Oct. 28, 2015
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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Sophomore Ali Frantti guided No. 3 Penn State women's volleyball (20-2, 9-2) to a straight set victory (25-18, 25-15, 25-17) on the road at No. 11 Ohio State (19-4, 8-3) Wednesday evening at St. John Arena. The Nittany Lion win marks the 39th consecutive year that PSU has recorded at least 20 wins in a season.
Frantti led the offense with 14 kills on .417 hitting, while also adding two aces for a pair of season-high tallies. Frantti also totaled six digs and finished second on the team with five total blocks.
Redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney recorded nine kills on 16 swings without a single attack error for a career-high .562 hitting efficiency. Whitney also led the Nittany Lion blocking effort with seven total blocks, including one solo stuff.
Senior Megan Courtney tied for second on the team with nine kills, adding three blocks and two digs. Sophomore Haleigh Washington logged five kills on .333 hitting, while also posting four blocks.
The Nittany Lions owned an 11.0-5.0 advantage in the blocking margin, while also out-digging the Buckeyes 36-30.
Redshirt freshman Bryanna Weiskircher directed the offense to a.349 team hitting percentage, dishing out 35 assists to go along with a team-high 10 digs for a double-double.
Penn State raced out to an 8-1 start in the match, led by a pair of kills and two blocks from Whitney, helped out by Frantti and Courtney. The Buckeyes looked to get back on track with a kill, 8-2, but a kill from Whitney and two in a row from Courtney made it 11-2, causing Ohio State to use its second timeout.
The Nittany Lions came out of the break with back-to-back blocks from Washington and Frantti to stretch the advantage to 11, 13-2. The Buckeyes responded with a 6-3 stretch to trim the Nittany Lion lead to seven, 15-8.
Penn State looked to cut off the run with two kills from Washington, in between one from OSU to make it 17-9. The Buckeyes came battling back with a 7-2 scoring streak to narrow the Penn State margin to three, 19-16. Courtney quickly sparked a 5-2 run with a kill to lift Penn State to set point, 24-18. Frantti put away the final two kills in the opening frame to secure a 25-18 win in the first set.
Trailing by three in the second set, 8-5, three consecutive OSU errors and a pair of kills from Frantti lifted the Nittany Lions ahead, 10-8, prompting the Buckeyes to call a timeout. Ohio State used a 3-1 spurt out of the break to tie the score, 11-11, but a kill from Courtney gave Penn State the edge, 12-11.
The Buckeyes answered back with a kill to knot the frame again, 12-12, but two kills from Lee and one from Courtney widened the Nittany Lion advantage, 15-12. An Ohio State block brought the Buckeyes within two, 15-13, but Penn State responded with a 4-1 stretch capped off by kills from Whitney and Courtney to construct a five-point lead, 19-14.
Ohio State called another timeout and came out of the break with a kill, 19-15, but PSU followed with six unanswered points, featuring a trio of kills from Frantti to arrive at set point, 24-15. An Ohio State error on the next play handed Penn State a 25-15 win in the second set for a 2-0 lead in the match heading into the intermission.
With the frame tied up early, 4-4, in the third set, a kill from Frantti opened up a 5-0 scoring streak that sent PSU ahead 9-4, prompting the Buckeyes to call a timeout. Frantti also served up a pair of aces during the stretch. OSU looked to get back on track, coming out of the break with a kill to make it 9-5. Penn State responded with an 8-4 stretch capped off by a kill from Frantti and an ace from sophomore Lainy Pierce to send PSU surging ahead 17-9.
The Buckeyes called their final timeout of the frame and came out of the huddle with three unanswered points to shave the deficit to five, 17-12. Washington broke up the strike with a kill, sparking a 5-3 run that bolstered the PSU advantage to as many as six, 22-15. The Buckeyes made one final attempt to mount a comeback, putting away two consecutive kills to cut the lead down to five, 22-17, causing Penn State to call a timeout.
Two Ohio State errors and a block from Frantti and Whitney closed out a 25-17 win in the third set to complete the sweep.
Penn State returns home to host the Buckeyes Friday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall. PSU will host Halloween night at Rec Hall Friday, with free candy at the door and a costume parade for children on the court during the intermission. Youth tickets are also buy-one-get-one free for kids ages 12 and younger who come to the match dressed in costume.