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Sept. 11, 2015
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- A balanced attack helped No. 1 Penn State women's volleyball (6-0) to a straight set victory (25-14, 25-13, 25-14) against Eastern Kentucky (1-8) in the first match of the Golden Dome Invitational Friday evening at Purcell Pavilion.
Five Nittany Lions recorded three or more kills in the Penn State win, led by nine kills from sophomore Haleigh Washington. Redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney finished second on the team with eight kills, while sophomore Ali Frantti finished third with seven kills on a team-high .636 hitting efficiency.
Senior Megan Courtney added four kills, while redshirt freshman Nia Reed posted a career-high three kills without a single attack error.
Redshirt freshman Bryanna Weiskircher directed the Nittany Lions to a .361 team hitting clip, dishing out a match-high 19 assists.
The Nittany Lions also posted a season-high seven team aces in the victory, led by three from Washington and two from Weiskircher.
Penn State maintained balance defensively as well with seven different Nittany Lions recording at least two digs. Weiskircher led the way with a match-high nine digs, while freshman libero Keeton Holcomb totaled eight.
Washington also led the blocking unit with four total blocks, while Whitney finished second on the team with three.
Penn State shot out to a 4-0 lead in the match, featuring back-to-back aces from Weiskircher. Eastern Kentucky answered back with a kill before a PSU attack error brought the Colonels within one, 4-2. Frantti looked to spark a run with a kill, 5-2, but EKU matched the Nittany Lions point for point to arrive within one, 7-6.
A kill from Courtney made it 8-6, but a PSU service error and an Eastern Kentucky ace tied the score, 8-8. Penn State used a 3-0 strike to build the lead back to three, 11-8. A Penn State service error and an EKU kill moved the Colonels within one, 11-10. Three consecutive Eastern Kentucky errors sent Penn State ahead, 14-10. A PSU service error cut off the momentum, 14-11, but Penn State regrouped with an 8-2 stretch to surge ahead, 22-13.
Eastern Kentucky looked to get back on track after calling a timeout, but Penn State came out of the break with an ace to make it 23-13. The Colonels answered back with a kill, 23-14, but three straight errors gave Penn State a 25-14 win in the first set.
The Nittany Lions got out to another hot start in the second set using an 8-2 run for an early advantage. Looking to get back on track, the Colonels called a timeout and came out of the huddle with a kill to make it 8-3. An EKU service error pulled Penn State ahead 9-3, but the Colonels used a 3-0 spurt to arrive within three, 9-6.
A kill from Whitney and a block from Washington and Lee opened up an 11-4 Penn State run that bolstered the Nittany Lion advantage to double figures, 20-10. Looking to halt the run, Eastern Kentucky called its final timeout of the frame. Penn State came out of the break with a 5-3 stretch to secure a 25-13 win in the second set to go up 2-0 in the match.
Trailing by one early in the third set, 6-5, Washington put down a kill before teaming up with Weiskircher for a block to bring Penn State ahead, 7-6. EKU followed with a pair of errors to widen the Penn State advantage, 9-6. A Nittany Lion service error interrupted the rhythm, but PSU settled back into a 6-4 stretch to make it 15-10, prompting Eastern Kentucky to call a timeout.
The Colonels came out of the timeout with a kill and an ace to shave the advantage back to three, 15-12. From there, the Nittany Lions did not look back, using a 5-2 run to close out a 25-14 win in the third set to complete the sweep. Reed finished off the victory with three consecutive kills in the streak.
Penn State returns to the court for a doubleheader Saturday, Sept. 12. The Nittany Lions take on Mississippi State at 10 a.m. before squaring off against tournament host Notre Dame at 7 p.m.