Home is where the heart is, and it is also where the Penn State women’s volleyball team has yet to lose a match this season. The Nittany Lions continued their home dominance last weekend with wins against Minnesota and Iowa.

Penn State was on a two-match losing streak heading into a tough match-up with 19th-ranked Minnesota on Friday. The Nittany Lions won a close first set and then dominated the second. Some worry entered the minds of fans at Rec Hall after Penn State lost the third, but the Nittany Lions were able to recover to win the fourth set and the match, 3-1 (25-22, 25-14, 21-25, 25-16). Freshman Ariel Scott played her first collegiate game and tallied nine kills. Freshman Deja McClendon led the team with 17.

The Nittany Lions faced Iowa on Saturday and dispatched the Hawkeyes with slightly more ease, 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-19). The match was sloppy at times for both teams, but Penn State played through it for the victory. Senior Arielle Wilson played a great match, hitting 13 kills on a .650 hitting percentage. Senior Blair Brown led the Nittany Lions with 15 kills.

With the two wins, Penn State is now 15-4 and 5-3 in the Big Ten. The wins were good for the Nittany Lions’ confidence heading into two tough road games next weekend. Winning both matches next week would put Penn State right back into the hunt for an eighth-straight Big Ten title.

Upcoming schedule:
Wednesday: at Ohio State, 7 p.m.
Saturday: at Northwestern, 8 p.m.