| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The No. 9 Penn State women's volleyball team(17-4, 9-1 Big Ten) saw it's 15-match win streak snapped in its first loss of the conference tilt, falling to No. 16 Michigan (18-4, 7-4 Big Ten) on Saturday evening, 3-2 (25-23, 17-25, 29-27, 23-25, 15-9) inside Cliff Keen Arena.
The match came down to a decisive fifth set with both sides even through four. Kills from juniors Simone Lee and Haleigh Washington began the final set, propelling PSU to an early, 2-0 lead. Michigan responded with three kills of its own before Washington logged her eighth of the night to tie the fifth frame at 3-3. The Wolverines extended the lead to 5-3 before a solo block from junior setter Abby Detering cut the lead to one. Michigan continued to score, but Lee and junior outside hitter Ali Frantti responded with kills of their own to pull within one, 7-6, before the Wolverines took an 8-6 lead into the break. A Wolverines ace the next play prompted a Penn State timeout, trailing three.
Michigan tacked on another kill before Frantti responded with a kill of her own to make the score 10-7, Michigan. Detering scored two plays later to make it a three-point game again at 11-8. The Wolverines scored once, with Penn State calling for a timeout, trailing 12-8. The Wolverines countered twice more before a kill from Lee made it 14-9. Michigan killed the ball to win the match the next play.
The outside hitters were the focal points of Penn State's attack in the disappointing five-setter, with Lee and Frantti posting 20-plus kills each. Lee led the team with 27, while Frantti added 20. Redshirt freshman Tori Gorrell, Washington and Detering each had notable contributions as well, adding nine, eight and six kills respectively.
The Nittany Lions managed to out-block the Wolverines, 11-5, but allowed Michigan to hit at a .272 clip, far over its .110 average for opponent hitting percentage.
Penn State follows up the Michigan match with its toughest weekend to date, facing No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 3 Minnesota. The road weekend begins with the No. 4 Badgers on Friday, Oct. 28 at 9 p.m. Penn State then travels to Minneapolis on Saturday to face the No. 3 Golden Gophers at 7:30 p.m.
The first set opened with the two sides tussling for position in the early action, with four ties before Michigan had the match's second lead change and opened the gap to three at 7-4. Michigan extended the run to 5-0, forcing Penn State to call for a timeout, trailing, 8-4.
The two sides swapped points out of the break before, closing the gap to three before the Wolverines put together a 6-2 spurt, causing Penn State to call its second timeout, behind 16-9. The teams swapped points on both sides before a block from Washington and junior right side Heidi Thelen changed the momentum. Washington scored on the slide the next play before combining on a block with Frantti to cut the Michigan lead to four. The Wolverines then called for time.
The two sides went point-for-point out of the timeout. A quick strike from Gorrell in the middle sparked a 3-0 run for the Nittany Lions. Frantti capped the spurt with a big swing down the line to close the gap to one point, forcing Michigan to call for time, ahead 23-22. The Wolverines scored on the tip out of the break before Frantti responded with another crucial kill to fend off set point. Michigan sealed the first with a kill, 25-23.
The Wolverines opened the second set on a 3-0 run before a kill from Detering broke things up. Michigan would score three more before a kill from Lee closed the gap to three at 6-3. Lee hammered down another kill before two-straight from Michigan prompted a Penn State timeout as the Nittany Lions trailed, 9-4.
The break proved effective, as PSU rattled off five straight points, capped by a block from Washington and Frantti to tie the set at 9-all when Michigan decided to use a timeout of its own. Penn State took two more points out of the break on a kill from Frantti and a block from Thelen and Washington. A kill from Thelen two plays later and another block from the duo of Frantti and Washington made it a three-point advantage for PSU at 13-10. Lee's eighth kill of the night made Penn State the first to hit 15 points in the seconds set, before an errant shot and Lee's ninth kill opened the gap to five, forcing a Wolverine timeout at 17-12 in PSU's favor.
Penn State ran away out of the break, manufacturing a 5-0 spurt thanks to kills from Lee, Gorrell and Frantti to extend the lead to 24-14. Michigan fought off set point three times, leading to a Penn State timeout at 24-17. Frantti slammed down her ninth kill of the night to secure the set two win, 25-17.
