Penn State (9-0) pounced on the Auburn Tigers (7-3) in the first set last night, 25-11, and proceeded to take the next two sets 25-16 and 25-19 to earn the sweep. The Nittany Lions have now won 29 consecutive matches, starting with their five-set win over Michigan in Ann Arbor on Oct. 20, 2014.
Against Auburn, Penn State was led by 6-3 So. MB Haleigh Washington (11 kills — with an eye-popping .846 attack % — 3 blocks, 2 digs, 1 service ace), followed by 6-2 RS Sr. RS/Opp Aiyana Whitney (10 kills — .364 attack % — and 3 blocks), 6-2 Sr. OH Megan Courtney (10 kills — .417 attack % — and 4 digs), and 6-2 So. OH Ali Frantti (7 kills — .333 attack % — and 6 digs). 6-0 RS Fr. setter Bryanna Weiskircher directed the team to a .444 attack % — with none of the starters hitting under .300 for the match — while 5-6 Fr. libero Keeton Holcomb came up with a match-high 17 digs.
For Auburn, 5-11 Fr. OH Brenna McIlroy (11 kills, .320 attack %) and 6-1 So. OH Courtney Crable (9 kills) led the way, but the Tigers’ .172 team attack % — although the third-highest for any Penn State opponent this season — wasn’t good enough to overcome the Nittany Lions’ offensive juggernaut. 5-8 So. libero Jesse Earl led the Auburn defense with 11 digs. 6-2 Jr. MB Emily Klitzke, 6-1 Jr. MB Breanna Barksdale and 6-0 Jr. OH CiCi Silva each contributed two blocks.
Auburn head coach Rick Nold had this to say after the match:
It was definitely disappointing,” I didn’t think we came out and competed the way we needed to. We talked about some things in the game plan, and mentally, I didn’t think we put the effort in to execute. That’s something we’ve got to learn. Sometimes you get caught up in what’s happening as opposed to simplifying the game and going out to perform.
Credits
- Cat nap, by Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
- Sleeping tigers, by 4028mdk09. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
- Four lions, by The Lilac Breasted Roller from Sullivan’s Island, United States. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
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Match Stats
(Courtesy of GoPSUsports.com)
