No. 8 Penn State women’s volleyball (2-1) couldn’t hang on against No. 5 Minnesota (7-0) Saturday night in Minneapolis. The Nittany Lions lost 3-1 (27-29, 23-25, 25-23, 18-25) despite leading late in a few sets.

Stephanie Samedy led the Golden Gophers with 23 kills and propelled the Big Ten powerhouse to an impressive win over a talented Penn State team.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions welcomed setter Gabby Blossom and libero Jenna Hampton back to the starting lineup Saturday night. Both juniors weren’t available and didn’t dress for Penn State’s series with Illinois last weekend.

Penn State got off to a slow start against Minnesota and let the Golden Gophers score four straight to begin the match. A few hitting errors helped the Nittany Lions climb back into the competition, but Minnesota’s potent offense never wavered.

Penn State took its first lead of the frame 16-15 thanks to a Minnesota hitting error. Following a back-and-forth affair that included *11* ties, the Golden Gophers took the set 29-27 following two consecutive Nittany Lions hitting errors.

Minnesota didn’t wait long to continue its strong showing. The Golden Gophers jumped out to a 5-0 and were once again aided by more than a few Penn State swings gone awry. Back-to-back kills from sophomore outside hitter Lauren Clark helped Penn State take an eventual 15-14 lead — its first of the frame.

Poor execution unraveled Penn State’s comeback in this set, too. The Nittany Lions led 21-19 at points in both of the first two sets but couldn’t close out the victory. Instead, Minnesota squeaked out a 25-23 win to avoid an upset.

Penn State started the third set on the right foot and led 2-1 early on. However, more incredible hitting from Minnesota’s Samedy gave the Golden Gophers an early 5-2 lead.

Down 20-17 late in the game, Penn State rattled off six straight points to take a 23-20 lead over Minnesota. Right side Jonni Parker tallied six digs and put the Nittany Lions on her back to give the team an impressive 25-23 third-frame win.

Penn State’s luck ran out in the fourth game, though. The Nittany Lions tied Minnesota four times in the set but weren’t able to grind out a meaningful advantage. The Golden Gophers capitalized on a 5-0 run late in the frame to pull out a 25-18 win, taking the match 3-1.

Parker led Penn State with 18 kills and added 13 digs, too. In their season debuts, Blossom and Hampton racked up 50 assists and 34 digs combined. Middle blocker Kaitlyn Hord led the team by hitting .417 and contributing 11 kills and five total blocks.

Player Of The Match

Stephanie Samedy | Opposite Hitter

Samedy unsurprisingly stole the show against the Nittany Lions. The reigning AVCA Player of the Week racked up 23 kills on .250 hitting Saturday night, adding 11 digs, an ace, and two blocks. She’s averaging more than four kills and nearly three digs per set so far this season.

What’s Next?

Penn State and Minnesota will rematch Saturday night to wrap up a two-match series. First serve is set for 7:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.