No. 9 Penn State women’s volleyball (2-0) defeated Illinois (2-4) 3-2 (25-16, 27-29, 26-28, 25-15, 15-8) Saturday night at Rec Hall to sweep a two-match series.

Freshman outside hitter Annie Cate Fitzpatrick led the Nittany Lions with 17 kills in her second-ever start and paced the team in kills for the second straight match. Four Nittany Lions wound up posting double-digit kills by the match’s end.

How It Happened

Emily Oerther, Annie Cate Fitzpatrick, Maddy Bilinovic, and Anastasiya Kudryashova each started again Saturday after making their Penn State debuts the night before.

Great Penn State hitting and bad Illinois serving helped the Nittany Lions get off on the right foot. Penn State hit .478 in the first frame, posted 13 kills, and committed only two hitting errors to win the set 25-16.

The Nittany Lions connected on their first five swings of the match and led by more than 10 points to stuff the Illini in the first set.

Much like Friday night, Penn State struggled in the second set. Illinois led for nearly the entire frame until a kill from Fitzpatrick helped Penn State take a 21-20. Following a back-and-forth battle, the Illini ultimately won the frame 29-27.

Both Illinois and Penn State struggled in the second set. The teams respectively hit just .182 and .195 and traded points until the very end.

The Nittany Lions’ rotten luck continued into the third game. They hit just .143, committed six hitting errors, and struggled serving and passing.

Although Illinois ultimately took the third frame 28-26, it wasn’t all bad. Serena Gray continued flashing her serving prowess by contributing a fourth ace during the set, which put Penn State up 14-10 at the time. Still, the Illini attack was a bit too strong to keep at bay.

Penn State finally kicked the rust off in its fourth frame. The team hit .367 and connected on 16 kills to take the frame 25-15 — its largest margin of victory the whole night. Oerther, a tall setter for her size, won the set by sneaking a ball over the net for a kill.

The Nittany Lions’ attack began emphasizing the corners throughout the fourth game. Great ball placement helped the team navigate Illinois’ block and claim a definitive victory.

Once it forced a fifth and deciding set, Penn State never looked back. The Nittany Lions got out to an 8-2 lead and bullied their way toward a 15-8 win, claiming the 3-2 victory over the Illini.

Oerther served up an ace to put an emphatic exclamation point on Penn State’s thrilling comeback win. Filling in for Gabby Blossom, she racked up 46 assists and 12 digs throughout the match.

Point, Set, Match #WeAre pic.twitter.com/BOiH6dsVLg

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) February 7, 2021

“I thought it was a typical Big Ten match,” head coach Russ Rose said afterward. “The conference is always a challenge every night. We weren’t nearly as good as we were in some areas last night. I think that may be just the excitement of the first night playing, but credit to Illinois for putting pressure on us and playing as the type of team they normally do.”

Four Nittany Lions — Fitzpatrick, Parker, Kudryashova, and Hord — tallied double-digit kills Saturday night. Hord let the team by hitting .556 and posting nine combined blocks.

Player Of The Match

Annie Cate Fitzpatrick | Outside Hitter

Picking the same player two nights in a row feels like cheating, but how can we not? The freshman product led the Nittany Lions with 17 kills and 17 digs, posting her first career double-double. She also added an assist.

Fitzpatrick narrowly missed out on a double-double Friday night by posting 13 kills on .308 hitting and nine digs.

Following the match, Rose said Fitzpatrick flashed signs of brilliance but still has plenty of room to grow.

“She’ll learn. She’s always going to be an undersized outside hitter, so she’s going to play hard,” Rose said. “That’s one of the things she does. She likes to take big swings. She just has to learn to take smart swings when she’s playing against a big block and she’s out of system.”

What’s Next?

Penn State will hit the road for the first time this season and begin a two-match series with No. 6 Minnesota. The first match against the Golden Gophers will begin at 8 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.