UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- No. 7 Penn State's quest for an 18th Big Ten women's volleyball title came up just short with a 3-1 (19-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-23) loss to Minnesota on Saturday at Rec Hall. The Lions needed a win to clinch a share of the league title. They close the regular season in a tie for second place in the league standings at 23-5 overall and 17-3 in the conference.
Wisconsin clinched the outright league title with a 3-0 win over Rutgers on Saturday. Penn State gave itself a chance at a championship with a come-from-behind 3-2 win over the Badgers on Friday night. Nebraska and Minnesota join Penn State in a tie for second place.
Penn State will play in the NCAA Tournament for the 39th consecutive season as it will receive an at-large bid. The 64-team bracket will be announced with a Selection Show on Sunday at 8:30 p.m., on ESPNU. The Lions now wait to see if they receive a top-16 seed and hosting rights for their matchups in the first and second rounds.
Coming off an emotional win on Friday, the Lions seemed to run out of gas after winning the first set. Minnesota, which posted an easy 3-0 win at Rutgers the previous day, improved to 23-5 overall and 17-3 in the Big Ten with its first win over the Lions at Rec Hall since 2004.
Stephanie Samedy led the way for the Gophers hitting .475 while posting a double-double of 21 kills and 12 digs. Kylie Miller finished with 49 assists and 10 digs while also factoring in on five of the teams 13.5 blocks. Regan Pittman added seven total blocks.
Tori Gorrell tallied a career-high 17 kills for Penn State, giving her a career-best 229 on the season. Kaitlyn Hord hit 522 with 13 kills and six blocks, while Serena Gray Hord had 13 kills on .435 hitting.
Penn State senior Kendall White led all players with 19 digs, while Keeton Holcomb added 12. Gabby Blossom finished with 50 assists and nine digs.
White is just 16 digs away from breaking Penn State's career record.
The 2019 Penn State women's volleyball season is presented by McLanahan's.
