No. 13 Penn State women’s volleyball swept Maryland 3-0 (25-23, 25-10, 25-20) Friday night at Rec Hall thanks to a balanced offense that hit .303 in its second win over the Terrapins this season.
Jonni Parker led the Nittany Lions with 13 kills, tying Maryland’s Sam Csire for the match high, while Jenna Hampton paced all players with 13 digs and two of Penn State’s seven service aces. The Nittany Lions hit .500 and didn’t have a single attack error in the second set. Gabby Blossom surpassed 800 assists on the season with a match-high 37 and added 12 digs.
Quinn Menger, Cassie Kuerschen, Maddy Bilinovic, and Katie Clark were Penn State’s only substitutes of the match, which followed a reverse sweep of the Terrapins on September 29 in College Park. Kuerschen and Allie Holland, who hit .700 with seven kills, had two aces apiece in the program’s annual THON match. Adanna Rollins and Anjelina Starck had nine kills each, while Kaitlyn Hord tallied eight kills.
The Nittany Lions (15-6, 8-3 Big Ten) are back in Rec Hall Saturday at 4 p.m. when they celebrate Halloween a day early against Illinois. The Illini beat Rutgers 3-2 in Piscataway earlier Friday night.
Russ Rose’s opening statement:
“We started a little slow, but I thought we steadied out. Until the third game when we gave up a big lead, I thought we were in good control. We passed well and the middles were having success. We got another good offensive night again from Jonni. I thought both outsides picked up their game a bit. Allie was really our best offensive player. Cassie came in and did a great job serving. She came in intermittently and served the most number of balls for us in the match.”
Jonni, what were some things that worked well for the team tonight?
“Tonight, I feel like we did a better job of being in control of our game collectively, and making sure we can control what we can control on our side of the net. The Big Ten is a competitive conference, so we’ve got to make sure we first take care of what we can do and then make adjustments from there. I feel like we did a good job of maintaining our composure and staying in control.”
Allie and Cassie, what were you doing well from the serving line tonight? How important is it to have service pressure?
Holland: “It’s super important to have service pressure, especially in the Big Ten, because everybody is good. I think something that we’ve been working on is making fewer errors, and I thought that we did well tonight with that. We got a few aces out of it, too, so that was exciting. I thought we also passed super well tonight, so with the service pressure and passing well, I thought it was super good.”
Kuerschen: “I think the service pressure also helps us keep control of the match and that’s always a good thing to have.”
You had no attack errors in the second set. What was working well during that point of the match?
Rose: “Well, I mean, we hit .500 in the second set, so we didn’t have any hitting errors. The only thing we had is we missed four serves in the second game, but I thought we passed the ball well and I thought Gabby did a nice job of spreading it out. Maryland’s the top blocking team in the conference. You have to try and pick and choose where you’re going to go after people, but I thought we played well. Adam [Hughes] is one of my favorite people in volleyball, so as much as I enjoy seeing him, I don’t like playing him. I enjoy seeing him and value the contribution that we made for all the years he was here with our program.”
Jonni, how would you describe this team’s chemistry and camaraderie?
“I feel like, on and off the court, we’re a really tight-knit group. We work harder than any other team in the country. We do it for each other and we’re going to grind and work hard and hold each other accountable and do what we do best. I think our goal is to definitely leave the program better than where we came into it. Being involved in Penn State volleyball, that’s your goal.”
Allie, what’s it like in the huddle right before you start the match? What are the feelings like in that situation?
“Like Jonni said, our chemistry is great. These girls are all my best friends. In the huddle, it’s just about our confidence and about knowing that we know how to work hard and play hard. It’s more just confidence and building each other up.”
Cassie, what are some things you’ve learned from your older teammates this season?
“Oh, my goodness. I’ve learned so much. Probably the biggest thing is just having confidence and going to your teammates if you need help, keep on asking questions. They’ve helped me literally in every single aspect of the game, physically to mentally. My whole game has gotten better just because of the people I’ve been around every day.”
How does it feel to get a win for your school on THON night?
Parker: “Especially on THON night, it’s great to able to represent THON. Being able to play in Rec Hall and represent Penn State in general on any given night is an honor and a privilege.”