Dec. 9, 2016
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LINCOLN, Neb. - Despite incredible performances from the outside hitters, the 16-seed Penn State women's volleyball team (24-10) fell short in the NCAA regional semifinal Friday afternoon, falling 3-2 (25-23, 25-23, 24-26, 19-25, 6-15), to the Nebraska Cornhuskers (30-2) inside the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
After four grueling sets, three being decided on deuce games, a ticket to the regional final came down to a fifth set. Nebraska scored the first two points before junior middle blocker Haleigh Washington slammed down her 10th kill to make the score, 2-1. Two plays later, junior outside hitter Simone Lee notched a kill before a Huskers error tied the set at 3-all. Nebraska would go on to score the next three points, forcing a Penn State timeout, trailing 6-3.
Out of the break, Lee posted another kill to cut the gap to two. Nebraska took the next two points with an 8-4 advantage at the break. The Cornhuskers aced Penn State the next play out, prompting a timeout as the Nittany Lions trailed, 9-4.
Frantti posted her season-best 21st kill out of the break before a block by Lee and junior opposite Heidi Thelen cut the lead to three at 9-6. Nebraska went on to take the final six points and a 15-6 set five victory.
Penn State was led on the offensive end by Lee and classmate outside hitter Ali Frantti. Lee led the Nittany Lions' attack with 22 kills, while Frantti posted a season best 21 kills. Both players secured double-doubles, with Frantti logging 15 digs and Lee posting 12. Frantti also added a career-high six blocks.
Junior middle blocker Haleigh Washington was the third Penn State player to finish in double-figure kills with 10, while adding a match-high seven rejections.
Setters Abby Detering and Bryanna Weiskircher both saw a good deal of action, posting 40 and 14 assists, respectively, as Detering marked the third Penn State player to log a double-double with 10 digs on top of her assist output.
Penn State out-blocked the Cornhuskers 17.0-14.5. In addition to Washington and Frantti's blocking outputs, Thelen, Lee, redshirt sophomore Nia Reed and redshirt freshman Tori Gorrell each posted three blocks.
Once again, freshman libero Kendall White anchored a solid backline performance with a match-best 26 digs.
The match opened with a solo rejection courtesy of Lee. Three plays later Frantti added a rejection of her own for a 3-1 lead. Nebraska made a 4-0 run before a pair of kills from Frantti tied the opening frame at 5-5. She made a solo rejection the next play to take a one-point lead at 6-5. The Nittany Lions scored on another kill from Frantti before the Cornhuskers tied that match once again at 9-9. Gorrell had two strikes in the middle to give Penn State the advantage twice, the second coming at an 11-10 score. Nebraska then made a 5-1 run with a kill from Frantti marking the lone Penn State score. The Huskers held a three-point advantage, 15-12, at the media timeout.
Frantti scored on her fifth kill of the match out of the break before a block from Reed and Washington followed by an ace from Weiskircher made it 15-all. A stuff from Frantti and Washington tied the match again at 16-16. Nebraska scored two straight before a kill from Lee and a service error made it a one-point set in Nebraska's favor, 19-18. Lee notched her fourth kill of the frame to tie it the next play. Nebraska would take the next two points, leading to a Penn State timeout.
Penn State responded with a kill from Lee out of the break. Frantti posted back-to-back strikes to tie the first set at 22-all, forcing Nebraska's second timeout. Frantti took over, posting two kills and the set-winning block for a 25-23 first-frame victory.
Nebraska took four of the first five points to open the second frame. A block from Gorrell and Thelen cut the margin to three at 5-2. Nebraska scored twice more before Penn State called for time, down by five. Washington thundered down the ball out of the break before an ace from Weiskircher and a block from Reed and Washington closed the gap to two. Reed pounded down a kill the next play to force a Cornhuskers timeout, as Penn State trailed by one, 7-6. Reed punched down the ball on the 10-foot line before a block from Washington the next play tied up the set, 8-8. Nebraska climbed to an 11-9 lead before an error made the margin one. Gorrell brought down the hammer to tie the second 11-11, before Thelen added a kill for the lead. Nebraska jumped to a two point-lead before a kill from Washington made it 15-14. The Huskers responded with back-to-back points for a 17-14 lead, prompting a Penn State timeout. Penn State cut the margin to just one following Frantti's 12th kill at 18-17. Following a score from the Huskers, Lee closed the gap to one once again with her eighth spike. Nebraska took a three-point lead at 22-19 before yet another pair of kills from Frantti made the score 22-21, as Nebraska called for time with a one-point lead. Penn State closed out the second on a 5-2 run, as Frantti provided the final two Penn State points for a 25-23 second set win.
