The Nittany Lions won nine out of nine sets at the Penn State Classic, but that took a back seat tonight following a special banner-raising ceremony. Before tonight’s match with Villanova, the 2014 National Championship banner was raised into Rec Hall’s rafters. Many Penn State volleyball alumnae were present and a packed Rec Hall blew the roof off cheering for the dynasty.

.@PennStateVBALL rises its sixth National Championship banner in eight years tonight in Rec Hall. pic.twitter.com/w099lWQBVV

— Onward State (@OnwardState) August 29, 2015

And after that was over, volleyball was played. Two 2-0 teams met on the court, and one stayed undefeated with a 25-20, 25-23, 25-21 win. Can you guess which team it was?

How It Happened

Villanova jumped out to a 5-2 lead but impressive play from Megan Courtney helped Penn State claw to its first lead, 7-6. Villanova called its first timeout when it trailed 13-10, and at that point the set was all but over. That pace continued and Penn State took the set 25-20.

The second set was more of the same. The two teams stayed even and played at scores of 8-8, 15-14, and 23-23. Penn State looked in control for most of the points, but wasn’t able to finish as much as it wanted. Russ Rose called timeout and the next point, Haleigh Washington’s rejection put her team ahead 24-23. Villanova’s coach called timeout after that play, but his team followed it up with a long attack error to give Penn State the set 25-23.

Set No. 3 was more of the same. Penn State was better, but Villanova came to play. The Wildcats started off with a 5-3 lead, but the Nittany Lions went on a 4-2 run to tie the set at seven. Nova still led at 17-16, but Russ Rose called another timeout and just like that, Penn State took the lead and never gave it up. A full-team effort kept up the pressure and Penn State ultimately won 25-21.

Player Of The Game

Reigning Final Four MVP Megan Courtney took the match over tonight. It looked like she never subbed out and she ended up leading the match in kills. But as always, any of the combination of Washington, Whitney, and Frantti could’ve been the player of the game.

Tweet Of The Game

Here's another look at Frantti's set-ending rip. pic.twitter.com/NfFOvYSjwT

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) August 30, 2015

Ali Frantti, last year’s Freshman of the Year, is not someone you want hitting a ball at you.

What’s Next?

Penn State will host the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge next weekend as No. 1 Penn State and Illinois take on No. 2 Stanford and No. 24 Buffalo.