Sweep for Senior Night over Northwestern
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Sweep for Senior Night over Northwestern

On Thanksgiving Eve, most families are prepping turkeys, sitting around a dim lit TV watching football or maybe some are celebrating what has come to be known as the biggest drinking night of the year.

Well, four Penn State seniors and their families spent their pre-turkey day in a place that’s come to be a second home– Rec Hall. No. 7 Penn State carried out a 3-0 sweep over Northwestern on Senior Night Wednesday evening (25-18, 25-14, 26-24).

The win was especially exciting considering the last time the two teams met in early October of this season, Northwestern handed Penn State it’s second loss of the season.

Leading the kill totals was sophomore Ali Frantti with 13 kills, four digs, one ace and three blocks. Following her were two seniors, Aiyana Whitney (redshirt senior) and Megan Courtney. Whitney finished second on the team with 10 kills and four blocks– she also had a team-high hitting percentage of .643. Courtney finished the trio with nine kills, seven digs, and two blocks.

Redshirt freshman Bryanna Weiskircher tallied 41 assists and paced the offense to a season-best .408 hitting percentage. Senior Kendall Pierce matched her career-high 12 digs at libero and sophomore Haleigh Washington finished off the defense with team-high five blocks.

Penn State’s offensive performance was too much for Northwestern to handle with team hitting percentages comparing at Penn State’s .408 to Northwestern’s .220. And the emotions of Senior Night helped carry Penn State’s momentum throughout the three sets.

The Nittany Lions’ record now stands at 26-4 and 15-4 in the Big Ten with one regular season match to go.

This final game is set for Saturday at 9:30 p.m. in Lincoln, Neb. The last time Penn State saw Nebraska was in Rec Hall on October 2, 2015 when the Cornhuskers handed the team its first loss of this season.

Nebraska is coming off of a win over Illinois and is ranked No. 5 in the AVCA coaches poll. The late night game will be live on the Big Ten Network.