No. 13 Penn State women’s volleyball (17-4, Big Ten 6-4) topped Rutgers (7-15, Big Ten 1-9) in straight sets (25-13, 25-15, 25-21) Sunday afternoon.

A major offensive performance led the way for the Nittany Lions in their sixth conference win of the season. The team had a commanding hitting percentage of .329 on the day with a total of 41 kills.

How It Happened

To start off the conference matchup, a pair of service errors from both sides and a kill from Zoe Weatherington gave Penn State the 2-1 lead. A dominant serving performance from Cassie Kuerschen saw three aces in a row and a jump to an 8-2 lead.

Rutgers was able to string together a few consecutive points, but Penn State held onto its 14-8 lead halfway through the set. Kashauna Williams and Allie Holland became a wall along the net, forcing a Rutgers timeout after two huge blocks.

The Nittany Lions extended their lead even further as they went up 22-13. A kill from Penn State’s Katie Clark called for a second Rutgers timeout. No side-out play came for the Scarlett Knights, and the Nittany Lions took set one 25-13.

Set two started off with a defensive clinic as Allie Holland, Zoe Weatherington, and Alexa Markley all registered blocks in the first four points of the set. The Nittany Lions continued to roll as they were up 7-1.

The dominance continued as Penn State held onto a 14-6 lead. The offense continued to show out for the Nittany Lions as they were up 19-10 before a Rutgers timeout. Penn State continued to have complete control as it took set two 25-15.

The final set once again started with the Nittany Lions on top 2-1. Rutgers was able to tie the set for the first time in the match 4-4, but Penn State came right back up 9-5. The Nittany Lion charge continued as they upped the lead 19-12, and they were the first to hit 20 thanks to another huge kill from Katie Clark.

Rutgers got some momentum going and the score reached 22-19, but Penn State ultimately won the set 25-21.

Player Of The Game

Cassie Kuerschen | Defensive Specialist

Penn State has a ridiculous amount of strength in its defensive court with Maddy Bilinovic and Gillian Grimes, but Kuerschen was the star of the show today.

Not only did she register four of the team’s 19 digs, but she had all four service aces on the day for the Nittany Lions.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will have a mid-week matchup against Illinois at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26 in Urbana-Champaign.