LINCOLN, Neb. – No. 15 Penn State dropped a pair of closely-contested sets on its way to a 3-0 (25-14, 25-23, 25-23) loss to No. 11 Nebraska on Friday night at the Devaney Center. The Nittany Lions dropped to 19-8 overall and 12-5 in the Big Ten, while the Cornhuskers improved to 20-6, 14-3.
Senior Jonni Parker did her best to give Penn State a shot to win on the road, leading all players with 14 kills while adding five digs and two blocks. But Penn State hit .088 as a team and was doomed by eight service errors.
After a slow start, Penn State came to life in the second set and worked its way to a 22-15 lead that included a kill by Gabby Blossom. Nebraska scored 10 of the final 11 points to go up 2-0 in the match. The Cornhuskers went on a 4-0 run before Kaitlyn Hord stopped the slide with a kill for the Lions. Nebraska closed the set on a 6-0 run.
The third set also went down to the wire and saw momentum turn on a pivotal challenge call. With the match tied at 19-19, an attack by Nebraska's Lexi Sun landed out of bounds, but a touch was called. Penn State challenged the play, but the touch call was upheld and the Huskers took a 20-19 lead.
The teams battled to a 23-23 tie in the final set with Parker tying it up with a kill. Nebraska finished off the sweep with a kill by Whitney Lauenstein and an ace by Sun.
Penn State was strong defensively, holding Nebraska to .186 hitting in the match. Blossom recorded a double-double with 26 assists and 14 digs, while Jenna Hampton finished with 14 digs. The Lions had seven blocks, including five by Allie Holland.
Madi Kubik had 12 kills and Lauren Stivrins totaled seven blocks for Nebraska. Nicklin Hames registered a double-double with 38 assists and 14 digs.
Penn State is back on Big Ten Network when it travels to play No. 10 Ohio State on Sunday at 3 p.m. The Lions then close the regular season at home the following weekend with matches against Minnesota on Friday and Iowa on Saturday.
