UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No.6-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team opened the season with a 3-0 sweep (25-17, 25-14, 25-15) over Eastern Kentucky (0-1) on Friday evening in their opening match of the Penn State Classic.
The Nittany Lions (1-0) used a strong serve receive performance, siding out at 74-percent for the match, to lead them to a complete opening performance for the 2018 season. In the opening set, Penn State sided out at 64-percent, and improved their execution to 80-percent in both the final two sets.
Offensively, redshirt senior Nia Reed put on an impressive performance. The outside hitter put down 14 kills with a clip .333, adding two blocks and a dig to her stat line.
Graduate student Taylor Leath put down nine kills in her first match as a Nittany Lion, adding seven digs. Redshirt Junior Tori Gorrell added six kills on a .667 clip, tallying a team-high four blocks. Freshman Jonni Parker added six kills, four blocks, three assists and three digs in her first collegiate match.
Fellow freshmen Serena Gray, Allyson Cathey, and Kaitlyn Hord each added three blocks, while Gray added three kills, Cathey added four, and Hord chipped in one.
Junior libero Kendall White led the match with an impressive 19 digs, tacking on four assists. Freshman Jenna Hampton scooped up eight in her debut as a defensive specialist.
Redshirt senior Bryanna Weiskircher dished out a team-high 23 assists, adding six digs, two blocks, including a solo stuff, and delivered two aces. Freshman Gabby Blossom distributed10 assists over two sets, and scooped up five digs.
The Nittany Lions his .305 for the match, putting down 43 kills. As a team, Penn State totaled 11.0 blocks and added 51 digs.
Penn State returns to Rec Hall for two matches, facing off with UMBC (0-1) at 10 a.m., and will close out the Penn State Classic with a 7 p.m. match against Navy (1-0).