UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 9 Penn State women's volleyball team took down Maryland, 3-0: 25-16, 25-15, 25-16, in the Nittany Lions' Big Ten home opener on Friday evening.
Penn State moved to 12-3, 3-2 on the season behind a fantastic performance from freshman opposite Jonni Parker. Parker led the match with 11 kills, hitting .524. She added seven digs, three blocks, an ace and an assist.
The Nittany Lion offense was aided by eight kills from graduate student Taylor Leath, six from freshman middle blocker Serena Gray, five from freshman Allyson Cathey, and four from redshirt senior Nia Reed.
Leath added a team-high 12 digs and an ace to her stat line, while Reed finished the match hitting .571 in just two sets, while Cathey hit .300 in her lone set appearance.
On the front line of defense, freshman middle blocker Kaitlyn Hord led the way with five blocks, while Gray, and redshirt senior setter Bryanna Weiskircher each added three.
Weiskircher finished the match with 30 assists, seven digs, and an ace.
Junior libero Kendall White added 10 digs, while freshman defensive specialist Jenna Hampton scooped up eight and added an ace to her night.
For the match, Penn State put down 40 kills to Maryland's 24, and out-blocked the Terps, 12.0-6.0.
Penn State returns to action on Saturday evening for a 7 p.m. match against Ohio State in Rec Hall.