| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sept. 19, 2015
TAMPA, Fla. -- Led by a pair of double-digit hitters, No. 1 Penn State (11-0) captured the USF Invitational title with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-6, 25-18) win against South Florida (2-9) Saturday evening at the Sun Dome.
With the victory, Penn State extends its winning streak to 31 consecutive matches dating back to Oct. 17, 2014. In addition to posting an 11-0 mark in non-conference matches this season, the Nittany Lions have also won their last 38 consecutive sets.
Redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney and sophomore Haleigh Washington powered the offense with double figure kills. Whitney led the team with a season-high 15 kills on .481 hitting, adding three blocks. Washington finished second on the team with 10 kills on a team-high .750 hitting clip.
Redshirt freshman Bryanna Weiskircher recorded her first career double-double, dishing out 32 assists to go along with a team-high 15 digs. Weiskircher also paced the team to a .409 team hitting efficiency.
Washington earned USF Invitational MVP honors while Weiskircher and Whitney earned All-Tournament team honors.
Freshman libero Keeton Holcomb finished second on the team with 10 digs, marking her fourth double-digit dig performance in the last five matches.
Sophomore Heidi Thelen led the blocking unit with five blocks, while senior Megan Courtney finished second on the team with four blocks, including three solo stuffs. Courtney and Thelen also logged five kills apiece.
Penn State and South Florida kept the score close early in the opening frame. With USF within one, 6-5, Frantti opened a 4-0 run with a pair of kills to give PSU a five-point lead, 10-5. Thelen and Washington rounded out the other end of the 4-0 scoring streak with a pair of kills, with Washington's kill falling just inside after she kicked the ball over the net.
The Bulls looked to get back on track with a kill, 10-6, but Penn State answered with a 7-5 stretch to go up by as many as six, 17-11. South Florida called a timeout looking to break up the momentum, but
Washington came out of the break with three consecutive kills to make it 19-11. South Florida halted the rhythm with a pair of blocks, 19-13, but Penn State battled back with a 4-2 stretch to maintain an eight-point lead, 23-15.
South Florida made one more attempt to mount a comeback with a two straight kills, 23-17, but Whitney put away a kill to make it set point, 24-17. The Bulls held off two attempts before Whitney secured a 25-19 win in the first set with her sixth kill of the frame.
The Nittany Lions shot out to an 8-2 lead in the second set, helped out by three kills from Whitney. The Bulls looked to break up the rhythm with a timeout, but two kills from Whitney and one from Thelen sparked a 6-0 run that vaulted Penn State ahead by as many 12, 14-2.
From there, PSU did not look back, closing out the second set on an 11-4 run to finish off a 25-6 win in the second set to enter the locker room with a 2-0 lead in the match.
Trailing by two early in the first set, 3-1, a kill from Whitney and three straight USF errors pulled Penn State ahead by two, 5-3. The Bulls moved within one with a kill, 5-4, but Courtney put down two consecutive kills to open up a 7-4 run, moving the Nittany Lions ahead 12-8. Lee came off the bench with three kills in the scoring streak.
The Bulls looked to halt the run with a kill, 12-9, but a pair of USF errors and a kill from Whitney lifted PSU ahead by as many as six, 15-9. South Florida called a timeout and came out of the break with a kill, 15-10, but Penn State responded with a 4-1 strike to widen the advantage to seven, 18-11, causing the Bulls to take their final timeout of the frame.
Penn State came out of the huddle with a 4-2 stretch to remain on top by seven points, 22-13. The Bulls battled back with four unanswered points to make it 22-17. A kill from Whitney and a USF error made it match point, 24-17. South Florida held off one attempt before Thelen wrapped up a 25-18 win in the third set to complete the sweep.
Penn State returns home next week to open the Big Ten conference slate in Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions welcome Wisconsin for a midweek matchup Wednesday, Sept. 23, before closing out the weekend with Minnesota Saturday, Sept. 26. Penn State's match against the Badgers will broadcast live on the Big Ten Network with Mike Wolf and Liz Tortorello-Nelson on the call.