UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Senior middle blocker Kaitlyn Hord hit .667 with 16 kills and seven blocks to lead No. 15 Penn State to a 3-1 (25-17, 25-10, 22-25, 25-18) win over Rutgers in Big Ten women's volleyball action Friday at Rec Hall.
Penn State improved to 13-4 overall and 6-1 in the Big Ten to remain in a tie with Wisconsin for second place in the conference standings. Rutgers saw its record dip to 8-10, 0-7.
The Nittany Lions cruised through the first two sets to take the early lead, posting their most dominant showing of the night in set two with 17 kills on .400 hitting. That momentum was lost in a 25-22 loss in set three that saw the Lions muster a .130 hitting percentage.
Penn State bounced back strong in set four to end any hopes of a Rutgers comeback. The Lions opened the set with a 6-0 run.
Senior libero Jenna Hampton led a solid defensive effort for Penn State as it held Rutgers to .119 hitting for the match. She led all players with 21 digs and added five assists and two aces. Gabby Blossom was also lauded by head coach Russ Rose for her defensive play. The senior setter recorded a double-double with 42 assists and a career-high 20 digs. Her previous career high in digs was 19.
Adanna Rollins joined Blossom with a double-double totaling 15 kills, 14 digs and three blocks. She now has 905 kills and 934 digs for her career. Also contributing to Penn State's 76 digs in the four-set match were Anjelina Starck with eight and Jonni Parker with six.
Anastasiya Kudryashova provided a spark off the bench for the Lions, finishing with seven kills on .308 hitting. Allie Holland also had seven kills while hitting .316 and added three blocks. Katie Clark had a nice stretch off the bench during the end of the first set, scoring three of Penn State's final five points with kills.
Beka Kojadinovic continued to be a bright spot in the Rutgers lineup. She finished with a team-high 12 kills while adding 13 digs and five blocks. The Scarlet Knights had 13 blocks in the match, including eight block assists by Inna Balyko.
Rutgers' win in set three ended a 51-set winning streak in the series by Penn State that dated back to 2001. The Lions did extend their match winning streak in the series to 30.
Penn State has a big conference matchup next as the Lions travel to take on No. 6 Purdue on Sunday at 2 p.m. The match will air live on ESPN2.
The Boilermakers are 13-3 overall and 5-2 in the Big Ten following a 3-1 loss to No. 7 Ohio State on Friday night.
Sunday will mark just the second match at Holloway Gymnasium for the Penn State senior class. The Lions haven't played at Purdue since Oct. 10, 2018.
