Oct. 30, 2015
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 3 Penn State women's (21-2, 10-2) defeated No. 11 Ohio State (19-5, 8-4) in four sets (25-15, 25-16, 19-25, 25-14) Friday evening at Rec Hall to close out the series against the Buckeyes with a 2-0 mark.
Redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney and sophomore Haleigh Washington powered the offense with 13 kills each. Whitney logged a .550 hitting efficiency, while also leading the team with four total blocks. Washington posted a .445 hitting clip with four digs and a pair of blocks.
Senior Megan Courtney and sophomore Simone Lee finished tied for second on the team with nine kills apiece. Courtney finished second on the team with 10 digs, while Lee finished second on the squad with three blocks, including two solo stuffs.
Freshman libero Keeton Holcomb led the team with a match-high 12 digs. Sophomore Ali Frantti chipped in seven kills and six digs, while senior Kendall Pierce had eight digs.
Redshirt freshman Bryanna Weiskircher paced the team to a .364 hitting percentage, dishing out 42 assists to go along with five kills on six errorless swings, six digs and two aces.
Penn State out-blocked the Buckeyes once again, 9.0-6.0, highlighted by six solo stuffs from four different Nittany Lions.
Tied up at 6-6 early in the first set, back-to-back kills from Washington sparked a 4-0 streak that pulled Penn State ahead, 10-6. The Buckeyes called a timeout and looked for an opportunity after a Nittany Lion service ace made it 10-7. Penn State answered with a 6-2 run, capped off by three consecutive kills from Courtney to widen the margin to seven, 16-9, causing the Buckeyes to use their final timeout of the frame.
Ohio State came out of the break with four unanswered points to shave the advantage back to three, 16-13. A kill from Frantti and a pair of OSU errors brought the Nittany Lions up, 19-13. The Buckeyes made another attempt to get back on track with a kill, 19-14, but Penn State thwarted the attempt with a 6-1 run to secure a 25-15 win in the opening frame. Washington powered the streak with a pair of kills.
Penn State shot out to a 10-5 advantage in the second set, to take control of a five-point lead. PSU managed to maintain the lead, 11-6, until a Buckeye kill trimmed it back to four, 11-7. Penn State responded with a 4-1 strike to bolster the lead to as many as seven, 15-8, prompting the Buckeyes to call a timeout.
Ohio State looked to regroup, using a 6-4 stretch to narrow the Nittany Lion advantage to five, 19-14. A solo stuff from Washington quickly sparked a 5-1 run that lifted Penn State to set point, 24-15. The Buckeyes held off one attempt before a kill from Whitney closed out a 25-16 win in the second set to put Penn State up 2-0 at the intermission.
Penn State came out of the intermission with a 5-2 run to open the third set, capped off by three consecutive blocks, including solo stuffs from Frantti and Whitney. The Buckeyes came battling back with a 4-2 stretch to cut the lead to one, 7-6. Weiskircher looked to spark some momentum with a kill, 8-6, but OSU answered with two in a row to knot the score, 8-8.
The Nittany Lions and the Buckeyes continued to trade points to keep the score tied up a total of four times. With the score locked up, 13-13, Ohio State used a 3-0 spurt to take over a two-point lead, 15-13, prompting Penn State to call a timeout. The Buckeyes came out of the break with a 4-2 stretch to surge ahead by four, 19-15, causing Penn State to use its second timeout.
Ohio State came out of the huddle with a 5-2 streak to arrive at set point, 24-17. Penn State held off a pair of attempts before an OSU kill handed the Buckeyes a 25-19 win in the third set.
Penn State and Ohio State kept it close early in the fourth frame, 5-4, until Washington and Weiskircher opened up a 5-2 run with a pair of kills to send PSU ahead, 10-6. The Buckeyes continued to chip away at the advantage, fighting point-for-point to arrive within two, 14-12. Washington put down a kill to open up a 4-1 strike that lifted PSU ahead, 18-13, causing Ohio State to call a timeout.
The Buckeyes tried to regroup with a kill out of the break, 18-14, but Penn State followed with seven answered points to lock up a 25-14 win in the fourth set to secure a 3-1 win.
Penn State opens a four-match road swing next week, beginning with a trip to Maryland and Rutgers. The Nittany Lions travel to College Park to take on the Terps Thursday, Nov. 5, before heading to East Brunswick to take on the Scarlet Knights Friday, Nov. 6.