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Nov. 6, 2015
EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- Behind double digit kills from two Nittany Lions, No. 1 Penn State women's volleyball (23-2, 12-2) swept past Rutgers (4-21, 1-12) in three sets (25-19, 25-17, 25-12) on the road at College Avenue Gymnasium Friday evening.
Redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney led the offense with 12 kills on .455 hitting, adding a team-high six total blocks, including two solo stuffs. Sophomore Ali Frantti finished second on the squad with 10 kills on a squad-best .643 hitting efficiency, adding five digs and three blocks.
Sophomore Haleigh Washington logged seven kills on 10 errorless swings, while also leading the team with two aces. Senior Megan Courtney and sophomore Haleigh Washington posted six kills apiece.
Redshirt freshman Bryanna Weiskircher directed the Nittany Lion offense to a .374 hitting percentage. Weiskircher passed out 33 assists to go along with eight digs and one block.
The Nittany Lions out-blocked the Scarlet Knights 9.5-4.0, led by multi-block performances from four different players. Lee finished second the team with four blocks, while Washington added two.
Freshman libero Keeton Holcomb led the team with nine digs, while also logging one ace.
Penn State shot out to an 8-2 start in the match, capped off by two consecutive kills from Washington, to take over an early advantage. Rutgers answered back with a 3-1 spurt to cut the lead back to four, 9-5. Whitney looked to spark some momentum with a trio of kills in between a pair of Rutgers points to make it 12-7. The Scarlet Knights rallied with two kills in between a Nittany Lion attack error to shave the margin to two, 12-10.
The Nittany Lions regrouped with a 4-1 stretch finished off by two kills from Courtney to widen the advantage to seven, 16-11, prompting Rutgers to call a timeout. Rutgers continued to match PSU point-for-point to shave the advantage back to three, 19-16. Whitney came in clutch once again with three kills in between one from Rutgers to lift the Nittany Lions ahead, 22-17.
The Scarlet Knights looked to get back on track with a kill, 22-18, but Lee and Whitney sparked a 3-1 streak with a block that carried Penn State to a 25-19 win in the opening frame.
Penn State got out to another fast start in the second set, moving out to a 6-2 early advantage. Rutgers came storming back with three consecutive kills to arrive within one, 6-5. The Nittany Lions regrouped with a 13-5 scoring streak, capped off by two straight blocks from Lee and Washington to build a nine-point lead, 19-10.
Rutgers called a timeout and came out of the break with a kill, 19-11, but Washington answered with a kill to keep Penn State ahead, 20-11. The Scarlet Knights responded with a 5-2 stretch to narrow the margin to six, 22-16, causing PSU to call a timeout. A Rutgers service error and a kill from Whitney quickly made it set point, 24-16 out of the break. The Scarlet Knights held off one attempt before Whitney closed out a 25-17 win in the second set with a kill.
Penn State came out of the intermission firing, opening up the third set with an 8-2 run, prompting the Scarlet Knights to call an early timeout. Rutgers looked to spark some momentum with a 3-2 stretch to pull within five, 10-5. Penn State answered back with six unanswered points, featuring a trio of Nittany Lion blocks to bolster the lead to as many as 11, 16-5, prompting the Scarlet Knights to call a timeout.
The Nittany Lions continued to roll out of the break, as a kill from Frantti and an ace from Washington opened up a 7-2 run that sent PSU surging ahead, 23-7. The Scarlet Knights looked to halt the streak with a pair of kills, 23-9, but a kill from sophomore Heidi Thelen made it match point, 24-9. Rutgers held off two consecutive attempts before redshirt freshman Nia Reed put away a kill for a 25-12 win in the third set to complete the sweep.
Penn State continues its four-match road swing, splitting next week on the road at Iowa and Minnesota. The Nittany Lions take on the Hawkeyes Wednesday, Nov. 11 before heading to Minnesota to square off against the Golden Gophers Saturday, Nov. 14.