Nittany Lions Dig Out of Gopher Hole for 3-1 Win
We don’t know what Coach Rose and his staff had to say to the Penn State Women’s Volleyball team after game 1 (which the Minnesota Gophers won 29-27, hitting an impressive .359 in the set, compared to Penn State’s .277), but whatever it was, it worked, as the Nittany Lions took the next three games 25-13 (hitting .371 to the Gopher’s .000), 25-15 (.290 to -.079) and 25-22 (a back-and-forth affair that had fans of both teams contemplating the possibility of going to five). Minnesota put up a big block throughout, but for the match, Penn State out-blocked the Gophers 15.5 to 9.0.
6-2 Sr. MH Nia Grant had another solid match, leading the team in kills (14), attack % (.429) and blocks (8), with an ace and two digs thrown in for good measure. 6-4 RS Jr. MH/OH Aiyana Whitney was close behind, registering 12 kills on .391 hitting, with 6 blocks. 6-2 Jr. RS/Opp Megan Courtney 12 kills (.250 attack %), 7 blocks (1 solo) and 4 digs.
5-6 Sr. libero Dominique Gonzalez led all players with 26 digs (a new season-high for her). She is now averaging 3.86 digs/set (see updated season stats below). 5-11 Sr. setter Micha Hancock totaled three service aces, four blocks, and five digs, leading the team to a .261 attack % for the match (the Nittany Lions hit .125 in the fourth set). For the complete match write-up from GoPSUsports.com, Click Here.
Match Stats (Courtesy GoPSUsports.com)
B1G Final 2014 Standings (click images for more info)
RUPenn State Season Statistics (9-27-14)
Attack Leaders (9-27-14)
Setting Leaders (9-27-14)
Serving Leaders (9-27-14)
Rcpt/Dig Leaders (9-27-14)
Blocking/Points Leaders (9-27-14)
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Photo Credits
- Gophers in Hole: Scene from the Gopher Hole Museum, Torrington Alberta, Canada, by James P Fisher III, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.