No. 14 Penn State women’s volleyball staved off Iowa’s upset attempt to win 3-2 (25-27, 25-22, 25-15, 20-25, 15-13) on the road Saturday night and improve to 57-0 all-time against the Hawkeyes.
Kash Williams led the Nittany Lions (15-4, 4-4 Big Ten) with a match-high 16 kills in the close win, including the final kill on the second match point. Maddy Bilinovic paced Penn State’s defense with 15 digs.
The Nittany Lions hit .232 to Iowa’s .191 and outblocked the Hawkeyes 15-7 at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. Both teams finished with seven aces. Allie Holland, who had 10 kills and hit .304, tied her career high with four aces in the win. Holland and Taylor Trammell had a match-high seven blocks apiece.
Zoe Weatherington joined Williams and Holland in double digits with 11 kills against the Hawkeyes, while Trammell finished just shy of the mark with nine kills and a .389 hitting percentage. Alexa Markley continued her solid form of late with seven kills, three digs, and a block off the bench.
Leisa Elisaia did a little bit of everything for the Nittany Lions Saturday night, tallying a match-high 46 assists, seven digs, six kills, five blocks, and an ace. Gillian Grimes (12 digs) and Anjelina Starck (10) made some impressive defensive plays in Penn State’s third five-set win of the season.
There was a strange sequence with Penn State leading 23-21 in the second set when Iowa’s coaching staff challenged a play at the net — even though they had already used their two challenges and should not have been permitted by the referees to contest it. The play stood as called, so it didn’t affect the score, but it sure was a head-scratcher.
The Nittany Lions will have the chance to watch some film and refine things in practice next week before traveling to College Park Friday for an 8 p.m. ET match against Maryland (11-8, 2-5 Big Ten) on Big Ten Network. The Terrapins swept Northwestern Friday in Evanston, Illinois.