UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – In a battle for sole possession of first place in the Big Ten, No. 13 Penn State women's volleyball fell 3-1 (25-16, 22-25, 25-23, 25-17) to No. 10 Nebraska on Friday night at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions and Cornhuskers entered as the only two remaining teams with unbeaten Big Ten records.
Penn State saw its six-match winning streak come to an end while dropping to 11-4 overall and 4-1 in the conference. Nebraska improved to 11-3 overall and 5-0 in the Big Ten.
A slow start caused Penn State head coach Russ Rose to go to his reserves early and he lauded the play of freshman Anjelina Starck as a bright spot in a losing effort. She saw action in all four sets, including starts in the final two, and finished with eight kills, eight digs and one block.
The slow start had Penn State down 1-0 with a lopsided 25-16 defeat in set one, but the Lions responded strong with a 25-22 win in set two. The set featured 13 ties and six lead changes before the Lions scored the final two points on a service error and a block by Allie Holland and Jonni Parker.
Parker and Anastasiya Kudryashova had three kills apiece in set two, while Starck added two. Jenna Hampton, who finished the match with 19 digs, had eight in the set.
Momentum appeared to be on Penn State's side in front of a large crowd for the team's annual Wear White Match as the Lions jumped out to a 7-3 lead in set three to force a Nebraska timeout. The Huskers scored five of the next six points to tie it up at 8-8 and eventually took the lead at 12-11. With the set tied at 15-all, the Huskers went on a 3-0 run that included two Penn State attack errors.
Penn State got within one at 21-20 on a kill by Kaitlyn Hord and then again at 23-22 on a kill by Starck. Nebraska secured the pivotal set win with back-to-back kills by Lauren Stivrins and Madi Kubik.
Hord got Penn State off to a solid start in set four with back-to-back kills for the first two points, but Nebraska responded with a 6-0 run to take a four-point lead. The Lions made one final run to tie it at 7-7 on a kill by Starck. The Huskers would go on to clinch the match with a 25-17 win.
Fourteen players saw action in the match for Penn State as two of the team's starters didn't play in the final two sets. Hord led the Lions with 11 kills on .409 hitting and had three blocks, including two solo. Parker matched her with 11 kills and added eight digs. Gabby Blossom recorded a double-double with 29 assists and 11 digs.
Katie Clark entered in the fourth set for Penn State and finished with three kills. Also coming off the bench to contribute were Maddy Bilinovic with seven digs, Annie Cate Fitzpatrick with two kills and one solo block, and Quinn Menger with an ace.
Nebraska received a big match from Kubik with 19 kills and 12 digs. Stivrins hit .467 with eight kills. The back row played well as the Huskers finished with 76 digs. Libero Lexi Rodriguez led five players in double-figures with 19.
Penn State is back at Rec Hall on Saturday as it hosts Northwestern at 7 p.m. The Wildcats beat Maryland 3-2 on Friday to improve to 7-9 overall and 2-3 in the Big Ten.
