UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 13 Penn State women's volleyball closed the weekend on a high note with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-19) win over Illinois on Sunday afternoon at Rec Hall. The Lions upped their record to 14-3 overall and 3-3 in the Big Ten, while the Illini fell to 8-8, 3-3 B1G.
Penn State's win came against an Illinois team that received votes in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll. The Illini's previous two Big Ten losses each came in five sets to then-No. 5 Purdue and then-No. 8 Wisconsin.
Freshman Alexa Markley had a breakout match for Penn State, finishing with a career-high 10 kills on .350 hitting. Only Kashauna Williams had more kills for the Lions. She had 15, giving her 15 or more kills in four consecutive matches. Allie Holland did a little of everything, hitting .727 with eight kills, five blocks and three digs.
Setter Seleisa Elisaia hit .714 with six kills in addition to her 35 assists and six digs. She guided the Lions to a .343 hitting percentage in the final set.
That final set exemplified the balanced attack Penn State employed throughout the match and for most of this season. Elisaia, Markley, and Williams had four kills apiece, while Holland and Katie Clark each contributed three.
Clark entered the match in the second set following a Penn State injury and made the most of her opportunity. She finished with four kills and one block.
Maddy Bilinovic and Anjelina Starck led the effort in the back row, tallying 12 and 11 digs, respectively. Bilinovic added seven assists.
Penn State used big runs to pick up wins in each of the first two sets. The Lions trailed 8-7 before scoring seven straight points in the opening set. Holland and Markley fueled that run, with Holland coming through with two kills and a solo block and Markley tallying three kills.
The Lions used a 5-0 run to break a 16-16 tie in the second set. Williams had two kills during that stretch, Holland and Markley had one kill apiece, and Starck capped the run with an ace.
Illinois was held to .162 hitting in the match. Brooke Mosher led the Illini with 11 kills and five digs. Raina Terry chipped in with nine kills.
Penn State improved to 50-12 in the all-time series with Illinois with wins in five of the last six meetings. The Lions are 28-4 against the Illini at Rec Hall.
Up next for Penn State is a road match against a top-10 team for the third-straight weekend. The Lions will play No. 3 Nebraska on Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET, in a match that will air live on B1G Network. They then make the trip to Iowa for a match with the Hawkeyes on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Nebraska is 14-1 overall and 6-0 in the Big Ten following 3-0 wins over Michigan State and Michigan this week. Iowa is 7-10 overall and 1-5 in the conference after a 3-2 win over Indiana.
