Nov. 19, 2016
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 15 Penn State women's volleyball team (20-9, 12-6 Big Ten) earned the win in the first of its last three regular season home matches on Saturday evening, dispatching the Purdue Boilermakers (17-12, 7-11 Big Ten), 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-19), in front of 3,560 fans inside Rec Hall.
Penn State flipped the script from Wednesday's match, hitting with tremendous accuracy during the sweep. The Blue and White logged 50 kills, the most in a three-set match this season, on an impressive .386 clip, with three Nittany Lions hitting in double-figures.
The outside hitters were tough for the Boilermakers to stop, as juniors Simone Lee and Ali Frantti led the Penn State offense with 14 kills apiece. Frantti charted the kills while logging a .583 hitting percentage and finishing second the team in digs with eight. She also received the majority of Purdue's serves. Lee added five digs.
Redshirt freshman Tori Gorrell was simply sensational, posting 11 kills in the outing on a red-hot .733 hitting. She also posted a team-best five blocks in the match. Junior right side Heidi Thelen posted three kills and four blocks.
Junior setter Abby Detering guided the setting efforts with 41 assists. She added three kills of her own.
Freshman libero Kendall White was impressive once again on the back row, logging a match-high 12 digs.
Penn State welcomes the Northwestern Wildcats and Illinois Fighting Illini in to Rec Hall for the final two regular season matches of the season. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m., with Northwestern playing on Friday, Nov. 25, before Illinois will cap the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 26.
After opening the match on the wrong end of a 3-1 run, Penn State responded, as kills from Lee and Gorrell paced a staggering 8-1 run for the Nittany Lions, forcing the first Purdue timeout with a 9-4 lead. Purdue tacked on two points before another set of kills from Gorrell, Detering and Frantti pushed Penn State to a 13-7 lead. Gorrell's fifth kill on six swings made the score 17-10, forcing the Boilermakers' second timeout.
Lee scored kills on two of the next three plays. A block from Thelen and Gorrell gave Penn State a 20-13 advantage. Washington, Frantti and Detering pounded the ball to take a 23-15 lead, before Lee thumped home the set-winning kill for a 25-17 victory.
The two sides traded point-for-point in the second, as kills from Lee, Frantti and Washington knotted the match, 11-11. PSU turned the tide, taking a lead that would hold with a 3-0 run. At 14-11 Purdue called for a timeout. Penn State took the next three points out of the break to widen the gap to six at 17-11. PSU continued to hold Purdue back before the Boilermakers pulled within one at 22-21. Thelen thumped the ball before back-to-back kill from Frantti led Penn State into the locker with a two-game lead.
Penn State began the third behind before coming back to the set at 7-7 on an error from the Boilermakers. A pair of kills from Lee and Frantti, followed by a block from Detering and Gorrell led Purdue to call for time as PSU led, 11-7.
Gorrell pounded the ball out of the break before Penn State extended the lead to six. Purdue closed the gap to three at 15-12 before a 3-0 spurt, punctuated by another kill from Gorrell gave PSU an 18-12 lead. Purdue called for time. Penn State led by as many as eight before Purdue pulled within four points at 23-19. Lee thundered down the ball before a Purdue error ended the set, and the match, 25-19.
NOTES:
Team
- No. 15 Penn State defeated Purdue (25-17, 25-21, 25-19) Saturday night inside Rec Hall.
- With the win, Penn State's record advances to 20-9 on the season, with a 12-6 record in Big Ten conference play.
- Penn State's offense outmatched Purdue's, with Penn State earning 50 kills to Purdue's 39. Penn State hit at a .386 clip, nearly .150 higher than Purdue. The 50 kills were the most by Penn State in a three set match this year.
- The Nittany Lions also out blocked the Boilermakers 7.0-6.0. Two Nittany Lions in Tori Gorrell and Heidi Thelen had multi-block nights, earning five and four block assists, respectively.
- This match featured three Nittany Lions with double-figure kills. Ali Frantti and Simone Lee led the way with 14, while Tori Gorrell had 11 of her own.
SERIES:
- With the win against the Boilermakers, Penn State moves to 54-6 all-time against Purdue.
- The victory extends Penn State's winning streak against Purdue to 11 straight matches. Penn State is now 26-3 at home against Purdue.
PLAYERS
Ali Frantti, junior outside hitter: Frantti logged 14 kills and added eight digs. Frantti earned the kills on 24 errorless swings, good for a .583 hitting percentage. She led the team in kills for the fifth time this season.
Tori Gorrell, redshirt-freshman middle blocker: Gorrell posted 11 kills on a team-best .733 hitting in the sweep of Purdue. The Canadian product also posted a team-high five blocks during the match.
Simone Lee, junior outside hitter: Lee tallied 14 kills and five digs in the outing. It marks the 26th time in the 2016 season the Lee has led Penn State's offense.
Abby Detering, junior setter: Detering lead the team to an impressive .386 hitting clip during the sweep of Purdue while dishing out 41 assists. She added three kills of her own and a pair of digs.