MINNEAPOLIS – No. 20 Penn State women's volleyball knocked off a nationally-ranked opponent from the Pac-12 for the second-straight night Saturday, beating No. 18 Oregon 3-2 (25-21, 15-25, 25-19, 23-25, 15-9) at Minnesota's Maturi Pavilion.
The Nittany Lions kept their perfect record intact at 8-0 thanks to the two wins at the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge. They defeated No. 11 Stanford in five sets on Friday night. The Lions entered the day as one of just 14 unbeaten teams left in the nation.
Kashauna Williams took over in the fifth set to help Penn State get its second signature win in as many days. She tallied four kills on .444 hitting and added three blocks, including one solo, in the final set.
Penn State led 11-9 in a closely-contest fifth before closing the match with a 4-0 run. Anjelina Starck and Allie Holland started the run with back-to-back kills. Williams set up match point with a kill and then teamed with Holland for an exclamation point block.
Williams finished with 16 kills and five blocks, while Zoe Weatherington went for 13 kills and five blocks. Holland had a strong all-around match, hitting .381 with nine kills and nine blocks.
Holland led an impressive Penn State defensive effort that was strong for the second-straight match. One night after totaling 21 blocks in the win over Stanford, the Lions recorded 17 against Oregon. The block party got off to a slow start with just three after the first two sets but came alive with 14 over the final three sets. Taylor Trammell and Seleisa Elisaia finished with six blocks apiece.
Three players reached double-digits in digs, led by libero Maddy Bilinovic with 22. That eclipsed her previous career high of 21 she set in a 3-0 win over LSU last weekend. Freshman Gillian Grimes also set a career high with 11. Elisaia recorded her third double-double of the season, adding 11 digs to her 41 assists. Cassie Kuerschen totaled a career-high 11 digs. Even Holland, a middle blocker, got in on the effort with six digs.
Penn State continued to be an unpredictable team during its 8-0 start to the season, using a balanced attack in nearly every victory. Starck chipped in with nine kills, while Trammell added six from her spot in the middle.
The Lions are 8-0 for the first time since 2017.
Oregon, which dropped to 4-2 overall, including a loss to Minnesota on Friday, was led by Brooke Nuneviller with 16 kills and 16 digs. Mimi Colyer and Gloria Mutiri finished with 13 and 12 kills, respectively.
Penn State is back at home for its final non-conference matches of the season. The Lions host Howard, UAlbany, and Coastal Carolina for the Penn State Classic on Sept. 16-17 at Rec Hall.
