Sept. 17, 2016
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 20 Penn State women's volleyball team (7-3) strung together another straight-set performance on Saturday morning, taking down Howard (10-4) 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-16) inside Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions had a balanced attack, with four players posting seven or more kills in the match. Once again, junior outside hitter Simone Lee led the way for Penn State, this time with 12 kills. Junior Haleigh Washington posted eight kills on .467 hitting while tacking on a team-best four blocks.
The duo of Ali Frantti and Heidi Thelen each posted seven kills. Frantti tacked on six digs and two blocks, while Thelen put up a pair of blocks as well.
Freshman libero Kendall White anchored the defense, providing a team-high 10 digs and added a pair of assists.
Penn State rounds out its non-conference slate tonight, closing out the Penn State Invitational with Clemson (4-6) at 7 p.m. Fans can gain entrance to the second match for just $4 dollars with a ticket stub from the Penn State-Temple football game.
The first set of action belonged to the trio of Thelen, Lee and Tori Gorrell who posted a combined 12 kills, helping PSU to a .414 hitting clip. Lee notched all three of her kills within the first five points of the match, boosting Penn State to a 4-1 lead. The Bison caught up at 4-4 before a three point gap was opened at 10-7 off a kill from Thelen. Howard would never catch up. Gorrell opened things up in the middle of the set, providing kills at 17-12 and 21-13, both resulting in Howard timeouts. Back-to-back kills from Thelen and Frantti closed out the first set, 25-16.
The second set was all Lee's as the junior earned half of her kills for the match with six during the second frame. Washington also provided a spark in the second, notching a pair of kills and three of her four blocks for the match. The match was back-and-forth in the early going when Frantti tied the match at 6-6 with a quick kill. Penn State effectively shut the door with a 6-0 run to make the score 12-6. Lee exploded in the latter half, posting four kills during a 6-1 spurt. An error from Howard closed the second set, 25-12.
Washington claimed the third set, going 5-for-5 attacking to lead all hitters in the third frame. Frantti (.400) and Lee (.200) added three kills each. Howard hung in early, keeping with Penn State to an 11-11 ties. From there the Nittany Lions opened a 5-1 run, forcing four Howard errors in the process. Washington notched a pair of kills over the final stretch, including the match winner to take the third, 25-16.
Notes:
Team
No. 20 Penn State pushed past Howard in three sets (25-16, 25-12, 25-16), extending the Nittany Lions to a 5-0 winning streak.
- Tonight's win marks Penn State's sixth straight-set victory of the season.
- Two Nittany Lions recorded seven or more kills in Lee (12), Washington (eight), Thelen (seven) and Frantti (seven).
- Penn State out-blocked Rhode Island 7.0 to 4.0, with multi-block performances by Washington (four), Thelen (two) and Frantti (four)
Series
- Penn State holds a 3-0 advantage in the all-time series against Howard and has the same record for matches played at home in Rec Hall.
- The Nittany Lions currently have a 3-0 winning streak against the Bison.