UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 9 Penn State women's volleyball opened Big Ten play with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-23) win over Indiana on Friday night at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions improved their undefeated record to 12-0 with the win, while the Hoosiers fell to 7-6, 0-1 B1G.
Penn State is now one of just five unbeaten teams in the nation, joining Auburn, UCF, Texas, and Towson. The Lions are 12-0 for the first time since 2015.
The Lions had an off night offensively, but turned to their defensive play to get their fourth-consecutive sweep. They countered a .181 hitting percentage of their own by holding Indiana to .074 hitting. Allie Holland led the effort at the net with seven blocks, while the back row was bolstered by 10 digs from Cassie Kuerschen and nine from Maddy Bilinovic.
Anjelina Starck helped Penn State get off to a hot start in front of more than 3,000 fans at Rec Hall. She delivered five kills, while Taylor Trammell and Kashauna Williams added three apiece to give the Lions a 25-17 win.
After a 25-21 win in set two, the third set was the most closely contested of the match. Indiana led by as much as three at 16-13 and still had the lead late in the set at 20-18. The Lions quickly took back control with a 6-0 run that included two kills by Zoe Weatherington, one by Starck, and an ace by Bilinovic, who was at the service line for five of the points.
The Hoosiers weren't done yet as they made a late run of their own in an attempt to force a fourth set. They fought off three attempts at set point before the Lions closed the match with a block by Holland and Weatherington. It was the team's 12th block of the match.
Williams led Penn State in kills with eight on .278 hitting. Three of those kills came in the final set. Weatherington and Starck were right behind her with seven kills apiece. While Starck did most of her damage in the first set, Weatherington came alive in the third set with four kills. She added five digs and four blocks for the match.
Holland entered the match third in the Big Ten in blocks/set at 1.55. Her seven blocks against the Hoosiers marked her sixth match of the season with at least five.
Sophomore Mady Saris had a solid night for Indiana, finishing with 14 kills and five digs.
The Lions continued their long-time success against the Hoosiers, improving to 59-1 in the all-time series. They are unbeaten against the Hoosiers at Rec Hall with a 31-0 record.
Penn State is back at Rec Hall on Saturday night for a match against Michigan at 7 p.m. The match will stream on B1G+. The Wolverines improved to 10-1 with a 3-0 win over Rutgers on Friday.
