LINCOLN, Neb. – Another Penn State-Nebraska women's volleyball match went down to the wire as the seventh-ranked Nittany Lions came up just short in a 3-2 loss to the eighth-ranked Cornhuskers on Saturday night at the Devaney Center. The Huskers came out on top with scores of 25-18, 18-25, 25-21, 21-25, 15-13, in a match that took nearly three hours in front of a sold-out crowd of 8.373.
Nebraska improved to 18-3 overall and 10-2 in the Big Ten, while Penn State dropped to 17-4 overall and 10-2 in the conference. The teams are tied for third in the league standings.
Penn State, which entered with an eight-match winning streak, received double-doubles from Jonni Parker and Gabby Blossom. Parker finished with a team-high 16 kills and added 10 digs, while Blossom tallied 49 assists and 13 digs. They were two of five Lions with double-digit digs. Kendall White led the way with 17, Jenna Hampton was right behind her with 15, and Keeton Holcomb finished with 11.
Lexi Sun totaled 20 kills to lead four Nebraska players in double-digits. Nicklin Hames had a huge double-double with 54 assists and 22 digs. Kenzie Knuckles added a match-high 24 digs.
Nebraska took the first set 25-18, but Penn State turned the tables with a 25-18 win of their own in set two. The Lions never trailed in the set after scoring the first point on a kill by Serena Gray. The Huskers battled back to tie it at 13-all before the Lions answered with a 4-0 run that included a pair of kills by Gorrell.
The teams continued to trade sets as Nebraska took the third 25-21 and Penn State secured the fourth 25-21. That set up an exciting fifth set that saw the Huskers get the two-point win, 15-13.
Penn State battled back multiple times in the final set, starting with a 4-0 run that cut the deficit to one, 10-9, after trailing 10-5. The run was capped by three-straight blocks, the first by Allyson Cathey and the second two combined blocks by Parker and Serena Gray.
Nebraska set itself up for match point at 14-11 before Penn State fought back again with back-to-back points. The first came on a kill by Hord. Kristin Krause then came off the bench for the first time of the night and served for a point that came from a block by Hord and Gorrell. On its third chance at match point, the Huskers clinched the win with a kill by Madi Kubik.
Gray finished with eight kills and seven total blocks for the Lions. Cathey and Kaitlyn Hord registered nine kills apiece.
After playing five of its past six matches on the road, Penn State is back at Rec Hall for the next two. The Lions will host Indiana on Friday at 7:30 p.m., and then Purdue on Saturday at 7 p.m. The team will celebrate Senior Day prior to the match against the Boilermakers.
The 2019 Penn State women's volleyball season is presented by McLanahan's.
