Just a Bump on the Road
Not the usual three and out win for the girls last night, in fact not even a win at all. The volleyball team lost their first conference game last night to Nebraska (3-1).
You’d think a Cornhusker would be no match for a Nittany Lion but the court told a different story. Penn State won the first set then lost three sets in a row, very uncharacteristic of the team’s usual dominating style (25-12, 22-25, 20-25, 23-25).
Penn State fan favorites topped the scoring charts once again. Freshmen Ali Frantti achieved a match high of 19 kills adding nine digs and two blocks. With 20 points total, Frantti won high scorer of the night. Junior Megan Courtney joined Frantti in a double-digit kill performance with 11 kills adding seven digs, three blocks and one ace.
I could talk about the play by play of the game, how momentum switched, when the game tied, but the real kicker of the loss lies in the final stats. Other than the first winning set, the stats will tell you all you need to know as to why Penn State walked away with the loss.
In the second set, PSU had 10 errors compared to Nebraska’s six errors. In the third set, PSU reached 12 kills while Nebraska pounded 21 kills. In the final fourth set the numbers evened out to a pretty close game, but late in the game Penn State tripped over three consecutive and costly service errors that handed the win to the Cornhuskers.
Not to mention, Nebraska surpassed the Nittany Lions in both total aces and total digs for the match. Falling behind in service returns and failing to save Nebraska kill attempts serves as a glitch in the defense. This might have contributed to the loss as well.
Needless to say Penn State is now 14-2, 2-1 in the Big Ten. The four consecutive conference road games haven’t put them in the easiest position, but many Big Ten games still lie ahead.
As of now PSU trails behind Illinois, Nebraska and Purdue in the Big Ten, but they are still favored to win the conference. They finish up their slew of road games Saturday October 4 in Iowa.
The game squares off at 8 p.m. and viewers can stream it live on BTN plus, if you have the paid subscription. If not, wait for the results to be posted on gopsusports.com, the same place I get all my wonderful stats.
You’d think a Cornhusker would be no match for a Nittany Lion but the court told a different story. Penn State won the first set then lost three sets in a row, very uncharacteristic of the team’s usual dominating style (25-12, 22-25, 20-25, 23-25).
Penn State fan favorites topped the scoring charts once again. Freshmen Ali Frantti achieved a match high of 19 kills adding nine digs and two blocks. With 20 points total, Frantti won high scorer of the night. Junior Megan Courtney joined Frantti in a double-digit kill performance with 11 kills adding seven digs, three blocks and one ace.
I could talk about the play by play of the game, how momentum switched, when the game tied, but the real kicker of the loss lies in the final stats. Other than the first winning set, the stats will tell you all you need to know as to why Penn State walked away with the loss.
In the second set, PSU had 10 errors compared to Nebraska’s six errors. In the third set, PSU reached 12 kills while Nebraska pounded 21 kills. In the final fourth set the numbers evened out to a pretty close game, but late in the game Penn State tripped over three consecutive and costly service errors that handed the win to the Cornhuskers.
Not to mention, Nebraska surpassed the Nittany Lions in both total aces and total digs for the match. Falling behind in service returns and failing to save Nebraska kill attempts serves as a glitch in the defense. This might have contributed to the loss as well.
Needless to say Penn State is now 14-2, 2-1 in the Big Ten. The four consecutive conference road games haven’t put them in the easiest position, but many Big Ten games still lie ahead.
As of now PSU trails behind Illinois, Nebraska and Purdue in the Big Ten, but they are still favored to win the conference. They finish up their slew of road games Saturday October 4 in Iowa.
The game squares off at 8 p.m. and viewers can stream it live on BTN plus, if you have the paid subscription. If not, wait for the results to be posted on gopsusports.com, the same place I get all my wonderful stats.