A pair of kills from Lee and errors from Michigan led Penn State to an early 4-2 lead in the third. A 3-1 spurt from Michigan tied the match at 5-all. The two teams vied for position, tying five more times before Michigan pulled ahead by two at 12-10. Lee hammered down a kill to make the score 12-11. Michigan scored before back-to-back kills from Gorrell evened the score at 13-all.
Both sides traded blows before kills from Washington, Frantti and Detering gave PSU an 18-16 advantage. Michigan tied the set at 18-18 before a net violation by the Wolverines gave PSU the lead once again. Another powerful kill from Lee made the score 20-18 in Penn State's favor, prompting a Wolverine timeout.
Gorrell packed the Wolverines with a solo block out of the break to make the lead three at 21-18. Four plays later, Gorrell found the floor again with her seventh kill for a 23-20 lead. Michigan used its second timeout. A kill from Frantti made it set point before two-straight scores from the Wolverines prompted a Penn State timeout with the 24-23 lead. Michigan scored on another kill to tie the set at 24-all, forcing Penn State to use its second timeout. Michigan went ahead by one before Frantti neutralized the threat with a kill to tie at 25-25. The Wolverines scored before a slide from Washington followed by a block from Lee gave PSU set point once again, this time at 27-26. Michigan responded with three in a row, taking the third, 29-27.
Early offense from Lee and Washington helped PSU to an early, 5-2 lead to begin the fourth set. Michigan responded with four straight points to take a 6-5 lead before Lee tied it with her 19th kill of the match. Michigan jumped ahead by two before kills from Lee, Gorrell and Frantti tied the set, 8-all. The two sides went back and forth before Michigan rattled off four unanswered, forcing a PSU timeout as the Nittany Lions trailed, 13-9. Penn State responded by taking two of the next three points to pull within three at 14-11. Two plays later, PSU strung together a 4-0 run, capped by a pair of aces from Washington, to tie the fourth set at 15-all.
Lee posted a kill out of the break to give PSU at 16-15 lead. The two sides then went back and forth once again, tying four times before a Wolverine error and a kill from Detering gave PSU the 21-19 lead, causing a Michigan timeout. Frantti scored on a kill out of the break before Michigan added one of its own. The Wolverines rattled off two more points, tying the match at 22-all, when Penn State called for time. The Nittany Lions tied the match again at 23-all bore a kill from Lee and an error from Michigan gave PSU the fourth, 25-23.
NOTES:
Team
- No. 9 Penn State fell to No. 16 Michigan, 3-2 (25-23, 17-25, 29-27, 23-25, 15-9), on Saturday evening.
- The loss ended Penn State's 15-match win streak, which was tied for the second best in the country.
- Following the loss, Penn State moves to 17-4 on the season with a 9-1 Big Ten record.
- Penn State saw two player score double-figure kills, with juniors Simone Lee and Ali Frantti accounting for 47 of the team's 73 kills. Lee led the way with 27, while Frantti tacked on 20 of her own. Lee hit .361, while Frantti had a .314 percentage.
- The Nittany Lions out-blocked the Wolverines, 11-5, with four members of the team having multi-block performances. Junior Haleigh Washington led the way with seven, while Frantti and Heidi Thelen added four apiece. Redshirt freshman Tori Gorrell added a pair of blocks.
- Penn State also won the serving game, earning five aces to Michigan's three. Washington led the team with three aces, while freshman Kendall White added a pair of her own.
Series
- Penn State holds a 47-5 edge all-time following the win over the Wolverines.
- The Nittany Lions are now 21-4 when playing Michigan in Ann Arbor, and are on a one-match loss streak against the Wolverines.
Players
Simone Lee, junior outside hitter: Lee led the offense for the 19th time in 2016 with 27 kills, hitting at a .361 clip. She added six blocks and a block.
Ali Frantti, junior outside hitter: Frantti tallied a team's second-best 20 kills, hitting at a .314 percentage. She also posted five digs and four blocks.
Haleigh Washington, junior middle blocker: Washington led the team in blocks, posting seven in the five-set match. She added eight kills and a team-high three aces.
Abby Detering, junior setter: Detering posted her fifth double-double of the season, posting a team-best 59 assists and added 10 digs. She added six kills and a block.
Tori Gorrell, redshirt freshman middle blocker: Gorrell posted nine kills on a team-best .467 hitting, while adding a pair of digs and a pair of blocks.
Kendall White, freshman defense specialist: White led the team with 23 digs in the match. She added seven assists and a team second-best two aces.