UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Zoe Weatherington provided the spark for Penn State's outstanding offensive night as the Nittany Lions hit .314 in a 3-1 (19-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-21) win over UCF in the second round of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament on Saturday at Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions, who entered as the fourth-seeded team in their region and the 11th-ranked team in the country, improved to 26-7 overall. They advance to the NCAA Regional Semifinal, where they will travel to Madison to take on Wisconsin on Thursday.
The path to victory wasn't easy for Penn State, which found itself trailing midway through the third and fourth sets. The Lions were down 14-10 in the third set and still trailed late at 22-21 before going on a 4-0 run. Weatherington and Katie Clark fueled the run. The two combined on a block to give the Lions a 23-22 lead. Weatherington followed with a kill, which set the stage for a solo block by Clark that gave her team a 2-1 lead in the match and had the Rec Hall crowd on its feet.
Penn State was behind 13-9 in the fourth set and didn't fight back to take the lead until Clark's kill put the Lions up 18-17. The score remained close before Allie Holland put the Lions up 24-21 with a kill. Gillian Grimes then sent the Lions to the next round, securing the victory with an ace.
The clutch ace by Grimes was the sixth of the night for Penn State. Maddy Bilinovic led the way with three, while Cassie Kuerschen and Holland added one apiece.
Weatherington hit .500 with 13 kills, capping a great opening weekend of the tournament. Through two matches, the right side hitter is averaging 3.14 kills/set while hitting .472.
Joining Weatherington with double-digit kills were Kashauna Williams with a team-high 15 and Clark with 10. Seleisa Elisaia did her part to set the group, finishing with 45 assists in addition to her eight digs and three blocks.
Penn State held a potent UCF offensive attack to .229 hitting. The Knights were hitting .319 for the season entering the match, including star player McKenna Melville at .315 while averaging an eye-popping 5.53 kills/set.
Melville was solid in the match with 20 kills, but Penn State did a nice job of slowing her down, holding her to .140 hitting. Melville finished her career with more than 2,500 kills.
Bilinovic played a key role in stopping the Knights with her team-high 13 digs. Kuerschen finished with eight, while Grimes chipped in with five. Clark led the way at the net with two solo blocks and four block assists. Holland added two blocks to her eight kills on .389 hitting.
Penn State won for the ninth time in 10 matches. The lone loss during that stretch came to its next opponent, Wisconsin, but that match went five sets at Rec Hall.
The Badgers, the No. 1 seed in the region and the third-ranked team in the nation, are 27-3 following their 20th-straight victory, a sweep over TCU in the second round.
Penn State will compete in the NCAA Regional Semifinal for the 35th time. The Lions have competed in all 42 NCAA Tournaments.
The 2022 Penn State women's volleyball season is presented by McLanahan's.
