Oct. 13, 2017
| 3 | 1 |
| Rec Hall | University Park, Pa. | 3205 | |
| POST GAME LINKS |
| HTML Box Score || Penn State 3, Michigan State 1 |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 2 Penn State women's volleyball team knew they would be in for a battle with the No. 10 Michigan State Spartans coming into town, and that is exactly what happened on Friday evening with the host Nittany Lions coming out on top, 3-1; 25-17, 15-25, 30-28, 25-18, in Big Ten action in Rec Hall.
The first two sets were mirror images of each other, the first going to the Nittany Lions, who dominated the attack in the opener, hitting .419 with 15 kills, while MSU put down 12 kills on a .100 clip.
The second set went in favor of the guests, as it was their turn to dominate the attack, putting down 17 kills on a high mark of .452, while the Nittany Lions hit just .069.
In the third set, it was a battle of wills, going to a score of 30-28. Penn State held a 24-21 lead, but the pesky Spartans would not surrender. They battled back, evening the score at 24-24, and even took a 26-25 advantage before the Nittany Lions were able to claw back in front and feed off the energy of Rec Hall to close out the set. Penn State saw Haleigh Washington (Colorado Springs, Co.) put down seven kills on ten attempts in the third set, while Heidi Thelen (Edgewood, Ky.) added six kills on 13 attempts to help fire up the Nittany Lions and drive them to the crucial third set victory.
In the fourth, Penn State built off the momentum they gained from taking the dramatic third set, and they climbed out to a 7-1 lead in the fourth. Michigan State, again, refused to go away. The battle continued, but the Nittany Lions were able to close out the game behind a 6-0-9 set from Simone Lee (Menomonee Falls, Wis.).
Lee led the Nittany Lions with 17 kills on the evening, adding a tied-career-high 13 digs for her fifth double-double of the year. She also dished out two aces.
Washington finished the match with 14 kills while hitting .433 in the match. She added four blocks and two digs as well.
Thelen followed with nine kills, hitting .350, while Ali Frantt (Spring Grove, Ill.) added eight kills, six digs, and two solo blocks.
Abby Detering (Mentor, Ohio) dished out 23 assists, adding 11 digs, while Bryanna Weiskircher (Rockford, Ill.) added 25 dishes and eight digs. Kendall White (Indianapolis, Ind.) tied Lee for a team-high 13 digs.
The Nittany Lions return to action on Saturday with a 7 p.m. match against Michigan at Rec Hall. Michigan took down Rutgers, 3-1; 25-12, 22-25, 25-18, 25-16, on Friday night.