No. 14 Penn State women’s volleyball beat Indiana 3-1 (26-24, 20-25, 25-16, 25-22) Saturday night in front of a crowd of 2,009 at Wilkinson Hall in Bloomington to remain undefeated in Big Ten play.
Jonni Parker, Allie Holland, and Jenna Hampton stood out with particularly strong performances against the Hoosiers. Parker led all players with 19 kills and added 11 digs for the only double-double of the match. Holland had 10 kills and a career-high four service aces, while Hampton recorded 20 digs (43 this week).
Gabby Blossom helped the Nittany Lions hit better than .300 in the first and fourth sets, tallying a match-high 45 assists, seven digs, and five blocks in the win. Penn State struggled a bit to generate offense in the middle sets, dropping the second frame to Steve Aird’s Hoosiers, who fell to 7-9 and 1-3 in conference play.
Freshman defensive specialist Cassie Kuerschen, who had 11 digs Saturday night, made her second straight start for the Nittany Lions in Erika Pritchard’s absence. Kuerschen was one of four Penn State players to record double-digit digs, joining Hampton, Parker, and Adanna Rollins (nine kills, 10 digs).
Kaitlyn Hord and Anastasiya Kudryashova combined for 15 kills and 10 blocks against the Hoosiers, though Hord was more efficient as a hitter with an impressive .455 clip. Sophomore outside hitter AC Fitzpatrick came off the bench and had two kills and a dig.
The Nittany Lions (11-3, 4-0 Big Ten) will return to Rec Hall for a huge match against No. 12 Nebraska Friday at 7 p.m. Penn State’s annual White Out will be televised on Big Ten Network. All-American middle blocker Lauren Stivrins recently returned to the starting lineup for the Huskers after missing the beginning of the season due to injury.