WASHINGTON, D.C. – The No. 5 Penn State women's volleyball took down American, 3-1; 25-17, 25-19, 16-25, 25-23, on Saturday evening to go 3-0 at the American Volleyball Classic, and move to 9-1 on the season, concluding nonconference play.
Freshman Jonni Parker, who was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player, put down a career-best and team-high 17 kills on a .341 hitting percentage, while adding four digs and three blocks. Parker served as a workhorse for the Nittany Lions, taking 44 swings in the match, and was able to get kills when they were needed for the Nittany Lions.
Host American challenged Penn State throughout the whole match, refusing to let the ball hit the floor as they scooped up 72 digs in just four sets. In the third set, which went in favor of the Eagles, AU scooped up an impressive 26 digs, and held Penn State to just .122 hitting.
Graduate student Taylor Leath, an All-Tournament honoree, finished the match with 11 kills, adding eight digs and three blocks. On her third kill of the match, Leath recorded her 1,000 career kill. Leath, now at 80 kills while at Penn State, put down 928 kill at the University of North Carolina, where she finished her undergraduate degree.
Freshman Serena Gray, the Nittany Lions' third All-Tournament honoree, put down 10 kills, reaching double digit in consecutive matches for the first time this season. She hit .300 for th emathc and added six blocks and three digs.
Fellow freshman Allyson Cathey was the fourth Nittany Lion to reach double figure kills in the match as she put down 10 on the pin. She also added three blocks on the evening. This marked the first match that the Nittany Lions had more than two players with 10-plus kills.
Redshirt senior setter Bryanna Weiskircher finished the match with 48 assists, adding a tied-season-high five kills, and scooped up eight digs.
Junior libero Kendall White scooped up 18 digs, adding four assists on the evening.
Penn State finished the match with six aces, led by Freshman Gabby Blossom and Weiskircher, who each had two.
The Nittany Lions continue their road trip as they open up Big Ten play at Minnesota on Wednesday, September 19 at 9 p.m. ET. The match will be on the Big Ten Network.