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Dec. 4, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- No. 7 Penn State women's volleyball (27-5) swept past Howard (18-14) in straight sets (25-16, 25-8, 25-17) to advance to the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
The Nittany Lions are set to square off against Dayton (27-5) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday, Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. in Rec Hall.
"I thought we played very well in some areas and in a couple areas I thought we were a little sloppy, but every match in the tournament has different challenges," head coach Russ Rose said.
Redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney and sophomore Ali Frantti powered the offense with double figure kills. Frantti led the team with 12 kills on .400 hitting, adding two digs and two blocks. Whitney totaled 10 kills on 17 errorless swings, hitting .588.
Sophomore Haleigh Washington finished third on the team with eight kills on .636 hitting, while also leading the team with seven total blocks. Senior Megan Courtney finished with seven kills, while also finishing second on the team with five total blocks. Courtney also led the defensive effort with 10 digs.
Redshirt freshman Bryanna Weiskircher directed the offense to a .424 hitting efficiency, dishing out 32 assists to go along with nine digs.
Senior libero Kendall Pierce finished third on the team with seven digs, while freshman Wilma Rivera added five.
Penn State held the advantage in nearly every statistical category, including a 10.0-3.0 margin in the blocking margin.
Penn State and Howard battled back and forth throughout the first half of the opening set. With the score tied, 7-7, back-to-back kills from Whitney lifted the Nittany Lions ahead, 9-7, causing Howard to call a timeout. The Bison rallied out of the break with a 3-0 spurt to take over a one-point lead, 10-9. Penn State and Howard traded points to tie the score three more times.
With the score knotted, 12-12, a block from Washington and Thelen sparked a 6-2 streak that lifted the Nittany Lions ahead by four, 18-14. The Bison called a timeout, but Washington and Frantti came out the break with two straight kills to open up a 6-1 run that vaulted Penn State to set point, 24-15. The Bison held off one attempt before Frantti finished off a 25-16 win in the first set with a kill.
Penn State shot out to a 9-3 lead in the second set, prompting the Bison to call an early timeout. Courtney came out of the break firing, opening up a 5-1 run with a kill before capping it off with another kill plus one from Washington to send the advantage into double figures, 14-4.
The Bison looked to cut off the momentum with a kill, 14-5, but a kill from Weiskircher and an ace from Washington sparked a 5-1 run that bolstered the Nittany Lion advantage to as many as 13, 19-6. Howard looked to get back on track with a pair of kills, 19-8, but Penn State followed with six unanswered points featuring two kills from both Whitney and Courtney to secure a 25-8 win in the second set.
Howard came out of the intermission firing, opening up the third set with a 6-1 run to take over an early advantage. A kill from Whitney and a block from Washington and Lee quickly opened up a 5-0 Penn State run that tied the score, 6-6. The Bison responded with four consecutive kills to jump back on top, 10-6. Three consecutive Howard errors helped the Nittany Lions mount a 5-0 streak that gave Penn State the edge, 11-10, prompting the Bison to call a timeout.
A solo stuff from Courtney out of the break made it 12-10, but a PSU service error brought the Bison back within one, 12-11. Penn State responded with a kill from Courtney that quickly sparked a 12-5 scoring streak that sent PSU surging to match point, 24-16. Howard held off one attempt before Washington answered with a kill to secure a 25-17 win in the third set to complete the sweep.
POSTMATCH NOTES: Penn State improves to 30-5 all-time in NCAA first round matches, having earned its last 26 first round NCAA Tournament victories by way of a 3-0 sweep ... The Nittany Lions move to 91-27 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches ... PSU also moves to 2-0 all-time against Howard, having matchup against the Bison for the first time since Sept. 28, 1979 ... On the year, the Nittany Lions have earned 22 of their 27 victories in straight sets and have out-blocked their opponent on 28 occasions.