No. 13 Penn State women’s volleyball (16-4, 7-3 Big Ten) swept Maryland (17-5, 5-5 Big Ten) Friday night at Rec Hall.

A strong effort from senior right-side hitter Jonni Parker propelled Penn State to the 3-0 (25-23, 25-10, 25-20) win over the Terrapins.

How It Happened

Maryland immediately jumped out to a 4-0 lead to begin Friday night’s match. Poor hitting had Penn State playing catch-up until the Nittany Lions managed to tie the Terrapins 12-12 midway through the first frame. Penn State took control from there and wound up winning the first set 25-23, culminated by a trademark Kaitlyn Hord kill.

Kait ends set one with a monster kill!#WeAre
pic.twitter.com/J5k5cgG7Js

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) October 30, 2021

Penn State opened set two with a 7-2 scoring run, punctuated by a solo block from Allie Holland that prompted a Maryland timeout. From there on out, Penn State cruised to a 25-10 win in the second frame to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Strong hitting ultimately fueled the strong set two win. In the frame, Penn State hit .500 as a team and didn’t commit a single hitting error on 24 swings.

The Nittany Lions found themselves down 3-1 early on in set three, but a pair of back-to-back aces from libero Jenna Hampton helped Penn State take a 4-3 lead. Maryland never fell back too far, but Penn State maintained its lead through the rest of the game. Two separate 3-0 runs late in the frame propelled Penn State to a 25-20 win to complete the sweep over the Terrapins.

Starck ends the sweep!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/aNd6ztiPlk

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) October 30, 2021

Four Nittany Lions — Jonni Parker (13), Adanna Rollins (9), Anjelina Starck (9), and Kaitlyn Hord (8) — contributed at least eight kills in the match. Allie Holland, Hord, and Parker each posted three total blocks, too.

Senior setter Gabby Blossom dished out 37 assists in the win to keep Penn State’s offense running. Defensively, libero Jenna Hampton led the way with 13 digs.

Player Of The Match

Jonni Parker | Right-Side Hitter

Parker led the Nittany Lions with 13 kills against Maryland. She also added five digs and three total blocks to stuff the stat sheet and propel Penn State to the win.

What’s Next?

Penn State’s homestand continues with a matchup against Illinois (14-7, 6-4 Big Ten) on Saturday, October 30. First serve from Rec Hall is set for 4 p.m. on BTN+.