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Aug. 26, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- No. 9 Penn State women's volleyball (1-0) opened the 2016 season with a sweeping 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-17) win against West Virginia (0-1) Friday evening at Rec Hall.
Juniors Haleigh Washington and Simone Lee powered the offense with 10 kills apiece, with Washington leading the team with a .714 hitting efficiency (10-0-14).
Including the double digit duo, Penn State had six Nittany Lions with at least three kills. Redshirt freshman Tori Gorrell tallied six kills on nine errorless swings (.667) in her collegiate debut, while junior Ali Frantti finished with eight kills.
Junior Abby Detering dished out 29 assists and paced the Nittany Lions to a .479 hitting clip in her first match in the Blue and White. Detering also finished second on the team with five digs.
Freshman Kendall White led the team with 16 digs in her collegiate debut.
Washington and Gorrell also led the blocking unit with three blocks each, with Gorrell notching a pair of solo stuffs. Junior Heidi Thelen logged a multi-block performance with two blocks to finish second on the team.
"I thought we received a really good effort from two newcomers," head coach Russ Rose said. "I thought Kendall [White] did a good job passing and playing defense and Abby [Detering] did a nice job moving the ball around and getting a few kills at the net."
Penn State shot out to an 8-2 lead in the first set to take control of an early advantage. The Mountaineers looked to cut off the run with a kill, 8-3, but the Nittany Lions regrouped with a 4-2 stretch to make it 12-5. West Virginia looked to slow the momentum with a 3-1 spurt, 13-8, but back-to-back kills from Frantti opened up a 9-4 streak that sent Penn State surging ahead, 22-12.
A Nittany Lion service error cut off the run, but two kills from Lee in between one from Thelen wrapped up a 25-13 win in the first set to put PSU ahead, 1-0.
Penn State got out to another hot start in the second set, using an 8-3 run to build another comfortable cushion. The Mountaineers looked to get back on track, putting away a kill before a PSU attack error, 5-8. Penn State answered back with four unanswered points to pull ahead by seven, 12-5.
A Penn State service error broke up the rhythm, 12-6, but the Nittany Lions responded with a 7-3 run to bolster the advantage to double figures, 19-9. West Virginia looked once again for an opportunity following a kill, 19-10. The Nittany Lions did not let the Mountaineers get any closer though, using a 6-3 run capped off by two kills from Washington to close out a 25-13 win in the second set.
Trailing by one in the third set, 4-3, a kill from Frantti and two more from Washington opened up a 7-1 stretch that sent Penn State ahead by as many as five, 10-5. The Mountaineers came battling back with a 4-1 run to narrow the gap to two, 11-9. Penn State regrouped and followed with a 6-2 streak, capped off by a solo stuff from Gorrell to make it 17-11, forcing WVU to call its second timeout.
West Virginia made one final attempt to mount a comeback, using a 4-2 burst out of the break to arrive within four, 19-15. Penn State responded with a block from Frantti and Washington to spark a 5-1 run that carried the Nittany Lions to set point, 24-16. The Mountaineers held off one attempt before serving into the net to hand Penn State a 25-17 win in the third set to complete the sweep.
Penn State returns to action tomorrow morning, hosting Georgia Southern Saturday, Aug. 27 at 10 a.m. in Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions close out the Penn State Classic with an evening matchup against No. 19 North Carolina at 7 p.m.
NOTES: With the victory, Penn State improves to 33-7-1 all-time in season openers marking the Nittany Lions' fourth consecutive season opening win ... Haleigh Washington and Simone Lee combined for 50 percent of Penn State's kills, tallying 20 of the team's 40 total ... Penn State out-dug the Mountaineers 35-24 led by 16 digs from freshman Kendall White in her rookie debut ... Redshirt freshman Tori Gorrell also made her collegiate debut, putting away six kills to go along with three blocks, including two solo stuffs ... The Nittany Lions improve to 28-0 all-time against West Virginia and 15-0 when playing at home in Rec Hall.