Women’s Volleyball Collects Ninth Straight Three Set Sweep
The Penn State women’s volleyball team (25-3, 15-2 B1G) went into Saturday evening’s matchup on a hot streak. The Lady Lions hadn’t lost a match in nine straight, and they looked to carry on their dominance against Big Ten foe Minnesota (16-11, 6-10 B1G). It was a big day for Penn State, as its football team became bowl-eligible and the field hockey team won a game against Boston College in NCAA play. To make things more exciting, Rec Hall was filled with a record-high 5,569 in attendance.
Minnesota came out hot, maintaining the lead for a majority of time with the help of Daly Santana. The outside hitter had six of Minnesota’s ten kills in the first set. A Micha Hancock ace and three kills from Haleigh Washington helped Penn State regain control, but Minnesota hung on and kept it close.
The attitude in the gymnasium changed when Hancock used her dominant left hand to lay down a shot on the second attempt. It gave Penn State their 22 points in the set, and eventually led to a match-point kill from Aiyana Whitney, who came away with a team-high six kills in the first set. Even though it was closer than some would have expected, Penn State won the set 25-20.
“The three-headed monster of Haleigh, Nia, and Aiyana were very good,” said head coach Russ Rose.
Haleigh Washington, Aiyana Whitney, and Nia Grant combined for a total of 34 kills on the night, leading the charge for the team.
The Lady Lions came out confident in the second set, gaining the lead early. Micha Hancock played exceptional. The senior veteran added another service ace to her stat sheet and made a remarkable play out of bounds when she dove to keep the ball in play. The second set ended 25-12, and Penn State went into the third set looking for a sweep.
However, Minnesota had something else in mind. They jumped out to an early 7-1 lead. The Nittany Lions fought back with the outside power of Haleigh Washington.
The 6-foot-3 freshman laid down two vital kills from the outside, giving Penn State a much needed confidence spark. With Hancock back to serve, Penn State was able to slowly come back from their deficit.
The fighting spirit of Minnesota kept them alive. They lead Penn State 23-21 in the third set, and it looked like they were going to close in on a win. However, the Lady Lions prevailed in style when Dominique Gonzalez came away with a service ace that ended the set and match..
Aiyana Whitney had a dominating performance, putting up 17 kills.
“I know if I’m playing well, the younger players can feel less pressure and just play relaxed, and that’s my ultimate goal”, said Whitney.
More inexperienced players stepped up as well.
“Lainy [Pierce] came in and did a real nice job, and Kendall [Pierce] came in when Ali [Frantti] was rattled and had three good passes in a row,” said Rose.
Penn State has won nine of their last ten matches in three-set sweep fashion. They look to continue that streak when they travel to Michigan on Wednesday to take on the Wolverines.
Alex Bobbyn is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email aeb5671@psu.edu.
