Blue White Illustrated

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL Nittany Lions fall in regional semifinal A>er an up-and-down regular season, Penn State headed to the NCAA tourna- ment feeling hopeful but also mindful that it hadn't shown the consistency it would need to pull o< the six consecu- tive wins that would be required to claim the program's eighth title. "You have to be able to win on the road to win the national championship," coach Russ Rose said. "Do I think we're a real threat to win the national champi- onship? I wouldn't say our body of work has demonstrated that. But there are two programs that have won the na- tional championship playing college volleyball right now: Penn State and Ne- braska. I'd like to think there's some ex- perience that will carry over, but I can't answer that question." The Nittany Lions started the tourna- ment strong, dropping only one set in victories over LIU Brooklyn and Pitts- burgh in the ;rst two rounds at Rec Hall. The 3-1 victory over the Panthers set up the road match that Rose had been anticipating, and it was against that other title-winning team: Nebraska. When the Nittany Lions stepped into the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Dec. 9, they knew they were in for one of the biggest challenges of their season. They had lost twice to the Cornhuskers during the regular season, including a sweep in Lincoln in November. They got that challenge, and the result was a heartbreaking 3-2 loss in which the 16th-seeded Nittany Lions weren't able to ;nish o< the top-seeded Cornhuskers a>er claiming the ;rst two sets and twice reaching match point in the third. Behind Ali Frantti's nine kills, the Nit- tany Lions rallied to win the ;rst set 25- 23. They took the second set by an identical score and were up 24-22 in the third. But Nebraska scored four consec- utive points to stave o< a straight-set loss, and the Lions' inability to close out the match emboldened the hosts. The defending national champion Corn- huskers evened the match with a 25-19 victory in the fourth set, and they romped in the decisive ;>h set, winning 15-6 to advance to the regional ;nal. Penn State got 22 kills from Simone Lee, 21 from Frantti and 10 from Haleigh Washington. As a team, the Lions had a season-high 17 blocks, including seven from Washington. No team had amassed that many blocks against Nebraska all year, but it wasn't enough to extend the season. "A couple of kids ran out of gas," Rose said. "Some of the players should be dis- appointed in their e in the second period on Gebhard's second goal of the game and 12th of the season. In the third period, the Nittany Lions outscored the Colo- nials 4-2 but were unable to overcome the de;cit. In other news, Penn State signee Na- talie Heising of Maple Grove, Minn., has been named to the 22-player roster for the U.S. Women's National Under- 18 Team, which will compete at the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federa- tion Under-18 Women's World Cham- pionship Jan. 7-14 in Zlin, Czech Republic. ■ N O T E B O O K profound impact that his stars have had on his team's success, he also emphasizes the importance of players such as Chase Berger and Dylan Richard, who receive far less publicity. "They're two centermen who are great in their defensive zone and can score goals and make plays," Gadowsky said. "Those guys are valuable. They are glue guys. They're fantastic. Chase Berger has been a guy like that from day one, and re- ally, Richard has, too. Their value, both of them, is so much more than what their stats are." Coming off a physical Michigan series, the Lions are in the midst of a month- long break in the schedule. When they re- sume play with a road trip to Ohio State, their young lineup will be tested once again. As of mid-December, the Buckeyes were ranked 10th in the country. ■

• Cover