No. 15 Penn State women’s volleyball swept Rutgers (25-18, 25-16, 26-24) for the second time this season thanks to a strong offensive performance that saw the Nittany Lions hit .348 Sunday afternoon in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Zoe Weatherington and Allie Holland led the way for the Nittany Lions (19-6, 8-6 Big Ten) with a match-high 13 and 11 kills, respectively, while Maddy Bilinovic paced Penn State’s defense with a match-high 16 digs. Holland, who also had a team-high five blocks, closed things out with an ace on match point.
Penn State rallied from a 20-14 deficit in the third set to pull off the sweep, which followed another straight-sets win over the Scarlet Knights (8-18, 2-12 Big Ten) on October 23 at Rec Hall. Leisa Elisaia had a match-high 41 assists, five digs, two kills, and a block, helping the Nittany Lions improve to 41-9 in the all-time series against Rutgers. The win was Penn State volleyball’s 1,400th as a program.
Alexa Markley, who made her fifth start of the season at outside hitter, finished with seven kills and two blocks in the win, while Kash Williams came off the bench and added seven kills and a block of her own. Katie Clark continued her efficient play with four kills and zero attack errors on 10 swings. Anjelina Starck had four digs, two kills, and one solo block.
Gillian Grimes and Cassie Kuerschen combined for 12 digs and three assists against the Scarlet Knights, who were led by Taylor Humphrey’s 11 kills and eight digs. Williams, Grimes, and Kuerschen were the Nittany Lions’ only substitutes. Penn State outblocked Rutgers 9-8 and held the Scarlet Knights to a .146 hitting percentage, but Caitlin Schweihofer’s squad finished with a narrow 3-2 advantage in aces.
Katie Schumacher-Cawley’s Nittany Lions will head to Indiana next weekend for a pair of matches against the Hoosiers and Purdue Boilermakers Friday and Saturday. Friday’s match is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET, while Saturday’s match will be broadcast on Big Ten Network at 8 p.m. ET.