Aug. 28, 2016
Nittany Lions Win Two, Lose One in Penn State Classic
By Anita Nham, GoPSUsports.com Student Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa - The No. 9 Penn State women's volleyball team has started the 2016 season 2-1 after sweeping West Virginia (25-13, 25-13, 25-17) and Georgia Southern (25-13, 25-12, 25-7), but falling to No. 19 North Carolina in five sets (25-16, 22-25, 25-21, 23-25, 11-15). The Tarheels were crowned winners of the Penn State Classic this weekend.
Though the Nittany Lions fell short in their final match of the tournament, their constant determination and two victories would not have been possible if it weren't for the guidance and leadership from the returning veterans.
Junior Simone Lee powered the offense throughout the weekend recording double figure in kills in two of three matches. Lee notched 10 kills against the Mountaineers on Friday evening, eight kills against the Eagles and 23 kills against the Tarheels on Saturday.
"I thought Simone was a hammer the whole [Saturday] night," head coach Russ Rose said. "I thought Simone was taking big swings all night long, and I thought that that was really cool for her."
Lee's 23 kills against North Carolina was also a career-high for her. In addition, she added 10 digs for her first career double-double.
"[The career-best] is a positive coming out of the game...but it shouldn't be just one person getting all the kills," Lee said. "I'm happy to see that I got a career-high of 23 kills, but it's about all of us. It's about all of us working hard together, all of us spreading the offense. It can't just be one person getting every single swing. I think in practice, that's what we need to work on."
Junior Haleigh Washington also made an impact this weekend registering 10 kills, three blocks and a .714 hitting efficiency against West Virginia on Friday evening. In the match against Georgia Southern, Washington finished with a team-high five blocks and tied for second with seven kills. Saturday evening, Washington continued to help the team, tying for second on the squad with 11 kills and five total blocks.
Nonetheless, numerous underclassmen and newcomers marked their collegiate debut in a big way this weekend. Freshman Kendall White led the team with 16 digs in her collegiate debut against the Mountaineers and a career-high of 17 digs against the Tarheels. Junior Abby Detering handed out a team-high 29 assists on Friday evening and 23 assists in the opening set against the Tarheels.
Following the season opening win against the Mountaineers, Rose had positive things to say about White and Detering's performances.
"I thought we received a really good effort from two newcomers," 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."
A loss at Rec Hall was not what the Nittany Lions were looking for, but they're using it as a stepping stone to see what they need to work on for their upcoming matches.
"Obviously, it's not a good feeling to lose, especially on home court in front of all the people that support us for many years," Lee said. "I think what we need to do is, it's not about talking about it anymore...it's go time. Coach always talks about it. It's our decision when we step into the court for practice about whether or not we're going to go to the ball, going to take big swings, going to be there for our teammates or going to play together. It's time, and that's what we need to do. It's a terrible feeling to lose. It's a terrible feeling to lose at home, and I don't think anyone wants to experience that again."
Penn State is back in action next week, traveling to Boulder, Colorado for a pair of tough Pac-12 matchups. The Nittany Lions meet Colorado first before taking on No. 11 Stanford in the final match of the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge.