EAST LANSING, Mich. – The No. 9 Penn State women's volleyball team earned its first Big Ten win of the season with a 3-0: 25-11, 25-16, 26-24, win over Michigan State in East Lansing on Friday evening.
The Nittany Lions looked calm and collected in their eighth-straight match away from Rec Hall on Friday evening. In the opening set, Penn State hit .391, while holding MSU to just .045 hitting. The Nittany Lions took the opener, 25-11.
In the second set, the Nittany Lions continued their offensive ways, hitting .375, while keeping the Spartans to just .032. Penn State dished out four blocks in the set, and took the second, 25-16.
Out of the intermission, Michigan State ramped up their play, tallying seven team blocks. The Spartans held PSU to just .176 hitting, but the Nittany Lions were able to scrap their way out, and grab the final set and claim their first Big Ten win of 2018 with a 26-24 third set.
Freshman middle blocker Kaitlyn Hord was extremely efficient out of the middle. She put down nine kills on just 11 attempts without committing a single error. She also added a block to her stat line.
Her fellow freshman middle Serena Gray was a dominant force on the block, leading the team with six. She also added five kills on a .500 clip.
Grad student Taylor Leath put together a well-rounded performance with nine kills, a season-high three aces, adding three blocks, and three digs.
Freshman Jonni Parker added eight kills, four blocks and a dig, while redshirt senior Nia Reed returned to added seven kills, two digs and two blocks.
Redshirt senior Bryanna Weiskircher dished out 31 assists adding 10 digs for her third consecutive double-double.
Junior Kendall White led the match with 11 digs, adding four assists and an ace.
Penn State returns to action on Sunday afternoon with a 1 p.m. ET match at No. 17 Michigan on ESPNU.