UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Kendall White needed just four sets to record a season-high 29 digs as No. 8 Penn State beat No. 15 Purdue 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-18, 25-15) in Big Ten women's volleyball action Saturday night at Rec Hall. White was one of five Nittany Lions honored for Senior Night prior to the match. She was joined by Tori Gorrell, Keeton Holcomb, Kristin Krause, and Emily Sciorra.
The win lifted Penn State to 19-4 overall and 12-2 in the Big Ten. It was the team's 10th win in the last 11 matches.
The victory came over a strong Purdue team. The Boilermakers, who knocked off then-No. 8 Nebraska just two weeks ago, saw their record fall to 16-7 overall and 8-6 in the conference.
The defensive effort was solid all-around for the Nittany Lions, including Jonni Parker, who added seven digs to her team-high 17 kills. Jenna Hampton finished with 11 digs, while Holcomb and Gabby Blossom added seven apiece. Blossom also tallied 53 assists.
Gorrell made the most of Senior Night, hitting .333 with 14 kills and five blocks. Serena Gray was one kill behind her with 13 on .400 hitting and added five blocks. Kaitlyn Hord contributed nine kills and led all players with six total blocks.
White had two sets with huge dig numbers, racking up nine in set one and 10 in set three. She is up to 1,861 for her career, putting her 97 away from passing Kaleena Walters for the most in program history.
With the exception of the second set, Penn State controlled play nearly the entire match. The Lions went up 4-0 and never trailed in the first set and then did the same thing in set three. A block by Gorrell and Gray gave them the lead for good at 5-4 of set four.
The win was Penn State's fourth over a nationally-ranked team this season, two of which came against Big Ten opponents.
Purdue was held to .194 hitting in the match despite hitting .452 with 17 kills in the second set. The Boilermakers hit .133 with 31 kills over the other three sets combined.
Blake Mohler was Purdue's top player. She hit .360 with 13 kills, five digs, and four blocks.
Penn State goes on the road for its next four matches, starting with a trip to No. 21 Illinois on Friday. The Lions erased a 2-0 deficit to beat the Illini at Rec Hall earlier this season.
