The top-ranked Penn State women’s volleyball team (23-2, 12-2 B1G) traveled to Piscataway, New Jersey on Friday night to take on a struggling Rutgers team (4-21, 1-11 B1G) in a B1G contest. The Nittany Lions rode a seven-game winning streak into the match while the Scarlet Knights only won one set in the last three matches. Penn State won easily in straight sets (25-19, 25-17, 25-12) to extend its winning streak to eight games.

How It Happened

The first set started with a long point streak by the Nittany Lions, but the Scarlet Knights were able to claw their way back in with a few streaks of their own. Kills from Aiyana Whitney and Haleigh Washington ultimately put the Nittany Lions on top at the end of the first set.

The second set started out with Penn State and Rutgers trading points back and forth until the Nittany Lions rolled to a 13-7 lead when Rutgers called a timeout. The set was never close again as the Nittany Lions rolled to a 19-10 lead. The Scarlet Knights chipped away at the lead until Aiyana Whitney closed out the second set to give Penn State a 2-0 lead.

The Nittany Lions started out fast in the third set and never looked back. They started out with an 8-2 run before the Scarlet Knights called a timeout. Another Rutgers timeout followed a 6-0 run to put Penn State up 16-5, which was ultimately the end of the match. After a few points from the Scarlet Knights, Nia Reed recorded a kill to put Rutgers away and give the Nittany Lions the sweep.

Player Of The Game

Player of the game honors go to Aiyana Whitney, who had a spectacular game with the team lead in kills. She was able to put away the first and second sets with a number of kills which ended the Scarlet Knights’ point streaks and their chances at getting back into the sets. At the end of two sets, she led the team with nine kills, and she kept climbing from there to lead the team at the end of the match.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will continue their away schedule on Wednesday night in Iowa City as they take on Iowa at 8 p.m. in another B1G contest. They look to continue their eight game winning streak and continue to stay at the top in the national rankings.