Russ Rose’s Nittany Lions started slowly on the road against Maryland Friday night, but turned things around to rattle off three straight sets for the 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-18) victory.

How It Happened

No. 10 Penn State (19-7, 11-4 Big Ten) didn’t come out swinging as efficiently as it would have liked in the XFINITY Center, but the blue and white didn’t let their early struggles translate past the first frame. The Nittany Lions, who were paced offensively by juniors Simone Lee and Heidi Thelen, matched the Terps with exactly 145 attacks. However, Penn State record seven more kills (52) than head coach Steve Aird’s squad. Aird spent 2007-14 in Happy Valley as the director of volleyball operations and as an assistant.

Lee and Thelen finished with 17 and 10 kills, respectively, while freshman outside hitter Gia Milana led Maryland with a match-high 20 and 11 digs. Kendall White and Kelsey Wicinski mirrored each other defensive all match long as they both posted 19 digs from their team’s libero spot. In her second consecutive start, setter Bryanna Weiskircher made the most of her opportunity with a match-high 41 assists, 16 digs, and six kills.

Middle blockers Haleigh Washington and Tori Gorrell added 15 combined kills on the night, while Washington led all players with nine blocks. Ali Frantti and Keeton Holcomb turned in strong performances of their own with 14 and 10 digs, respectively. Frantti’s three kills rounded out the scoring for the Nittany Lions.

Player Of The Match

Bryanna Weiskircher | Redshirt sophmore | Setter

The Rockford, Ill., native did a little bit of everything for Penn State Friday night.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions have a quick turnaround as they’ll face Ohio State Saturday in Columbus at 7:00 p.m. They swept the Buckeyes during the “Dig Pink” match earlier this season.