Slay Through Minnesota
An anticipated close match against Minnesota leaves the Penn State volleyball team with an important win and lots of smiling fans. The sets went back and forth, Penn State kicking it off with a win. The final point being a not so exciting attacking error called on Minnesota, but a win is a win. The Nittany Lions had captured the momentum with the first match (25-19). The tables turned for round two; the team fought their way to 23 points, but fell short at the very end. Ironically the second match also ended with an attack error, but this time in Minnesota’s favor (25-23), the match stood at 1-1.
In the third match, Penn State was breathing down the necks of the Gophers every point until they finally tied it up at 21. The next four points were the quickest of the match; they went straight to the Nittany Lions and left the score at 25-21. Penn State found themselves in an early seven-point deficit (13-5) in the fourth, but made an impressive comeback. Although impressive and quite a fan thrill, the Lions fell short and handed Minnesota the set win at 25-22.
A quick rally to start the fifth led to a Penn State victory. Slay slammed five kills and two blocks, a kill from McClendon, and a block from Scott. With a final service error from Minnesota, Penn State clinched their fourth conference win with a final score of 15-11.
Katie Slay lit up Rec Hall with a career high of 16 kills and a season high of 10 blocks. The senior out of Raleigh, NC began racking up her kill numbers in 2010 as a freshman. Her 6’6” middle hitter frame also hosts many block parties at the net. Sophomore year she was Big Ten Defensive Player of the year, an AVCA Second Team All American, and First Team All Big Ten. Her AVCA title carried into her junior year when she also earned Volleyball Magazine Second Team All American. Which brings us to this season where Slay ranks seventh in the nation (second in the conference) as a middle hitter and leads the Big Ten in blocks. She studies Communication Sciences and Disorders and plans to be a speech therapist after her time at Penn State.
Penn State now ranks fourth in the AVCA coaches poll and holds an overall record of 13-2, 4-1 in the conference. The next game is this Saturday at 8:30 p.m. in Rec Hall. Penn State vs. Wisconsin in their sixth conference game hoping to add on another win.
In the third match, Penn State was breathing down the necks of the Gophers every point until they finally tied it up at 21. The next four points were the quickest of the match; they went straight to the Nittany Lions and left the score at 25-21. Penn State found themselves in an early seven-point deficit (13-5) in the fourth, but made an impressive comeback. Although impressive and quite a fan thrill, the Lions fell short and handed Minnesota the set win at 25-22.
A quick rally to start the fifth led to a Penn State victory. Slay slammed five kills and two blocks, a kill from McClendon, and a block from Scott. With a final service error from Minnesota, Penn State clinched their fourth conference win with a final score of 15-11.Katie Slay lit up Rec Hall with a career high of 16 kills and a season high of 10 blocks. The senior out of Raleigh, NC began racking up her kill numbers in 2010 as a freshman. Her 6’6” middle hitter frame also hosts many block parties at the net. Sophomore year she was Big Ten Defensive Player of the year, an AVCA Second Team All American, and First Team All Big Ten. Her AVCA title carried into her junior year when she also earned Volleyball Magazine Second Team All American. Which brings us to this season where Slay ranks seventh in the nation (second in the conference) as a middle hitter and leads the Big Ten in blocks. She studies Communication Sciences and Disorders and plans to be a speech therapist after her time at Penn State.
Penn State now ranks fourth in the AVCA coaches poll and holds an overall record of 13-2, 4-1 in the conference. The next game is this Saturday at 8:30 p.m. in Rec Hall. Penn State vs. Wisconsin in their sixth conference game hoping to add on another win.
