EUGENE, Ore. – No. 18 Penn State women's volleyball had its chances but came out on the wrong side of a five-set match with No. 14 Stanford on Saturday at Oregon's Matthew Knight Arena. The Nittany Lions had one serve for match point in the fourth set, but eventually lost the set and the next one in a 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 22-25, 26-24, 15-7) loss.
The match was the second for Penn State at the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge. The Lions return to State College with a record of 5-3, while Stanford exits at 4-2.
Penn State rolled to a win in set one, leading by as much as seven, 20-13, following a kill by Erika Pritchard. The Lions hit .310 and totaled 20 digs while holdings Stanford to a .175 clip.
The second set was one that could have gone either way. Penn State scored back-to-back points on an ace by Pritchard and a kill by Jonni Parker to go up 22-20. Stanford responded with a 3-0 run before the Lions tied it at 23-23 with a kill by Kaitlyn Hord. The Cardinal scored the final two points on kills to tie the match.
Despite the close score, 25-22, in set three, Penn State never trailed. The Lions led by as much as four at 22-18, but Stanford battled back to get within one, 23-22. Parker stepped up with back-to-back kills to give the Lions a 2-1 lead in the match.
The fourth was another back-and-forth set as Stanford started strong with a 5-1 advantage. Penn State worked its way back to tie it at 10-10 with a solo block by Parker, the first of two that she had in the set. The score would be tied six more times in the set, the latest at 24-24. Penn State led 24-22 on a kill by Allie Holland but couldn't get the next point for the win as the Cardinal closed the set with a 4-0 run.
The fifth set was tied at 5-5 before Stanford took over. The Cardinal scored 10 of the final 12 points, including a 4-0 run to end the match.
Penn State had numerous big statistical nights, led by senior setter Gabby Blossom. She was one of three Lions with a double-double as she totaled 53 assists and a team-high 18 digs. The other double-doubles came from Parker, who hit .367 with 21 kills, 13 digs and five blocks, and Pritchard, who finished with 11 kills, 12 digs and three aces.
The Lions finished with 78 digs, including five in double-figures. Joining Blossom, Parker and Pritchard were Hampton with 14 and freshman Cassie Kuerschen with a career-high 11.
Hord, the NCAA leader in blocks/set, added seven to her total in addition to 11 kills. Anastasiya Kudryashova hit .389 with seven kills.
Caitie Baird led Stanford to the win with 24 kills and 10 digs. Kendall Kipp tallied 21 kills.
Penn State is back on the road next weekend as it travels to Morgantown, West Virginia, to take on the Mountaineers and Robert Morris. Both matches are on Friday.
