No. 1 Penn State sweeps past Rutgers
In their eighteenth sweep this season, the No. 1 Nittany Lions pushed past Rutgers in three straight sets Friday evening at College Avenue Gymnasium (25-19,25-17,25-12).
Led by redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney and sophomore Ali Frantti, the Penn State offense was unstoppable. Whitney led the team for the second night in a row with 12 kills and team-high six blocks. Frantti followed close behind with 10 kills while adding three blocks and five digs.
Sophomore Haleigh Washington came next with a team-high hitting percentage of .700 and seven blocks. Senior Megan Courtney and sophomore Simone Lee tied with six kills; Lee also added four blocks.
Freshman libero Keeton Holcomb totaled nine digs and one ace.
Rutgers made it’s best showing in the first set climbing up to 19 points and the statistics went down from there. The Knights managed a .314 hitting percentage in the second set compared to Penn State’s .424 and a .071 hitting percentage in the third while Penn State steadied to a .346.
The Nittany Lions out-blocked Rutgers 9.5-4 and made half the amount of total team errors with 13 and the Knights totaled 26.
With six more games left in the regular season, Penn State sits comfortably at the top of the rankings. All six games are conference games—three at home and three away—and will be a good transition into the first rounds of the NCAA tournament.
Up next, the Nittany Lions travel to Iowa to face the Hawkeyes on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
Led by redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney and sophomore Ali Frantti, the Penn State offense was unstoppable. Whitney led the team for the second night in a row with 12 kills and team-high six blocks. Frantti followed close behind with 10 kills while adding three blocks and five digs.
Sophomore Haleigh Washington came next with a team-high hitting percentage of .700 and seven blocks. Senior Megan Courtney and sophomore Simone Lee tied with six kills; Lee also added four blocks.
Freshman libero Keeton Holcomb totaled nine digs and one ace.
Rutgers made it’s best showing in the first set climbing up to 19 points and the statistics went down from there. The Knights managed a .314 hitting percentage in the second set compared to Penn State’s .424 and a .071 hitting percentage in the third while Penn State steadied to a .346.
The Nittany Lions out-blocked Rutgers 9.5-4 and made half the amount of total team errors with 13 and the Knights totaled 26.
With six more games left in the regular season, Penn State sits comfortably at the top of the rankings. All six games are conference games—three at home and three away—and will be a good transition into the first rounds of the NCAA tournament.
Up next, the Nittany Lions travel to Iowa to face the Hawkeyes on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
