STANFORD, Calif. – The No. 5 Penn State women's volleyball team fell to No. 4 Stanford, 3-0: 25-23, 25-20, 25-20, in their first match of the 2018 Big 10/ Pac-12 Challenge hosted by Stanford on Friday evening.
The two powerhouses squared off in Maples Pavilion on Stanford's campus, but the veteran Stanford (5-1) squad was too much for the youthful Nittany Lions (5-1) Friday evening.
Stanford, who returned five AVCA All-America honorees and only fields one freshmen in their rotation, hit .294, while tallying 12 team blocks. The Cardinal also scored 63.0 points in the match, to just 50.5 by the Nittany Lions.
The Nittany Lions were led by redshirt senior Nia Reed who tied her career-high with 14 kills, tallying a .367 hitting percentage. Her fellow outside Taylor Leath added 10 kills, nine digs, and a solo block.
In the middle, Penn State saw freshman Kaitlyn Hord put down seven kills on a .500 hitting percentage. She added five blocks.
Redshirt senior setter Bryanna Weiskircher dished out 31 assists, adding a career-high seven blocks and scooping up eight digs.
Junior libero Kendall White, Penn State lone returning All-American, was a monster in the back row, recording a match-best 19 digs. Freshman Gabby Blossom added eight digs, while fellow freshman Jenna Hampton added six.
On the match, the Nittany Lions tallied 9.5 team blocks, adding 40 kills, and 54 digs.
Penn State returns to action to take on No. 18 Oregon at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon. Oregon took down No. 1 Minnesota in four sets prior to the Penn State/Stanford match.