For the 12th consecutive year, the Penn State volleyball team has advanced to the Sweet 16.

After beating Siena in the opening round, the Nittany Lions swept Dayton on Saturday night 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-16) in the second round at Rec Hall. They will take on No. 12 UCLA on Friday in Louisville.

In her final game at Rec Hall, Micha Hancock finished with three aces, giving her the NCAA record for aces in a season (118). Hancock also recorded four kills and a block. Megan Courtney led the team offensively, tallying 11 kills, while Haleigh Washington and Ali Frantti added nine apiece.

“It’s great to be in the Sweet 16, but I don’t think we played especially well tonight,” said Courtney. “We definitely have to turn it up a notch or two next weekend.”

The Flyers gave a great effort, but the high-powered Nittany Lion offense proved to be too much. Penn State jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in the first set and didn’t look back, winning 25-20. The second set started much closer, as the two teams battled to a 9-all tie before Penn State jumped ahead for good. Led by Washington, the Nittany Lions pulled away 25-18 to take a 2-0 lead into the break.

Dayton came out of the intermission looking to grab momentum early, but the Nittany Lions crushed its hopes by jumping out to an early 6-1 lead. The Flyers would try to keep it close, but Penn State closed out the set 25-16.