UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 1 Nebraska hit .419 on its way to a 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-18) win over No. 16 Penn State in Big Ten women’s volleyball action Thursday night at Rec Hall. The Cornhuskers stayed unbeaten at 14-0 overall and 3-0 in the conference, while the Nittany Lions fell to 9-4, 1-2. The match was played in front of 5,450 fans in Happy Valley.
Kennedy Martin racked up 17 kills for Penn State, while Whitney Lauenstein finished with 12. Alexis Stucky tallied 32 assists and served for both of the team’s two aces.
Nebraska’s Andi Jackson entered as the nation’s leader in hitting percentage and continued that pace, hitting .625 with 11 kills. Harper Murray was also efficient, getting her 13 kills on .400 hitting. The Huskers totaled 10 blocks as a team. Jackson was in on seven of those blocks.
Set 1
Lauenstein’s six kills weren’t enough as Penn State fell 25-20 in the opening set. The Nittany Lions trailed big early at 7-1 and were still down big at 17-12. They managed to battle back to within one at 19-18 following a kill by Lauenstein and again at 20-19 after a kill by Stucky. Nebraska scored five of the final six points, including a kill by Teraya Sigler for set point.
Set 2
Martin hit .385 with seven kills, but it was again not enough as Nebraska took the set 25-17. The Huskers hit .455 behind 12 assists from Bergen Reilly. Sigler and Murray tallied four kills apiece.
Set 3
Martin added seven more kills in the third set, but Nebraska finished the match with a 25-18 win. Murray led the Huskers with five kills on .455 hitting.
Up Next
Penn State hosts Iowa on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Hawkeyes are 12-5 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten following a 3-2 loss at Maryland on Thursday.