COLLEGE PARK, Md. – No. 14 Penn State totaled 17 blocks and erased a 2-0 deficit on its way to a reverse sweep in a 3-2 (19-25, 25-27, 25-22, 25-18, 15-9) win over Maryland in Big Ten women's volleyball action Wednesday night at the XFINITY Center Pavilion.
The comeback win in front of a loud Maryland crowd helped Penn State remain unbeaten in the Big Ten with a 3-0 record while upping its overall mark to 10-3. The Terrapins, who were 7-0 on their home court this season, including a win over then-No. 2 Wisconsin just five days ago, fell to 13-2 overall and 1-2 in the conference.
Penn State and Maryland entered the day ranked first and third, respectively, in the nation in blocks/set and Wednesday's match didn't disappoint when it came to the matchups at the net. The Lions reached 17 blocks thanks to huge nights by Kaitlyn Hord (nine blocks), Allie Holland (eight), Jonni Parker (seven) and Gabby Blossom (six).
On the other side, Maryland finished with 13 blocks. The Terrapins were led by Rainelle Jones and Laila Ricks with six, while Hannah Thompson and Sydney Dowler had five apiece. Jones entered the match ranking first in the nation in blocks/set at 1.98, while Penn State's Hord was fourth at 1.76.
It was no surprise then that the final point of the match came on a block. Hord finished off the comeback with a solo stuff to send the Lions back to Happy Valley with their fifth-straight win.
Following a poor performance in the first set, Penn State came alive in the second set but still came up short, 27-25, to a team that was still rolling with the support of the crowd. Neither team led by more than two points in the set, which featured 23 ties and 10 lead changes.
The Lions came out a different team in the third set. Most notable of those changes was the play of Parker. The team captain showed a slow start wasn't going to keep her down. Parker turned in probably the worst set of her career with zero kills and five errors on nine swings in the opening set but showed resiliency in bouncing back to finish with a team-high 19 kills. She added 13 digs for a double-double to go along with her seven block assists.
When the ball did get past the block, Penn State's back row got the job done, finishing with 92 digs. Libero Jenna Hampton finished with a team-high 23, while Blossom had 19. Adanna Rollins and Cassie Kuerschen added 14 apiece.
Blossom and Rollins's dig totals gave them each double-doubles. Blossom finished with 55 assists, while Rollins's double-double came with 10 kills.
Penn State stayed alive with a 25-22 win in set three after getting ahead by as much as six at 19-13 on a block by Anastasiya Kudryashova and Kaitlyn Hord. Maryland battled back to get as close as two, 23-21, before the Lions finished it with back-to-back points, the second coming on a kill by Holland.
Set four was another closely-contested battle with seven ties and a couple of lead changes, but Penn State pulled away with a 4-0 run to go up 20-16. Kudryashova had two kills during that run. The Lions went on to win 25-18, stealing the momentum heading into the final set.
That momentum seemed to carry over as Penn State went up 3-2 in the fifth set and never trailed again. Kuerschen, who had all of Penn State's three aces in the match, came in as a substitution and served the Lions to a 4-0 run that made the score 6-2. The freshman made her first career start against the Terrapins.
Maryland got within three, 11-8, and then a pivotal challenge went Penn State's way to make it a four-point match instead of a two-point contest. The call on the court was an attack error by the Terrapins and was upheld upon review. The Lions scored four of the final five points to close the match. Kuerschen was back at the line for the final two points, serving for an ace to set up match point. She then put the Terrapins in bad position, which led to Hord's match-winning solo block.
One player that didn't start slow and kept Penn State going offensively early on was Kudryashova. The outside hitter finished with 17 kills on .317 hitting. She had five kills on six swings while hitting .833 in the opening set. She added five kills in the second set and then came up big again in the fourth set with five more kills on .455 hitting.
Holland was also consistent through the match. She finished with 15 kills on .538 hitting in addition to her eight blocks.
Penn State ran its winning streak to 26 matches in the series with Maryland. The Terrapins last win over the Lions came in 1979.
After going against one former Penn State staffer in Maryland head coach Adam Hughes, the Lions now turn their attention to Indiana, which is led by former Penn State assistant coach Steve Aird. That match is in Bloomington on Saturday at 6 p.m. The Hoosiers are coming off a 3-0 (25-10, 27-25, 25-20) loss to No. 8 Ohio State on Wednesday night.
Penn State currently sits all alone in first place in the Big Ten standings, having played one more match than the remaining unbeaten teams at 2-0 – Purdue, Illinois, Nebraska and Minnesota.
The 2021 Penn State women's volleyball season is presented by McLanahan's.
