COLLEGE PARK, Md. – No. 16 Penn State used a balanced attack and a strong effort from the service line to get a 3-2 (25-16, 25-20, 19-25, 23-25, 15-5) win at Maryland in a Big Ten match Sunday at the XFINITY Center. The Nittany Lions upped their overall record to 8-6 and evened their conference mark at 2-2. The Terrapins dropped to 7-7, 0-4.
Kennedy Martin led a trio of Penn State players in double-digits with her 21 kills and finished off a double-double with 11 digs. The junior also paced the Nittany Lions at the service line with four of the team’s eight aces. Joining Martin with double-digit kills were Maggie Mendelson with 13 and Alexis Ewing with 12. Addie Lyon engineered the attack with her 51 assists and just missed a double-double with nine digs.
Gillian Grimes was right behind Martin with three aces and did her part as the libero with 14 digs. Ava Falduto contributed one ace and finished with a team-high 15 digs.
Ajack Malual had nearly half of Maryland’s offensive production, totaling 20 of the team’s 41 kills while hitting .271. She tacked on seven digs, four blocks, and one ace.
Penn State won for the 33rd-consecutive time in the all-times series with Maryland.
Set 1
Ewing hit .400 with five kills and Martin matched her five kills on .364 hitting to lead Penn State to a 25-16 win in the opening set. The Nittany Lions hit .333 behind 13 assists from Addie Lyon. Penn State started fast, racing to an 11-2 lead. Martin had four kills during that stretch, while Ewing was right behind her with four. Maryland only got as close as seven the rest of the way.
Set 2
Three aces helped Penn State get a 25-20 win in the second set despite hitting just .094. The Nittany Lions again started fast as they jumped out to an 8-2 advantage. Falduto recorded an ace to put the Nittany Lions up 5-1. Grimes served up an ace to make the score 8-2. This time Maryland only got as close as three the rest of the way. Set point was scored on a block by Mendelson and Lyon.
Set 3
Malual’s seven kills helped Maryland stay alive with a 25-19 win in the third set. The Terrapins controlled the set almost from start to finish, taking the lead for good after going up 2-1.
Set 4
Penn State dropped the fourth set 25-23 despite Mendelson totaling five kills on .833 hitting. It was the first closely-contested set of the match as the teams were tied as late as 22-all. The Terrapins scored the next two points on Penn State miscues to go up 24-22. Following a timeout, a kill by Mendelson fought off the Terrapins’ first chance at set point. A service error followed to send the match to a fifth set.
Set 5
Penn State came alive in the fifth set, closing out the match with a dominant 15-5 win. Martin took over with four kills on five swings, while Grimes got it done at the service line with a pair of aces. The Nittany Lions used a 6-0 run to go up 9-2. Grimes had back-to-back aces during that run, while Martin tallied a pair of kills. The Terrapins scored their last point at 12-5 before the Nittany Lions secured the win with a 3-0 run. Martin started the run with a kill before Lyon and Mendelson followed with a block. Match point was scored on a Maryland attack error.
Career Highs
Alexis Ewing – kills (12)
Up Next
No. 16 Penn State hosts No. 7 Wisconsin on Friday at 7 p.m. on B1G Network. The Badgers are 11-1 overall and 4-0 in the Big Ten following a 10-match winning streak. They swept Michigan on Sunday.