IOWA CITY, Iowa – Kaitlyn Hord, Jonni Parker, and Tori Gorrell all had double-digit kills to lead Penn State women's volleyball to a 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-16) win over Iowa on Friday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. It was the eighth-straight victory for the Nittany Lions and the second straight that came via sweep in a road match.
Penn State improved to 17-3 overall and 10-1 in the Big Ten, setting up a big match at No. 8 Nebraska on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. (ET). The Cornhuskers improved to 17-3 overall and 9-2 in the conference with a sweep of Rutgers on Friday.
Iowa dropped to 9-13 overall and 3-8 in the Big Ten with its second 3-0 loss to Penn State this season. The Lions improved to 55-0 in the all-time series with the Hawkeyes.
The Lions hit .346 as a team, led by Hord at .591 with a match-high 14 kills. Parker wasn't far behind with 11 kills on .304 hitting while adding three aces, three blocks, and four digs. Gorrell and Gray contributed 11 kills apiece, while freshman Lauren Clark tallied six kills on .556 hitting.
Kendall White tallied nine digs in the first set alone and finished with 13 for the match. Gabby Blossom just missed a double-double, adding nine digs along with her 45 assists. Blossom has won two consecutive Big Ten Setter of the Week honors.
Penn State finished with seven aces to just four service errors. In addition to Parker's three aces, White tallied two and Gorrell and Gray added one apiece.
The Lions wasted little time in taking control of the match, rolling to the 13-point win in set one. Hord had six kills on .857 hitting in the opening set.
The second set was closer, but Penn State still led the majority of the way. Two of the Lions' final three points came on double blocks by Hord and Parker.
Penn State took a 2-1 lead and didn't trail again in the final set. Senior captain Kristin Krause entered the match and served for three-straight points to put the Lions up 14-6. Freshman Molly Russell then did the same, serving for three-consecutive points to put the Lions up 20-9.
Griere Hughes led Iowa with 10 kills. Blythe Rients had five kills on .500 hitting, but the Hawkeyes were held to .172 hitting as a team.
Penn State enters Saturday's match in Lincoln in a tie with Minnesota for second place in the Big Ten standings, while Nebraska is one win behind the two. The match at the Devaney Center will air on the Big Ten Network, including a half-hour pregame show.
The 2019 Penn State women's volleyball season is presented by McLanahan's.