Women’s Volleyball Sweeps Purdue In Dominant Fashion
Russ Rose’s Nittany Lions welcomed Purdue to Rec Hall on a chilly Saturday night in University Park. No. 15 Penn State (20-9, 12-6 Big Ten) capped its season sweep (25-17, 25-21, ) of the Boilermakers, while also improving to 52-1 over the last 53 matches between these two programs.
How It Happened
Penn State got out to a fast start thanks to a strong connection between junior setter Abby Detering and Tori Gorrell. The Canadian middle blocker picked up five quick kills and four blocks to help the Nittany Lions to an easy 25-17 first-set win. Junior Simone Lee got things going with five kills of her in the opening frame as Detering paced Penn State’s offense to an outstanding .438 hitting percentage. She would finish with a match-high 41 assists.
The Boilermakers came to play in the second set, tying things up at 11-11 at one point, but Penn State wasn’t interested in opening the door. The ladies in blue and white promptly went on a 6-0 run but would need a little more focus before the intermission to keep their sweep bid alive. Head coach Dave Shondell’s squad stuck around for quite some time, but the Nittany Lions took the second set 25-21. Outside hitter Ali Frantti put together another balanced night on both sides of the court, joining Lee with 10 kills and six digs through two frames.
The black and old gold gave Penn State another brief scare early in the third set, taking a 7-5 lead, but it wouldn’t last long. The Nittany Lions rattled off eight straight points like it was nothing. They would take care of business down the stretch to put away the Boilermakers 25-19. Lee, Frantti, and Gorrell would all finish in double figures with 14, 14, and 11 kills, respectively. Freshman libero Kendall White had a strong match on the defensive end with a match-high 12 digs. Shavona Cuttino led the way with 13 kills for Purdue.
Player Of The Match
Ali Frantti | Junior | Outside hitter
The Spring Grove, Ill., native did it all for Penn State Saturday night.
What’s Next?
The Nittany Lions will enjoy Thanksgiving before returning to Rec Hall for the final two-match home stand of the regular season. They host Northwestern on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and Illinois on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. for Senior Night.
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