UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 6 Penn State women's volleyball team topped Temple University 3-0; 25-19, 25-22, 25-22 in their first game of the Penn State Invitational at Rec Hall on Friday evening.
Over the match, Penn State showed resilience as they came from behind in the final two sets. Service runs by the Nittany Lion defensive specialists changed the match. Senior Bayleigh Hoffman played an integral part in the second set, including dishing out her first ace in Blue & White. In the final set, with the Nittany Lions down 20-18, Kendall White went to the service line, and went on a 6-0 run, that included a momentum swing after White scored her lone kill of the match on a diving play that landed in the corner of Temples back court.
Penn State (4-0) put down 38 kills over the three-set match, hitting .260 collectively. The Nittany Lions also dished out eight aces as a team.
The freshman middle blockers Kaitlyn Hord and Serena Gray put on an impressive performance. Hord put down a 6-1-10 performance for .500, adding two blocks. Gray added five kills with a .333 hitting percentage and an impressive six blocks.
Graduate student Taylor Leath and redshirt senior Nia Reed tied for the team-high in kills at seven a piece. Leath added seven digs and an ace, while Reed added three digs and a block.
Kendall White was impressive all evening, tallying a match-high 13 digs, adding a game-changing kill in the third set, and an ace.
Senior setter Bryanna Weiskircher finished with 27 assists, five digs, three blocks, two aces and a kill.
The Nittany Lions return to the court on Saturday at 8 p.m. as they host Texas A&M to close out the Penn State Invitational. Fans are encouraged to stick around after the match for an Ice Cream Social in honor of Head Coach Russ Rose's 40th Season.
