ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Penn State women’s volleyball opened the second half of Big Ten play with a 3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 26-28, 25-22, 15-12) loss to Michigan on Friday night at the Crisler Center. The Nittany Lions dipped to 13-8 overall and 7-4 in the conference, while the Wolverines upped their record to 15-7, 5-6.
Penn State dominated from the service line with 11 aces, received 27 kills from Kennedy Martin, a strong night offensively from Emmi Sellman, and a huge night defensively from Gabrielle Nichols. Unfortunately, all of that wasn’t enough to overcome a balanced attack from Michigan that saw the duo of Allison Jacobs and Ella Demetrician lead four Wolverines in double-figures with their 18 kills apiece.
Martin recorded her sixth double-double of the season 27 kills and 11 digs while also totaling seven blocks and four aces. She led the way as Penn State finished with 11 aces as a team, getting two apiece from Addie Lyon and Gillian Grimes, and one each from Jordan Hopp, Ava Falduto, and Lexi Gin.
Lyon gave the Nittany Lions two players with double-doubles as she racked up 47 assists and 10 digs. Sellman just missed making it three players, hitting .320 with 11 kills and nine digs.
A pair of Penn State freshmen showed signs of what’s to come in their collegiate careers. Nichols led all players with her eight blocks in addition to eight kills, while Alexis Ewing matched her career-high of 12 kills while reaching double-digits for the second time this season.
Jacobs finished with 12 digs and Demetrician had 11 to give both players double-doubles. Morgan Burke posted 32 assists and 13 digs to join the duo in that category.
Penn State is now 57-7 in the all-time series with Michigan.
Career Highs
Lexi Gin – aces (1)
Gabrielle Nichols – digs (2), blocks (8)
Up Next
No. 19 Penn State hosts No. 24 Indiana on Sunday at 4 p.m. The Hoosiers are 17-4 overall and 8-3 in the Big Ten following a sweep at Maryland on Friday.