Russ Rose’s Nittany Lions remained unbeaten in Big Ten play Sunday afternoon, sweeping Northwestern 3-0 (27-25, 25-17, 25-17) on the road in Welsh-Ryan Arena.

How It Happened

No. 18 Penn State (10-3, 2-0 Big Ten) was led offensively by juniors Simone Lee and Heidi Thelen, who finished with 10 and nine kills, respectively. Shane Davis’ Wildcats (7-7, 0-2 Big Ten) were propelled by 10-kill matches from Symone Abbott and Gabrielle Hazen, while redshirt sophomore libero Katie Kniep was tremendous on the defensive end with a match-high 17 digs.

The Nittany Lions battled through a close 27-25 first set before turning on the jets against Northwestern for their eighth-straight win following a tough 2-3 start to the season. Penn State posted back-to-back 25-17 sets to clinch the sweep, as middle blockers Haleigh Washington and Tori Gorrell added six kills apiece in Evanston. Gorrell and Thelen paced the blue and white with a match-high four blocks each on the afternoon.

Junior setter Abby Detering kept up her strong play Sunday with 32 assists, six digs, two service aces, two assisted blocks, and a kill against the Wildcats, while Kendall White and Keeton Holcomb made for a great one-two punch on defense, posting 10 and eight digs, respectively. Outside hitter Ali Frantti put together a balanced outing with five kills and seven digs to help the Nittany Lions run away with a stress-free win.

Player Of The Match

Heidi Thelen | Junior | Middle blocker

The Edgewood, Ky., native has really stepped into a leadership role for the Nittany Lions and her nine kills and four blocks against Northwestern provide a nice boost heading into an important home stretch.

What’s Next?

Penn State will be back in Rec Hall for its next four matches, as No. 20 Michigan State and No. 22 Michigan are on deck this coming Friday at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday at 8:00 p.m.