WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – No. 15 Penn State women's volleyball jumped out to a 2-1 lead but came up short in the end in a 3-2 (25-23, 15-25, 20-25, 25-23, 15-11) loss to No. 6 Purdue on Sunday at Holloway Gymnasium.
The Lions, who were playing their third top-10 opponent of the season, dropped to 13-5 overall and 6-2 in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers improved to 14-3 overall and 6-2 in the conference. The two teams are tied with Ohio State and Minnesota for third place in the Big Ten standings.
The senior class attempted to will Penn State to a win. Kaitlyn Hord hit .500 with a career-high 20 kills, eclipsing her previous high of 17. Jonni Parker tallied a team-high 23 kills, Jenna Hampton recorded a career-high 26 digs, and Gabby Blossom posted a double-double with 58 assists and 20 digs. Blossom matched a career high in digs that she set two days ago in a four-set win against Rutgers.
After a tough two-point loss in set one, Penn State looked great in sets two and three, especially defensively. The Lions combined for 41 digs over the two sets while holding Purdue to .027 hitting during that stretch. The Boilermakers got rolling again in sets four and five, hitting .359 and .450, respectively.
The turning point of the match came late in the fourth set. Penn State was whistled for an illegal attack that gave Purdue a one-point lead instead of Penn State. The Lions eventually went down 22-19 on a service ace by Jena Otec. They did recover from that tough stretch with a 4-0 run that included three kills by Parker and gave them a 23-22 lead, but the Boilermakers responded with a 3-0 run to send the match to a fifth set.
Purdue took a 5-4 lead in the fifth set on a kill by Raven Colvin and kept the lead for the remainder of the match.
Parker nearly led the Lions to the win with her effort in sets three and four. She had 16 of her kills during that stretch on an impressive .419 hitting. Meanwhile, Hord was strong from start to finish. Her lowest hitting percentage was .375 in the fourth set. She had 11 kills and just one error on 18 swings through the first two sets.
Hampton continued to put up big numbers from her libero spot. Over the past six matches, she has averaged 21.0 digs/match and 4.20 digs/set. Blossom has been right there with her, posting double-doubles in assists and digs in four straight matches, including two straight with 20 digs.
A pair of seniors that chose to return to Purdue for an extra season helped the Boilermakers overcome the effort by the Penn State senior class. Caitlyn Newton hit .349 with 26 kills and eight digs, while Otec led all players with 27 digs. Setter Hayley Bush had a double-double with 48 assists and 11 digs.
The schedule doesn't get any easier for Penn State, which just played in its eighth city through the first eight weeks of the season. The Lions go back on the road next weekend to take on No. 12 Minnesota on Friday at 7 p.m., and No. 3 Wisconsin on Saturday at 7 p.m. Both matches will air live on the Big Ten Network.