No. 7 Penn State falls to No. 4 Illinois, 3-2No. 7 Penn State falls to No. 4 Illinois, 3-2
Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics

No. 7 Penn State falls to No. 4 Illinois, 3-2

Champaign, Ill. – The No. 7 Penn State women's volleyball team fell, 3-2: 15-25, 25-22, 27-25, 23-25, 15-13, to No. 4 Illinois on Saturday evening in Huff Hall in Big Ten action. Penn State is now 20-6, 11-5 on the season.

Penn State saw junior libero Kendall White tie a career high with 32 digs, a number she reach it the 2016 season. This also marks first time in her career having two 30-plus dig matches in a single season as she reached 31 on Nov. 2 against Nebraska. White also added two aces and two assists to her stat line.

Redshirt senior Bryanna Weiskicher dished out 51 assists and added 12 digs for her ninth double-double on the season. She also added four blocks and a kill.

Freshman Jonni Parker led the Nittany Lions in kills with 16, hitting .302. She also recorded eight digs and three blocks.

Redshirt senior Nia Reed followed with 15 kills, adding three blocks and two digs. Graduate student Taylor Leath was also in double figures, tallying 13 kills. She added nine digs, a season-high three service aces and a block.

In the middle, freshmen Serena Gray and Kaitlyn Hord combined for 14 kills. Gray put down eight kills hitting, .500, with five blocks, while Hord put down six kills, with seven blocks and four digs.
Defensively, freshmen Jenna Hampton and Gabby Blossom added nine and seven digs, respectively.

The Nittany Lions opened the first set in dominant fashion, controlling the set from the end line. Penn State dished out a tied single-set season high with five aces. The Nittany Lions were able to keep the Illini out of rhythm and hold them to just .097 hitting. Penn State put down 11 kills, hitting .290, and added 4.0 team blocks to take the opening set, 25-15.

The Illini responded in set two and were able to take the set, 25-22, after hitting .414 with 16 kills. Penn State hit .214, but were only able to find the floor on 13 occasions.

In the third set, the two teams battled back and forth, with the home squad ultimately taking the set, 27-25. Penn State out-hit Illinois as both teams put down 17 kills, but the Nittany Lions hit .311 to Illinois' .240.

Penn State put down 18 kills in the fourth set, and added 26 digs to push past the Illini to force a fifth set with a 25-23 set win. Penn State used Serena Gray to gain an advantage as the rookie middle blocker put down three kills and added four blocks for in the set.

The fifth and deciding set see-sawed like the match. Penn State jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but the home team was able to fight back and take an 8-7 lead at the switch. The two teams would then trade points back and forth, until the Illini took a 14-12 lead. Penn State was able to get within one, but the Illini would take the set and the match, 15-13.

Penn State put down 59 kills to Illinois' 71, but the Nittany Lions were more efficient with a .240 team hitting percentage to a .203 team hitting percentage.

The Nittany Lions return to Rec Hall to close out the regular season with four-straight home matches, starting with No. 15 Michigan on Wednesday, November 14 at 7:30 p.m.