Oct. 2, 2015
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. --
No. 1 Penn State (13-1, 2-1) fell short in five sets (25-12, 26-24, 14-25, 20-25, 11-15) to No. 4 Nebraska (12-1, 3-0) Friday evening at Rec Hall in front of its second consecutive 5,000-plus crowd.
A trio of Nittany Lions led the offense with double figure kills. Senior Megan Courtney led the way with 16 kills, adding 22 digs for her third consecutive, and sixth double-double of the season. Redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney finished second on the team with 14 kills on .333 hitting, while sophomore Haleigh Washington had 11 kills.
Four different Nittany Lions posted double digit digs, led by 23 from freshman libero Keeton Holcomb, marking her third 20-dig performance of the season. Sophomore Ali Frantti and redshirt freshman Bryanna Weiskircher logged 11 digs apiece. Weiskircher also passed out 46 assists for her second consecutive and third double-double of the season.
Five Nittany Lions led the blocking effort with multi-block performances. Courtney matched a career-high mark with eight total blocks, including three solo stuffs. Washington tallied a team-high nine total blocks, marking her third straight match with at least five blocks.
Penn State jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the first set capped off by a kill from Washington and a block by Courtney and Washington, causing the Huskers to call a timeout. Washington and Courtney came out of the break with another block to spark a 4-0 run that put the Nittany Lions in front by as many as nine, 11-2, forcing Nebraska to use its final timeout of the frame.
The Nittany Lions came out of the break with a 4-3 stretch to send Penn State ahead by as many as 11, 16-5. The Huskers looked to break up the run with a pair of blocks and a kill, 16-7, but PSU answered with another 4-2 strike to make it 20-9. Nebraska made another attempt to get back on track with a kill, 20-10, but a kill from sophomore Simone Lee and a pair of Husker attack errors brought Penn State ahead, 22-11. Washington followed with two consecutive kills to make it set point, 24-11. Nebraska held off one attempt before a serve error handed Penn State a 25-12 win in the first set.
Penn State and Nebraska opened the second set trading points to keep the score close. With the score knotted, 12-12, two kills from Nebraska and a PSU attack error pushed the Huskers on top, 15-13. A block from Washington and Courtney and a Nebraska attack error re-tied the stanza, prompting the Huskers to call a timeout.
The Nittany Lions and the Huskers traded points out of the break to keep the score tied up. Tied at 17-17, kills from Weiskircher and Whitney lifted Penn State ahead, 19-17. A service error broke up the run, 19-18, but Frantti answered with a kill to give PSU a two-point cushion, 20-18. Nebraska came storming back with back-to-back kills to knot the frame once again, 20-20.
Penn State called a timeout and used a 3-0 spurt out of the break to go up 23-20. A Husker kill and a Nittany Lion attack error brought Nebraska within one, 23-22, but a kill from Whitney lifted PSU to set point, 24-22. The Huskers held off two attempts to tie the score, 24-24, but a service error and block from Washington and Courtney capped off a 26-24 win in the second set to send Penn State up 2-0 in the match.
The Huskers came out of the intermission firing, using an 8-3 run in the third set to build an early advantage. Penn State called timeout looking to break up the momentum, but Nebraska followed with a 5-2 stretch to pull ahead by as many as eight, 13-5. Regrouping, Penn State answered with a 5-3 strike to shave the deficit down to six, 16-10, causing Nebraska to call a timeout.
Two PSU attack errors out of the break broke up the streak, but Frantti looked to put Penn State back on track with a kill, 18-11. Nebraska responded with a 6-3 scoring streak to arrive at set point, before posting up for a block to take set three, 25-14.
Much like the third frame, Penn State and Nebraska battled back and forth in the fourth set. With the score tied, 11-11, the Huskers used a 4-1 run to take control of the lead, 15-12, heading into the media timeout. Nebraska used a 3-1 strike out of the break to double the advantage, 18-14, causing Penn State to call a timeout. Penn State managed to trim the gap to three, 20-16, but the Huskers held off the Nittany Lions with a 4-2 run to arrive at set point, 24-18.
A kill from Whitney and a Husker attack error pulled Penn State within four, 24-20, but a Nebraska kill gave the Huskers a 25-20 win in the fourth set to even the match, 2-2, heading into the decisive fifth set. Both teams traded points early in the fifth frame to keep the score locked up.
Tied at 7-7, a pair of Husker kills brought Nebraska ahead, 9-7, prompting Penn State to call a timeout. The Huskers came out of the break with a block and a kill in between an error to make it 11-8, prompting Penn State to use its final timeout. Sophomore Simone Lee looked to spark some momentum with a kill, 11-9, but Nebraska halted the attempt with a 3-1 spurt to arrive at match point, 14-10. Courtney held off the attempt with a kill, but another Husker kill gave Nebraska a 15-11 win in the fifth set to end the match.
Penn State returns to action tomorrow evening, hosting Iowa on Dig Pink night at Rec Hall. First serve between the Nittany Lions and the Hawkeyes is set for 7 p.m. Fans attending the match will receive pink shakers and are also encouraged to wear pink to the match.
Pink Penn State Volleyball shirts will also be available for purchase. Additionally, the Nittany Lions will host a silent auction featuring Penn State volleyball game-worn pink warmup t-shirts. Proceeds from the auction will go directly toward Penn State's Dig Pink profile, benefiting The Side-Out Foundation.