Penn State women’s volleyball (8-0) defeated Oregon in five sets Saturday evening, continuing its undefeated season (25-21, 15-25, 25-19, 23-25, 15-9).

Strong defense from the Nittany Lions slowed down Oregon when it mattered most.

How It Happened

Without breaking a sweat, the Nittany Lions quickly went up 6-3, causing Oregon to call an early timeout. A consecutive block and an ace from Oregon tied things up 9-9, but a couple of kills by Allie Holland brought Penn State to 17-12. Oregon burned its second timeout, but the Nittany Lions were able to stay focused and won the first set 25-21.

Penn State had a rocky start to the second set. Several kills and attack errors led to the Nittany Lions’ first timeout with Oregon’s largest lead of the match at 11-5. A dominant showing from Oregon in the middle of the set left Penn State lagging by 10 points, 20-10. The Nittany Lions just couldn’t catch up, and they lost the second set 25-15.

A kill from Penn State’s Zoe Weatherington tied up the beginning of the third set 7-7. With Anjelina Stark serving, the Nittany Lions took their first significant lead of the set, 15-12. Impressive kills and blocks kept Penn State in a comfortable lead of 21-17. Oregon took a timeout, but it didn’t slow the Nittany Lions’ momentum. They pulled out a win in the third set with a kill from Stark, ending with a score of 25-19.

The fourth set started similarly to the second set, with Penn State taking its first timeout as they fell behind 7-2. The Nittany Lions slowly gained traction to trail Oregon 13-9. A few kills from Allie Holland and Trammell helped to close the gap and tie things up 17-17. A set of alternating points allowed Oregon to lead 21-19 as Penn State took its second timeout. The nail-biter of a fourth set ended with Oregon winning 25-23.

The Nittany Lions took the first three points in the fifth and final set. Penn State used that momentum to keep the Ducks at bay, quickly jumping into a 6-2 lead and forcing an Oregon timeout. Oregon closed the gap to make the score 8-7, but a series of kills allowed Penn State to pull away 13-9. Oregon calls one final timeout, but with a kill and a block, the Nittany Lions won the match in five sets.

Takeaways

• Penn State faced tough competition against No. 18 Oregon, especially against Brooke Nuneviller’s 16 kills. But each time it looked like they might falter, the Nittany Lions persevered and came back even stronger. Katie Schumacher-Crawley is leading a fantastic team, and we’re not even in conference play yet.
• In a tough game, Allie Holland showed skill in many positions, having nine kills, a .381 hitting percentage, and nine blocks. Keshauna Williams and Zoe Weatherington also combined for a total 29 kills throughout the match (16 and 13, respectively) which helped the Nittany Lions pull themselves back into the lead several times.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions will be back in Rec Hall to challenge Howard University on Friday, September 16 at 7 p.m.