Nebraska took the first two points before a kill from Lee put PSU on the board. Frantti's 17th spike pulled Penn State within two at 5-3. The Huskers went on to take the next four points before a Penn State timeout, behind 9-3.
Washington slammed a kill off the slide before Weiskircher dumped one in the center of the court to cut the lead to five. A second kill from Washington made the score 11-6 before Nebraska scored twice more. An ace from Detering made it 14-8 in the Cornhuskers favor. A kill from Thelen cut the game to five before a solo block from Frantti the very next play. Frantti posted a second rejection to make the score 16-13 before a Cornhusker error prompted Nebraska to call for a timeout with a two-point lead. With a kill from Reed and an ace from Weiskircher, Penn State cut the game to one at 18-17. Penn State held the gap to one before a pair of Husker scores prompted PSU to call for time, down 22-19.
The Nittany Lions launched out of the break on a 3-0 run, as a kill from Lee and a pair of blocks tied the set at 22-all, forcing a timeout from Nebraska. Two kills form Lee gave Penn State a 24-22 lead. Nebraska went on to fend off match point and take the third on a 4-0 run, 26-24.
The match went back and forth in the early going, with Lee and Frantti both providing early kills. Washington slammed the ball in the middle to cut Nebraska's lead to one at 6-5. The Huskers went on to manufacture a 5-1 run when Penn State called time, behind 11-6. The two sides swapped points out of the break, as Frantti and Lee landed blows, but Nebraska maintained the lead at 17-9. Washington scored before two more from Nebraska made the score 19-10, prompting Penn State's timeout.
Out of the break a pair of kills from Lee and a block by Washington made the score 19-13, leading to a break from the leading Nebraska squad. An ace from Peirce and another kill by Lee shortened the margin to four at 19-15. Nebraska closed out the set on a 4-3 run, forcing a fifth set, 25-19.
NOTES
Team:
- Penn State ends its 2016 season at 24-10 after a 3-2 (25-23, 25-23, 24-26, 19-25, 6-15), loss to Nebraska in the NCAA Regional semifinals.
- Penn State now holds a 94-29 record all-time in NCAA matches.
- Three players logged double-figure kills in the match: Simone Lee (22), Ali Frantti (21) and Haleigh Washington (10). Lee led the team in kills for the 30th time in the 2016 campaign.
- Penn State out-blocked the Cornhuskers 17.0-14.5. Five players posted multi-block nights. Washington led the way with seven, Frantti added six, and Thelen, Lee, Gorrell and Reed had three apiece.
- Penn State's 17.0 blocks marked a season-high.
- The loss marked the first time since 1991 that Penn State has lost to the same opponent three times in the same season.
Series:
- Following the win, Penn State now sits at 10-19 all-time against the Cornhuskers. PSU is now 3-16 against Nebraska in Lincoln.
Players:
Simone Lee, junior outside hitter: Lee led the offense with 22 kills and added 12 digs and three blocks. It marked her 30th time leading Penn State in kills and her fourth career double-double. It also was her fourth match of the season with 20 or more kills. With 22 kills, she finishes the season with 503 kills, good for third in a single season during the 25-point rally scoring era.
Ali Frantti, junior outside hitter: Frantti posted her fourth career double-double and second 20-plus kill match of the season, posting 21 kills and 15 digs. With six blocks she made set a new career high for blocks in a single match. Entering 2017, Frantti will need just 11 more kills to reach the 1,000 kill milestone.
Haleigh Washington, junior middle blocker: Washington posted 10 kills and a team-best seven blocks. It was the 20th match in 2016 in which Washington led the team in blocks.
Abby Detering, junior setter: Detering led the team in assists with 40 while contributing 10 digs for her seventh double-double of the season.
Bryanna Weiskircher, redshirt junior setter: Weiskircher posted 14 assists while leading the team in aces with three. She added five digs.
Nia Reed, redshirt sophomore outside hitter: Reed posted a season-best four kills and added three blocks in four sets of action.