutive kills from Whitney, Courtney and Weiskircher to widen the advantage to seven, 17-10.
Looking to cut off the run, Auburn called a timeout and came out of the break with a 4-1 strike to shave the PSU lead back to four, 18-14. The two teams traded service errors before a kill from Weiskircher brought Penn State back up by five, 20-15. Auburn followed with a kill to move back within four, 20-16, but the Nittany Lions followed with a 5-3 strike to close out a 25-19 win in the third set to complete the sweep.
Penn State returns to action Saturday, Sept. 19, closing out the USF Invitational with two matches at the Sun Dome. The Nittany Lions take on St. John's at 1 p.m. before squaring off against tournament host South Florida at 7 p.m.