No. 8 Penn State women’s volleyball sent off its seniors in impressive fashion with a 3-1 win against No. 15 Purdue Saturday night at Rec Hall.

Jonni Parker tied her season-high of 17 kills in the 25-17, 21-25, 25-18, 25-15 victory over the Boilermakers.

How It Happened

Prior to the match, Penn State’s five seniors — Kendall White, Tori Gorrell, Kristin Krause, Keeton Holcomb, and Emily Sciorra — were honored as part of the team’s Senior Night festivities. The seniors were joined by their friends and families on the court in a heartfelt ceremony.

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The Nittany Lions came out swinging in the opening set, collectively recording 18 kills on .366 hitting. Despite not recording any blocks, Penn State’s defense played an integral role in winning the set 25-17. They recorded 17 digs and held Purdue to 11 kills on a .212 hitting clip to stifle the Boilermakers.

Penn State’s momentum didn’t carry into the ensuing set, however, as Purdue took the set 25-21. The Boilermakers’ offense exploded in this set, as they hit .452 and recorded 17 kills. Purdue limited itself to just three attack errors and kept Penn State’s offense in check by holding it to .286

The Nittany Lions got off to a quick 7-2 start to kick off the third set. That lead wouldn’t go anywhere, as Penn State comfortably took the set 25-18. The Nittany Lions carried that energy into their fourth set and hit .406 as a team en route to comfortably defeating the Boilermakers 25-15.

Penn State’s seniors absolutely shined on their special night. Gorrell led the way with 14 kills and five total blocks, while White recoreded 29 digs. Defensive specialists Holcomb, Krause, and Sciorra each saw a good deal of playing time as well.

The team’s sophomores also showed off their talent against the Boilermakers, as middle blockers Gray and Hord combined for 22 kills and seven total blocks. Blossom dished out 53 assists in the match and also chipped in seven digs.

Libero Kendall White recorded season-high 29 digs in the match against the Boilermakers, bringing her career total up to 1,861 and breaking her previous high of 22. The senior standout now needs just 97 more to become Penn State’s all-time digs leader.

With Saturday night’s win, Penn State improved to 58-6 all-time against Purdue. The Nittany Lions are 14-1 over their last 15 matches against the Boilermakers. And, through 14 conference matches, the team is undefeated in Big Ten play in Rec Hall.

Following the match, head coach Russ Rose gave great credit to Purdue’s effort in the match, noting that the team had just beaten Big Ten powerhouse Nebraska weeks before. He also took the time to appreciate the superb play out of his senior players that night.

“After last year[‘s 3-2 loss to Purdue], I wasn’t letting that happen again,” White said after the match. “Coming into our gym, I wanted to make a point, and I think our whole team did that as a whole. We came out with a lot of energy. I mean, we lost the second set, but it didn’t matter. We came out with the same energy as we did the first set. It felt really good to play out there today with everybody.”

Player Of The Match

Jonni Parker | Outside Hitter

Man, what a night for the Parker. She tallied a match-high 17 kills on .244 hitting, seven digs, and two total blocks in the win over Purdue. Parker’s 17 kills tied her season-high, which she set against Illinois back in October.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions (19-4, 12-2 Big Ten) will begin a four-match road trip when they travel to Champaign to take on No. 21 Illinois on Friday, November 15. First serve against the Fighting Illini is set for 8 p.m.