Before we get to the matches, a shout out to the Villanova folks, all of whom were very nice to us and went out of their way to be helpful. Thanks!
Penn State vs. American
There was a bit of a delay to the match — something to do with the libero not being entered into the computer. Whatever the reason, the match was delayed, and the Nittany Lions were a bit slow getting started too, as they dropped the first set 26-24 (after trailing at one point by 15-10). In the first set, it seemed Penn State couldn’t buy a pass, and Ali Frantti struggled (she ended up with 12 kills and 8 errors for the match, hitting .109). Still, Penn State bounced back to take the match 3-1 (26-24, 25-8, 25-14, 25-16).
VILLANOVA, Pa. – No. 3 Penn State women’s volleyball (5-1) rallied from behind to defeat American (5-3) in four sets (26-24, 25-8, 25-14, 25-16) Friday afternoon at the Pavilion. With the victory, the Nittany Lions improve to 1-0 in the Villanova Classic, with a matchup against the tournament host Wildcats set for 7:30 p.m. at the Pavilion. The match will stream live with a paid subscription, here. Freshman Ali Frantti led the offense with her third consecutive double-digit kill performance, tallying 12 kills, three digs and two blocks. Senior Nia Grant also notched double-digit kills, putting down a season-high 10 kills on a team-high .571 hitting clip. She also added five blocks and tied for first on the squad with five blocks. Redshirt junior Aiyana Whitney posted a career-high mark, finishing tied for first on the team with five blocks, while also adding eight kills. Senior Micha Hancock turned in an impressive performance from the service line, tallying a season-high eight aces, while also contributing five kills, four digs and two blocks.
Micha Hancock’s serve was deadly against American
For the complete release from GoPSUsports.com, Click Here.
VILLANOVA, Pa. – In its second match against a top-10 team this season, the American University volleyball squad dropped a 3-1 decision to third-ranked Penn State Friday afternoon at the Villanova Classic. The Eagles were able to hold on for a 26-24 victory in the first set, but dropped the next three sets, 25-8, 25-14, 25-16.
For the complete release from Aueagles.com, Click Here.
Match Stats (courtesy GoPSUsports.com)
Penn State vs. Villanova
The evening match against Villanova was well-attended (1239 fans — it seemed like more to us), with enthusiastic fans for both squads. The outcome was never seriously in doubt, however, as Penn State swept the Wildcats 25-19, 25-12, 25-15.
VILLANOVA, Pa. – Behind a trio of double-digit kill performances, No. 3 Penn State women’s volleyball (6-1) swept past (25-19, 25-12, 25-15) Villanova (4-5) in straight sets Friday evening at the Pavilion. With the victory, the Nittany Lions improve to 2-0 in the Villanova Classic with two more matches remaining in the event. Junior Megan Courtney led the offense with 14 kills on .591 hitting, adding eight digs. Redshirt junior Aiyana Whitney and freshman Ali Frantti rounded out the group of double-digit performers with 10 kills each. Both Courtney and Whitney posted .571 or higher hitting clips in the win. Senior Nia Grant tallied eight kills, while also registering a squad-best .615 hitting percentage and two blocks. Senior Micha Hancock directed the Nittany Lion offense to a .416 overall hitting efficiency, dishing out 47 assists. She also logged six digs to go along with a match-high six aces. Senior Dominique Gonzalez anchored the defense with a team-high 10 digs.
For the complete release from GoPSUsports.com, Click Here.
Villanova Church: “Villanova Church” by abbike18 – abbike18. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Villanova_Church.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Villanova_Church.jpg
The Pavilion: “2005 1104hoopsmania0005” by Original uploader was Novanut35 at en.wikipedia – Transferred from en.wikipedia; transferred to Commons by User:Sreejithk2000 using CommonsHelper.. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2005_1104hoopsmania0005.JPG#mediaviewer/File:2005_1104hoopsmania0005.JPG
Video of Penn State vs. Villanova, courtesy of psumaui.
Before we get to the matches, a shout out to the Villanova folks, all of whom were very nice to us and went out of their way to be helpful. Thanks!
