No. 20 Penn State women’s volleyball swept Rutgers 3-0 (25-10, 25-12, 25-20) in its Big Ten opener Friday night at The RAC in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Jonni Parker led the Nittany Lions with a match-high 11 kills in the win, while Gabby Blossom paced the team in multiple facets with 30 assists and three of Penn State’s eight aces. The Nittany Lions hit .407 and out-blocked the Scarlet Knights 9-5.

Penn State’s outside hitters, Adanna Rollins and Erika Pritchard, turned in strong performances with nine kills apiece to finish second on the team in that category. Both hit better than .350 and tallied an ace. Kaitlyn Hord and Allie Holland combined for 10 kills and zero attack errors on an efficient night for the pair of middle blockers.

Blossom, Rollins, and senior libero Jenna Hampton were Penn State’s best passers against the Scarlet Knights, who fell to 8-4 on the season after hitting just .073 Friday night. Hampton had a team-high eight digs. Penn State dominated the first two sets, but Rutgers kept things relatively close in the third set before the Nittany Lions eventually improved to 18-0 in the all-time series.

Cassie Kuerschen, Keatan Broughton, and former Rutgers player Anastasiya Kudryashova, who transferred to Penn State prior to the 2020 season, were Russ Rose’s only substitutes of the match. Pritchard returned to the starting lineup after not playing against West Virginia last Friday in Morgantown.

The Nittany Lions (8-3, 1-0 Big Ten) will be back in Rec Hall this Sunday for a big match against No. 3 Ohio State at 4 p.m. The contest will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network. The Buckeyes are 10-1 after suffering their first loss of the season against No. 7 Purdue in five sets Friday.