Oct. 6, 2016
By Jack Milewski, GoPSUSports.com Student Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - It was a record-setting night in Rec Hall. More importantly for the No. 15 Nittany Lions, it was arguably their biggest win of the season. Penn State toppled the No. 1 ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers in a five set thriller, battling back from multiple deficits, including a 2-1 hole to take the match (29-27, 21-25, 23-25, 25-14, 15-10).
"We played pretty well tonight, our fans helped out a lot," head coach Russ Rose said. "The crowd and the band played a big part. When you hit .588 in the fifth set against the number one team in the nation you have to feel pretty good."
Two Nittany Lions also produced record-setting performances to help lead Penn State past the Golden Gophers. Simone Lee totaled 30 kills, the most for a Nittany Lion in the 25-point rally scoring era. Lee, who has led the offense all season for Penn State, took her game to a new level when the team needed it. Not only did Lee collect 30 kills, but she also hit .333, an impressive hitting percentage for the amount of swings the junior outside took.
"I thought that Simone was really good offensively tonight for us," Rose said. "She has been all season and continued to be tonight."
Lee proved key from the very start of the match, as she guided Penn State to a crucial win the in first set with five of the final six Nittany Lion kills, breaking open a tied score, 24-24, to lift PSU to a 29-27 win in the opening frame. She came through again in the clutch during the decisive fifth set, leading the team with four kills on six swings, opening and closing the final frame with a pair of kills.
Along with Lee, Abby Detering set the Nittany Lions better than she ever has before in the Blue and White. Detering collected a double-double with 10 digs and 61 assists. Her tally is good for third best all-time for the Nittany Lions during the 25-point rally scoring era as well. Detering also totaled five kills and three service aces, producing in all areas for a focused and determined Penn State team.
"The setting was great," Lee said. "Abby was great all night and I was set up very well with perfect sets and a lot of single blocks, my team made it very easy on me."
Lee and Detering's record-setting performances were certainly the highlights of a tremendous Wednesday night, but at the same time, Lee and Rose credited the entire team with a fantastic effort throughout the five-setter.
"Ali [Frantti] had a big block for us, Heidi [Thelen] had some really good moments also," said Rose. "I just thought it was a really good team win for us against a really good program."
Though the team did play exceptionally, it would be remiss to fail to highlight the performance of Lee. She now has more than 200 kills for the Nittany Lions on the season and has proven to be an extremely consistent and dynamic offensive option. No match was quite as hypnotizing as the record setting one put forth on Wednesday as Lee surpassed the totals of former Nittany Lion Ariel Scott, who put down 27 kills in a five set match back in October of 2011. In total, Lee is the first Nittany Lion to reach the 30-kill plateau in single match since former Nittany Lion Nicole Fawcett had 31 kills against Cal Poly in 2007.
The win for Penn State marks the 11 consecutive win for the Nittany Lions, who also remain undefeated in a challenging Big Ten field as well, moving to 5-0.
"It feels great," Kendall White said. "Especially where we were in the beginning of the season. It shows how we grow and how we don't stay in a certain situation. It feels really good."
Penn State is back in action on Saturday, Oct. 8 against Rutgers. First serve is set for 7 p.m. in Rec Hall as the Blue and White will look to remain perfect through the first three weeks of Big Ten Play.