Nov. 5, 2016
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 11 Penn State women's volleyball team (17-7, 9-4 Big Ten) looked to upset the nation's top team for the second time in 2016 on Friday evening, but fell short in a thrilling five-set match, 3-2 (25-22, 17-25, 23-25, 25-23, 11-15) to the now-unanimous No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers (22-1, 12-1 Big Ten). PSU downed then-No. 1 Minnesota earlier this season, also in five sets.
Penn State, normally one of the nation's most efficient teams, was limited to .166 hitting in the marathon bout. Junior classmates Simone Lee and Haleigh Washington were the lone Nittany Lions to reach double-figures scoring. Lee posted a team-best 23 kills while taking 70 swings. With an additional 13 digs, she posted her third double-double of the 2016 season.
Washington had a 13-kill performance, adding three blocks in the outing. She also posted a team-high .385 hitting percentage. Fellow middle blocker Tori Gorrell posted a team-high seven blocks while adding nine kills.
An aggressive performance from freshman libero Kendall White highlighted the back row defense, as the Indianapolis native posted a career-best 32 digs in the course of the match, exceeding her previous high by nine.
Penn State faces one of its fastest turnarounds of the season, facing the Iowa Hawkeyes at 4 p.m. on Saturday. Five fans will be chosen at random to compete in the "perfect serve" competition for a chance to win $10,000.
The match came down to a decisive fifth set, following a complete game from Penn State in the fourth to tie the match at two-all. A kill from freshman middle blocker Tori Gorrell tied the set at 3-3, before a 5-0 run gave the Cornhuskers what would inevitably be an insurmountable lead into the fifth-set break. A three-point rally by Penn State, capped by an ace from Detering made the score 9-6 in Nebraska's favor when the visitors called for time.
Nebraska made a 5-3 run out of the break to set up match point. A kill from Weiskircher kept Penn State's hopes alive. Originially called an error from Nebraska, a successful challenge from the Cornhuskers overturned the final point, ending the fifth, and the match, 15-11.
Junior outside hitter Ali Frantti had a strong performance in the opening frame posting a trio of kills and four blocks to guide PSU to a 25-22 win. With an early 9-8 lead, Penn State manufactured a 3-0 run on a strike from Frantti and a pair of blocks to force Nebraska's first timeout with a 12-8. The team extended the lead to 20-15 with a pair of scoring plays from Gorrell to push Nebraska to take its second timeout. Nebraska rallied, pulling within two at 24-22, before a kill from Lee finalized the set one victory.
Nebraska took the second and third sets by 25-17, and 25-23 scores. Penn State made a switch at setter half way through the second set, moving Weiskircher in to replace the starting setter in Abby Detering. PSU looked stronger in the third, increasing its hitting percentage by .027 and forcing six Cornhusker errors.
A breakout fourth set for Lee put PSU back in contention, as the junior posted eight kills in the frame. The set was as back-and-forth as possible, with 18 ties and four lead changes in total. The final tie came at 20-20, before Washington thundered down a ball that gave PSU what would be the match-tying lead. Lee killed the ball for set point at 24-22, before Weiskircher scored two plays later to take the fourth, 25-23, and forcing the decisive fifth set.
NOTES:
Team
- No. 11 Penn State fell short against No.1 Nebraska in five sets (25-22,17-25,23-25,25-23,15-11) Friday evening.
- The match's total attendance reached 5,564, marking the second match of the season that the Nittany Lions have brought over 5,000 fans to Rec Hall. It also marked a new season best.
- Two Nittany Lions posted double figure kills in tonight's match. Junior Simone Lee led the offense with 23 kills, marking her fifth match of the season with 20 or more kills. Junior Haleigh Washington finished second on the team with 13 kills.
- Freshman Kendall White charted a career-high 32 digs, marking the first time a Nittany Lion had 30 or more digs in a match since Alyssa D'Errico vs. Minnesota on Novemeber 27, 2010.
- Junior Simone Lee recorded her third double-double performance of the season with 23 kills and a career-high 13 digs.
Series
- Penn State moves to 10-17 in the all-time series against Nebraska and 3-3 in matches played at Rec Hall.
Players
Haleigh Washington, junior middle blocker: Washington charted 13 kills to go along with five digs, surpassing the 700 kill milestone.
Simone Lee, junior outside hitter: Lee tallied a team-high 23 kills and a career-high 13 digs, marking her third double-double performance of the season.
Ali Frantti, junior outside hitter: Frantti put down seven kills and seven digs while matching a season-high mark of five blocks.
Kendall White, freshman defense specialist: White registered a career-high 32 digs to put her over 300 career digs.
Keeton Holcomb, sophomore defensive specialist: Holcomb dished out 10 digs and three assists, marking her third match of the season with 10 or more digs.
Tori Gorrell, redshirt freshman middle blocker: Gorrell led the blocking unit posting seven blocks including one solo stuff. She also finished third on the team with nine kills.
Bryanna Weiskircher, redshirt sophomore setter: Weiskircher passed out 28 assists to go along with four digs and two kills