In October, We Wear Pink
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In October, We Wear Pink

Decked out in pink from warm up jerseys to hair bows, Penn State held its annual “Dig Pink” game against Michigan on Friday. The Lions got the job done in a three set sweep in front of a season-high crowd attendance (25-18, 25-16, 25-16).

Fans waved pink towels and held up their infamous (yet kind of intimidating) “KILL” signs. The student section bounced around in a blob of pink plastic hard hats and the band was so loud you couldn’t hold a conversation with the person sitting next to you.

Add in the fearless freshmen duo, Ali Frantti and Haleigh Washington, and Michigan didn’t stand a chance. Frantti was the team leader with 15 kills and added two digs and one block. Washington followed behind her with ten kills, two digs and four blocks.

Penn State thrived on the momentum of its offense, making it hard for Michigan to carry out significant runs. The Wolverines struggled to score consecutively before being stopped by a block or one of the reoccurring kills from the freshman duo.

Michigan held their ground well, they were never completely out of the game and even threatened to take the lead a few times. Throughout the three sets there was six ties scores, which goes to show the Wolverines never fell too far behind. Michigan’s biggest setback was its 17 errors, that’s 17 points just handed to Penn State.

Despite all the errors, there were lots of long and exciting rallies during the three sets. As a rally would go back and forth, the crowd would inch closer and closer to the edge of their seats. The excitement would build and build then explode all at once in either celebrations or sighs.

The Nittany Lions really harnessed the energy in Rec Hall and used it to their advantage. Every point scored seemed like it was the game winning point.

Once again Washington proved herself as a key factor in the high-energy effort throughout the game. Her quirky facial expressions and constant stomping of her feet just make the crowd want to chuckle and cheer at the same time. She really keeps her teammates going and reminds them that each and every point counts.

Penn State continues their conference play in Rec Hall on Saturday against Michigan State at 5:30 p.m. And there should be more pink paraphernalia in store.