LOS ANGELES, Calif. – No. 15 Penn State women’s volleyball bounced back strong with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-19) win over USC in a Big Ten match Saturday at the Galen Center. The Nittany Lions leave California at 13-5 overall and 5-3 in the conference. The Trojans dipped to 8-10, 2-6.
Kendall Northern had a strong all-around match in the win, hitting .417 with seven kills and three blocks. Gabrielle Nichols joined her in the middle and finished with six kills and five blocks as the duo helped hold USC to .094 hitting.
Alexis Stucky recorded her second double-double in as many days, posting 31 assists and 14 digs. Jocelyn Nathan joined her in double-digits with her 11 digs. Kennedy Martin was the team leader in kills with 10, while Whitney Lauenstein and Emmi Sellman contributed eight and seven, respectively.
London Wijay was the top player statistically for the Trojans, registering a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs.
Penn State has won five straight matches against USC, improving to 5-3 in the all-time series.
Set 1
Northern tallied four kills and Sellman contributed three to lead Penn State to a 25-17 win in set one. Nathan led the defensive effort with five digs as USC was held to -.024 hitting. Penn State broke a 13-13 tie with a 3-0 run to go up 16-13. Sellman capped the run with a pair of kills. The Nittany Lions really pulled away with a 5-0 run that put them up 21-14. Northern had two kills and a block during that stretch. Set point was later scored on a block by Nichols and Lauenstein.
Set 2
Lauenstein had seven kills and Martin added five as Penn State took set two 25-23. The Nittany Lions led by as much as seven at 17-10 following a kill by Lauenstein and again at 18-11 after a kill by Martin. USC was never able to tie the score but did get within one at 20-19 and again at 24-23. Northern came through with a kill the first time, while Martin had a kill the second time for set point.
Set 3
Stucky’s seven digs helped hold USC to .094 hitting in Penn State’s 25-19 win in set three. The Nittany Lions never trailed in the set and took the lead for good after going up 8-6 thanks to a kill and an ace by Sellman. They went on to lead by as much as seven at 24-17 after a 4-0 run that included kills by Haley Burgdorf and Nichols. It was also Nichols that came through with a kill for set point.
Up Next
No. 15 Penn State hosts No. 11 Oregon for its Dig Pink match on Friday at 7 p.m. The Ducks are 15-2 overall and 6-1 in the Big Ten after six straight wins over then-No. 15 Minnesota, then-No. 10 Purdue, Illinois, then-No. 22 Michigan State, Michigan, and then-No. 18 Indiana.