According to the “Eagle Virtual Field Trip,” an eagle can spot a target as small as a rabbit up to a mile away.  Once their prey is in sight,  they swoop down close to the ground, catching the unsuspecting animal with their razor sharp talons.

Given that a Nittany Lion is considerably larger than a rabbit, and thus much easier to spot, perhaps it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles were able to make a meal of Penn State, 25-20, during the first set of last night’s match.  They outhit the Nittany Lions, .323 to .138, and at one point were leading 17-7.

To the relief of Penn State fans, the Nittany Lions regrouped to take the next three sets by scores of 25-11, 25-17,  and 25-11.  It would be tempting to say that Penn State got a wake-up call in that first set (and not only because clichés are our friends!).  But we think it’s more a reflection that this is a very young team, and young players are unpredictable — sometimes looking great, and sometimes looking . . . not so great.  Last night apparently featured some of both.

We weren’t able to see the match, but those who did reported that the connection between Fr. S Micha Hancock (36 assists, 13 digs, and 3 service aces) and her hitters showed improvement — particularly with 6-4 So. RS/Opp Ariel Scott, who registered a career-best 17 kills (.419 attack %) — as did the blocking, with 6-6 So. MH Katie Slay (9 kills, .571 attack %) totaling 10 blocks, Hancock adding 4, and 6-1 So. OH Deja McClendon (10 kills), 6-2 So. OH Maddie Martin (7 kills, career-best .545 attack %), and 6-2 Fr. MH Nia Grant, adding 3 apiece.

In the back row, 5-6 So. DS Ali Longo had 12 digs and  2 service aces, 5-6 Jr. Kristin Carpenter totaled 7 digs and 2 service aces, and 5-6 Fr. DS Lacey Fuller chipped in 2 digs and 2 service aces.  Penn State registered 11 service aces for the match — the program’s highest total in a four set match since the rally scoring-era began.

Katie Slay was named the Hampton Inn Classic MVP and was joined by Ali Longo and Ariel Scott on the Hampton Inn Classic All-Tournament Team.

FGCU – Individual

#	Player	SP	Attack				Set		Serve		Block			Def		Rec
			K	E	TA	Pct	A	E	SA	SE	BS	BA	BE	DIG	BHE	RE	Pts
1	Mesner, Olivia	4	7	3	15	.267	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	8.5
2	Holm, Kaitlin	4	3	7	26	-.154	0	0	1	0	2	0	1	1	0	0	6.0
3	Kohler, Brooke	4	2	1	6	.167	0	0	0	1	1	3	1	0	0	0	4.5
6	Hopper, Jill	4	12	8	33	.121	0	0	0	1	0	4	0	1	1	0	14.0
10	Youngquist, Holly	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	15	0	6	1.0
16	Simic, Jelena	4	3	3	13	.000	3	0	0	2	0	0	0	6	0	1	3.0
17	Masters, Whitney	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	0	1	0.0
7	Dominguez, Camil	3	2	0	4	.500	15	0	1	1	1	2	0	4	1	0	5.0
5	Meyer, Gigi	2	1	0	1	1.000	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	1.0
13	Barnes, Jessica	2	2	0	4	.500	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.0
4	Metz, Lara	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0
15	Muse, Brittany	1	0	0	3	.000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0.0
25	Strautniece, Liga	1	0	0	1	.000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	0.0
TM	TEAM	0				0
	Totals		32	22	106	.094	30	0	3	6	4	12	2	34	2	11	45

Penn State (7-3)

PSU – Individual

#	Player	SP	Attack				Set		Serve		Block			Def		Rec
			K	E	TA	Pct	A	E	SA	SE	BS	BA	BE	DIG	BHE	RE	Pts
1	Scott, Ariel	4	17	4	31	.419	2	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	18.0
5	Carpenter, Kristin	4	0	0	0	0	4	0	2	0	0	0	0	7	0	0	2.0
7	Grant, Nia	4	4	2	10	.200	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	5.5
12	Hancock, Micha	4	4	2	9	.222	36	1	3	3	1	3	1	13	0	0	9.5
16	Slay, Katie	4	9	1	14	.571	1	0	0	0	1	9	0	1	0	0	14.5
18	McClendon, Deja	4	10	4	26	.231	0	0	0	1	0	3	1	8	0	0	11.5
23	Longo, Ali	4	0	0	0	0	5	0	2	1	0	0	0	12	0	0	2.0
6	Martin, Maddie	3	7	1	11	.545	1	0	1	2	0	3	0	1	0	1	9.5
4	Gonzalez, Dominique	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0
14	Whitney, Aiyana	2	3	5	10	-.200	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	3.5
33	Fuller, Lacey	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	2	0	2	2.0
10	Racibarskas, Marika	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0.0
13	Shifflett, Megan	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.0
TM	TEAM	0				0
	Totals		54	19	111	.315	49	1	11	9	2	24	2	45	0	3	79