No. 20 Women’s Volleyball Wins PSU Invitational
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No. 20 Women’s Volleyball Wins PSU Invitational

No. 20 Penn State women’s volleyball (8-3) is determined to show the public that their tough start to the season was nothing but a fluke, and that they are still a main contender for a national championship this season. They certainly did that by adding three wins to their repertoire this past weekend when they won the PSU Invitational at Rec Hall.

On Friday evening, the Nittany Lions took on Rhode Island and easily dealt them a loss in three sets. Stars of the game included Haleigh Washington (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Simone Lee (Menomonee, Wis.). Washington notched 11 kills and five blocks while Lee added 10 kills, five digs, and two blocks.

Saturday morning told a similar story against Howard University. Penn State once again bested its opponent in three sets, only ever allowing Howard within nine points of a lead.

Washington and Lee once again were huge threats on the court, while Ali Frantti (Spring Grove, Ill.) and Heidi Thelen (Edgewood, Ky.) stepped up and added seven kills apiece, while Frantti added six digs and Thelen contributed two blocks.

Penn State had 40 kills to Howard’s 24 with a .312 hitting percentage to Howard’s .011.

To round out the PSU Invitational, Penn State faced off against Clemson on Saturday evening.

Although Penn State won handily in three sets, Clemson was the most competitive opponent Penn State faced in this tournament.

Thanks to exceptional performances by Washington, Thelen, and Abby Detering (Mentor, Ohio), all three earned all-tournament team honors. Detering helped the team to a .354 hitting clip, adding 91 assists, 14 digs, seven kills, six blocks, and three services aces to her record.

Washington had 27 kills and a .610 hitting percentage while Thelen added 21 kills at a .447 clip.

Penn State had 38 kills to Clemson’s 25, a .383 hitting percentage to Clemson’s 0.010, and 42 digs to Clemson’s 35.

Penn State women’s volleyball now begins their play in the Big Ten. This coming weekend, the Nittany Lions will travel to New Jersey to take on Rutgers this Wednesday and will head to Illinois next weekend to face Northwestern on Sunday, September 25.

Best of luck in the start of Conference play, ladies!