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Dec. 11, 2015
DES MOINES, Iowa -- The 2015 Penn State women's volleyball season came to a close in the NCAA regional semifinals as the Nittany Lions (28-6) came up short in a 3-0 (22-25, 25-27, 16-25) loss to Hawaii (29-1) Friday evening at Wells Fargo Arena.
"I'm not disappointed in losing, we've had a season where we were not having this press conference," head coach Russ Rose said. "We have to keep our heads up. If another team beats you, then you give them the credit they deserve. Hawaii played terrific tonight."
Redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney led the offensive effort with 10 kills, while senior Megan Courtney and sophomore Haleigh Washington finished tied for second with nine kills each.
Senior Kendall Pierce posted a career-high 14 digs and two aces, while Courtney finished second on the team with nine.
Washington finished first on the team with a pair of blocks, while Courtney and sophomore Heidi Thelen added one each.
Sophomore Ali Frantti finished with seven kills and six digs, while also adding one block. Sophomore Simone Lee chipped in five kills to go along with one dig and one block.
Redshirt freshman Bryanna Weiskircher directed the offense to a .228 hitting percentage, dishing out 39 assists to go along with three digs and two kills.
Penn State and Hawaii opened the first set trading points to keep the score close. With the frame knotted, 8-8, back-to-back kills from Courtney and Whitney and a Hawaii attack error lifted the Nittany Lions ahead, 11-8. The Rainbow Wahine answered with a 5-1 run to take over a one-point lead, 13-12. P PSU and Hawaii continued to trade points until a U-H kill sent the Rainbow Wahine into the media timeout with a one-point lead, 15-14. Frantti came out of the break with a kill to tie the score, 15-15, but Hawaii responded with a 7-2 scoring streak to take over the lead, 22-17 prompting Penn State to call a timeout.
The Nittany Lions looked to get back on track with a 3-1 strike, 23-20, but a service error made it set point for Hawaii, 24-20. The Nittany Lions held off two attempts, arriving within two, 24-22, but a kill from the Rainbow Warriors ended set one, 25-22.
Hawaii moved out to a 6-3 lead in the second set before Washington cut off the streak with a kill, 6-4. The Rainbow Wahine answered back with a 4-2 stretch to move ahead by as many as four, 10-6, prompting Penn State to call a timeout. The Nittany Lions came out of the break firing, using two kills from Courtney and Frantti and an ace from Weiskircher to spark a 7-3 run to tie the score, 13-13.
Hawaii called a timeout and came out of the break with a 6-4 stretch to pull ahead with a two-point advantage, 19-17. Penn State rallied back with a 3-1 spurt to tie the score, 20-20. PSU and Hawaii battled through two more ties to keep the score locked up, 22-22, before a Rainbow Wahine kill gave Hawaii the edge, 23-22.
A kill from Washington and a Hawaii attack error quickly set the Nittany Lions up for set point, 24-23. Hawaii called timeout, but both teams came out of the break trading points to keep the score tied, 24-24. The Nittany Lions looked to close out the frame after a Hawaii attack error, 25-23, but the Rainbow Warriors scored four unanswered points to take set two, 27-25.
Hawaii came out of the intermission and opened set three with a 10-4 run, forcing Penn State to call an early timeout. The Rainbow Wahine continued to pull away out of the break, using a 6-3 run to move ahead 16-7. Penn State came rallying back with a 4-1 run sparked by back-to-back kills from Lee to trim the deficit to six, 17-11. The Nittany Lions could not sustain the momentum, as Hawaii answered with an 8-5 run to take set three, 25-16, and the match, 3-0.
A kill from Washington and a Hawaii attack error quickly set the Nittany Lions up for set point, 24-23. Hawaii called timeout, but both teams came out of the break trading points to keep the score tied, 24-24. The Nittany Lions looked to close out the frame after a Hawaii attack error, 25-23, but the Rainbow Warriors used a 3-0 run to take set two, 27-25.
Hawaii came out of the intermission and opened set three with a 10-4 run, forcing Penn State to call an early timeout. The Rainbow Wahine continued to pull away out of the break, using a 6-3 run to move ahead 16-7. Penn State came rallying back with a 4-1 run sparked by back-to-back kills from Lee to trim the deficit to six, 17-11. The Nittany Lions could not sustain the momentum, as Hawaii answered with an 8-5 run to take set three, 25-16, and the match, 3-0.