Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/590325
WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL Nittany Lions rebound with pair of sweeps Double-figure kills from sophomores Haleigh Washington and Simone Lee lifted No. 5 Penn State (17-2, 6-2) past No. 18 Purdue in straight sets, 25-18, 25-17, 25- 17, on Oct. 17 at Rec Hall. It was the Nittany Lions' second home match of the weekend, taking place one day after they swept un- ranked Indiana, 25-18, 25-15, 25-14. "I thought we played much better than we did last night, against a team that started the weekend as the No. 1 team in the conference," head coach Russ Rose said. Lee fueled the offense with a match- high 12 kills on .333 hitting. Washington finished with 10 kills on 17 errorless swings while also powering the Nittany Lion blocking unit with nine total blocks, in- cluding three solo stuffs. Sophomore Ali Frantti finished third on the team with nine kills on .318 hitting, while also leading the team with a match- high 11 digs. Frantti also finished second on the team with a career-high six blocks. Redshirt freshman Bryanna Weiskircher directed the offense to a .315 hitting per- centage, passing out 36 assists to go along with six digs and three blocks. Weiskircher also led the Nittany Lions from the endline with a career-high four aces. "Bryanna played well, served especially well, and Haleigh had a great night of- fensively too," Rose said. "I thought we served and passed really well and had a real nice effort tonight." The victories over the Hoosiers and Boil- ermakers helped Penn State bounce back from its second loss of the season, a five- set upset against unranked Northwestern in Evanston on Oct. 10. After the loss, the Lions fell from third to fifth in the AVCA poll. They had begun the season ranked No. 1 but dropped two spots when they lost a five-set match at home to No. 4 Nebraska on Oct. 2. The team's recent results bear a striking similarity to last season, when it lost two matches (to Nebraska and Illinois) eight days apart in early October before getting back on track with victories over Purdue and Indiana. The Lions can only hope that the parallels continue; last year, those victories over the Boilers and Hoosiers were the start of a 20-match win streak that carried Penn State to the national championship. ■