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Nov. 5, 2015
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- No. 1 Penn State (22-2, 11-2) rallied from behind to top Maryland (12-15, 2-11) in four sets (21-25, 25-17, 25-12, 25-22) on the road at the XFINITY Center Thursday evening.
Redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney and sophomore Haleigh Washington led the offense with double digit kills. Whitney matched a career-high mark with 18 kills on .600 hitting, adding four blocks. Washington posted 12 kills on .526 hitting, while also leading the team with seven total blocks, including two solo stuffs.
Senior Megan Courtney finished third on the team with eight kills, while sophomore Ali Frantti posted seven. Courtney also tallied six digs while Frantti finished second on the team with eight.
The Nittany Lions owned an 11.0-5.0 advantage in the blocking category, led by at least four blocks from four different players. Sophomore Simone Lee finished second on the team with a career-high five blocks, in addition to four kills and three digs.
Redshirt freshman Bryanna Weiskircher paced the team to a .343 hitting efficiency, dishing out 41 assists to go along with a team-high 11 digs and four blocks for her ninth double-double of the season. Weiskircher also led the squad from the end line, matching a career-high mark with four aces.
Penn State and Maryland traded points throughout the first half of the opening set to keep the match close. With the score tied up, 15-15, a Maryland kill and a Nittany Lion attack error brought the Terrapins ahead by two, 17-15. Whitney looked to spark some momentum with a kill, 17-16, but the Terps answered with a 4-2 stretch to jump ahead by three, 21-18, prompting PSU to call a timeout.
Washington came out of the break with a kill, 21-19, but Maryland followed with a kill prior to a Nittany Lion attack error to pull ahead, 23-19. Penn State called its final timeout and came out of the huddle with a kill and an ace to trim the margin to two, 23-21. A Nittany Lion service error followed by a Terrapin ace gave Maryland a 25-21 win in the first set.
With the score knotted, 6-6, in the second frame, Whitney and Frantti opened up a 5-0 run with back-t-back kills to break open the tied frame, lifting Penn State ahead, 11-6. The Terps looked to cut off the run with a kill, 11-7, but a kill from Frantti and a Maryland error sent PSU ahead, 13-7, causing the Terps to call a timeout.
Penn State came out of the break firing, using a 5-3 stretch capped off by a trio of kills from Washington, Frantti and Courtney to send PSU surging ahead, 18-10. Maryland continued to chip away at the Nittany Lion advantage, using a 5-3 streak to arrive within six, 21-15. Penn State called a timeout and came out of the break with a 3-0 spurt featuring an ace from senior Lara Caraway to make it set point, 24-15.
The Terps managed to hold off two attempts before Courtney closed out a 251-7 win in the second set with a kill.
Penn State shot out to an 8-2 advantage in the third set, causing the Terps to call an early timeout. The Nittany Lions continued to roll out of the break, following with a 7-2 run to send the advantage into double figures, 15-4, prompting Maryland to use its second timeout. The Terrapins looked to get back on track with a block, 15-5, but PSU answered with a 9-5 streak to arrive at set point, 24-10. Maryland held off two attempts before Weiskircher secured a 25-12 win in the third set with a kill.
Trailing by two in the fourth set, 11-9, a Maryland service error and a kill from Whitney tied the frame, 11-11. Penn State and Maryland continued to trade points to keep the score locked up. With the stanza tied, 13-13, a Nittany Lion block followed by a kill from Washington pulled Penn State ahead, 15-13, prompting the Terps to call a timeout.
Penn State and Maryland traded service errors out of the break, 16-14, before the Terrapins used a 4-1 strike to take over a one-point lead, 18-17. The Nittany Lions called a timeout and used a 3-0 spurt out of the break to take back the advantage, 20-18. The Terps cut the lead back to one with a kill, 20-19, but an error and an ace from Weiskircher gave Penn State a three-point cushion, 22-19.
Maryland came rallying back with a kill and two consecutive blocks to tie the score, 22-22, forcing the Nittany Lions to call another timeout. Whitney came out of the break with a kill and block, along with Lee, to make it set point for Penn State, 24-22. Whitney and Lee teamed up once again for another block to finish off a 25-22 win in the fourth set to secure a 3-1 win in the match.
Penn State returns to action tomorrow night, traveling to Rutgers for another Big Ten conference matchup Friday, Nov. 6. First serve between the Nittany Lions and the Scarlet Knights is set for 7 p.m. at College Avenue Gymnasium.