No. 20 Penn State women’s volleyball bounced back from two straight losses to sweep Robert Morris (25-13, 25-15, 25-12) Friday morning in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Sophomore middle blocker Allie Holland dominated the match to help the Nittany Lions take the win over the Colonials.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions got off to a bit of a rough start in the first set. Strong hitting from Robert Morris and attack errors from Penn State gave the Colonials a quick 4-2 lead. Penn State remained close behind with kills from sophomore middle blocker Allie Holland, though early in the set, it was a back-and-forth battle with Robert Morris.

Penn State finally gained momentum halfway through the first set to take an 11-8 lead with kills from Holland, Adanna Rollins, and Erika Pritchard. From there, the Nittany Lions ran away with the set thanks to strong hitting from Jonni Parker and Rollins. Penn State won the first set 25-13.

Like the first set, Robert Morris took a 2-0 lead with kills from Emma Granger and Alyson Londot. But, kills from Anastasiya Kudryashova and Rollins put pressure on the Colonials. Penn State gained a 10-6 lead on attack errors from Robert Morris.

Despite a short comeback from the Colonials, Penn State’s hitting carried it to the win with back-to-back-to-back kills from Holland. The Nittany Lions won the second set 25-15, closing it out on a 4-0 scoring run and back-to-back aces from Annie Cate Fitzpatrick.

Penn State started the third set off strong with a 3-0 lead on a kill from Kudryashova and back-to-back aces from senior setter Gabby Blossom. The Nittany Lions extended their lead to 9-3 on kills from Katie Clark and Holland and an ace from Parker.

Robert Morris couldn’t hang with Penn State’s powerful hitting following a timeout halfway through the final set. The Nittany Lions took an 18-10 lead thanks to attacking errors from the Colonials and propelled themselves to a win on kills from Kudryashova and Fitzpatrick.

A kill from Fitzpatrick closed the final set 25-12, granting Penn State a much-needed sweep.

Player Of The Game

Allie Holland | Middle Blocker

Sophomore middle blocker Allie Holland finished the match with 11 kills, five blocks, and a very impressive .688 hitting percentage. She’s been instrumental in filling a massive hole after Serena Gray graduated and transferred to Pitt this summer.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will rest up before a 7 p.m. matchup against West Virginia Friday.