PITTSBURGH, Pa. – No. 15 Penn State improved to 23-0 all-time in the Round of 64 of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship, defeating Towson 3-1 (25-11, 25-27, 25-20, 25-21) on Friday at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.
The Nittany Lions improved to 21-10 overall and will play third-seeded and third-ranked Pitt in the Second Round on Saturday at 7 p.m. The match will also be played at the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers advanced with a 3-0 (
Jonni Parker helped Penn State hold off a persistent Towson team, finishing with 18 kills on .348 while adding 11 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Kaitlyn Hord had 11 kills and led all players with seven blocks, while Adanna Rollins joined her in double-digits with 10 kills while adding eight digs and four blocks.
Meanwhile, setter Gabby Blossom and libero Jenna Hampton continued to perform at a high level in their respective roles. Blossom did a little of everything, finishing with five kills, 47 assists and 11 digs for her 19th double-double of the season. And despite the match going just four sets, Hampton matched a career high with 27 digs. It's her third match with 27 digs this season. Two of those went four sets.
Penn State had a hot start to postseason play with a dominant 25-11 win in set one. The Lions hit .407 behind 11 assists from Blossom. Freshman Anjelina Starck, making her postseason debut, totaled four kills on seven swings with no errors. Parker also had four kills.
Towson has been a strong defensive team all season, as evident by its .131 opponent hitting percentage that ranked fifth in the nation entering the match. It was no surprise then that Penn State couldn't sustain its .400-plus hitting. The Tigers held the Lions to a .123 clip in set two and took advantage of four service errors by the Lions to tie match with a 27-25 win.
Penn State got back on track in set three, hitting .385 with 18 kills on its way to a 25-20 win and a 2-1 lead in the match. It was a team effort as six Lions combined for those 18 kills. Rollins led the way with four on .429 hitting and added six digs in the set, while Hord had four on seven swings.
Rollins keyed the victory in set three with a stretch that she near single-handedly gave Penn State a cushion midway through the set. With the Lions leading 15-13, Rollins had a hand in the team's next five points with four kills and a block assist with Hord to put her team up 20-15.
A strong defensive effort from the back row helped seal the match with a 25-21 win in set four. Hampton recorded eight of the team's 20 digs to help hold Towson to .158 hitting. Penn State trailed 11-10 but went on a 3-0 run on a kill by Rollins and two kills by Hord to go up 13-11. The Tigers battled back to retake the lead at 17-16 before the Lions went on a 4-0 run this time. A lot of that damage was self-inflicted by the Tigers with two attack errors, a service error and a Penn State service ace by Starck.
Another attack error by Towson late in the set gave Penn State a 24-18 lead. On their fourth chance at match point, the Lions advanced in the tournament with a kill by Rollins.
Towson, which was in its third-straight NCAA Tournament after winning the CAA regular season and Tournament titles, closed the season at 26-5 overall. Nina Cajic hit .333 with 10 kills and seven digs. Lydia Wiers tallied seven blocks, while Rachel Hess led the team with 17 digs.
Penn State and Towson met in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons. The Lions beat the Tigers in four sets at Rec Hall in the Second Round in 2019.
Friday's win marked the 106th career victory in the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship for Penn State head coach Russ Rose. That's more than any coach in history.