No. 5 Penn State women’s volleyball made easy work of Rutgers Saturday night in a 3-0 sweep.

Jonni Parker totaled a match-high 12 kills in the 25-15, 25-20, 25-14 victory over the Scarlet Knights.

How It Happened

Russ Rose made a slight change to his starting lineup tonight, which included Jonni Parker, Tori Gorrell, Serena Gray, Kaitlyn Hord, Gabby Blossom, Keeton Holcomb, and Kendall White. Holcomb replaced regular starter Allyson Cathey.

Kaitlyn Hord started strong with two kills early in the first and set the tone for the rest of the night. The middle blocker was one of four sophomores in the starting lineup tonight.

The Nittany Lions dominated the first set with multiple players contributing offensively. Jonni Parker led the team with five kills on .250 hitting while middle blocker Tori Gorrell totaled two kills on .250 hitting.

Setter Gabby Blossom also played an integral role in the first set, dishing out nine assists, one kill, and a service ace. Blossom ended the night with a total of 31 assists.

After recording just one ace and block in the first set, Serena Gray emerged with six kills on .750 hitting at the end of the second set. She finished with eight kills, which was only surpassed by Parker’s 12.

The Nittany Lions defense also had a strong match with many players chipping in to keep the Scarlet Knights off the board. Standout libero Kendall White recorded nine digs while Gabby Blossom, Jenna Hampton, and Tori Gorrell logged seven, six, and five, respectively.

Saturday night’s match also recognized the 1999 Penn State women’s volleyball team, which went on to win the program’s first national title.

“[The match] was a great opportunity to recognize the players from the 1999 championship team that did so much for the program, albeit 20 years ago,” head coach Russ Rose said after the match.

“I thought we served better tonight than we did a couple of nights ago,” Rose continued. “We controlled the ball a little bit better and we’ll have to continue to get better as we continue into conference play.”

Player Of The Match

Serena Gray | Middle Blocker

The sophomore may have started off slow, but her eight kills on .583 hitting in the second and third sets powered the Nittany Lions to an easy victory.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions (9-2, 2-0 Big Ten) will travel to Madison, Wisconsin to take on the No. 13 Badgers Wednesday, October 2. First serve is set for 9 p.m.