No 16. Penn State women’s volleyball (21-6, 10-6 Big Ten) took down No. 15 Purdue (18-8, 9-7 Big Ten) in four sets (21-25, 25-19, 27-25, 25-19) on Saturday night in West Lafayette.

Prior to the match, the teams were tied for fifth place in the Big Ten. Now, Penn State will move up in the conference standings after beating the higher-ranked Boilermakers.

How It Happened

Purdue took a quick 2-4 lead over Penn State in the opening points of the match when Boilermakers Raven Colvin and Eva Hudson made their presence known early by tallying several kills.

The Nittany Lions showed their blocking skills and kept the Boilermakers on their toes through the middle of the first set as the Nittany Lions trailed 14-15.

Purdue pulled ahead with a 3-0 scoring run, forcing a Penn State timeout as the score sat at 15-18. Coming out of the timeout, the Nittany Lions continued to trail, but a 3-0 scoring run from Penn State almost closed the gap. It wasn’t quite enough, and Purdue took set one 21-25.

An ace from Allie Holland gave Penn State the early advantage in the second set, and the team started off with a 6-4 lead. A service ace and another block pushed the Nittany Lions into double digits and they extended their lead to 10-6.

Purdue continued to try to return to a tie game with several impressive blocks, but the Nittany Lions hung on to their lead. After Penn State extended it back to a four-point lead, Purdue head coach Dave Shondell called his second timeout of the set.

A dominant performance from freshman Alexa Markley in the second half of the set made it easy for Penn State to retain its lead, as she had four kills. A final kill from Kashauna Williams gave Penn State set two at 25-19.

A scoring challenge early in the third set went in the Nittany Lions’ favor, despite an early Boilermaker lead. Back-to-back kills from Williams allowed Penn State to tie things up at 11 all.

The teams traded points until Purdue went on a 3-0 scoring run, extending its lead to 16-20. The Nittany Lions began a scoring run of their own, nearly catching up to Purdue and forcing a timeout.

On a play that tied the set at 24, Purdue pulled its last challenge card, but the point remained in Penn State’s hands. Two Purdue attack errors gave Penn State the lead and Katie Schumacher-Cawley’s team stole set three 27-25.

Two more Williams kills helped Penn State start set four 3-0. A slew of kills from various Boilermakers gave the team its first lead of the set 8-9. The Nittany Lions didn’t let Purdue enjoy that for too long, utilizing Williams once again to go out in front 15-13.

Penn State went on a 4-0 scoring run to stretch its lead to 19-14. Purdue took a timeout as it continued to trail, but the Nittany Lions charged toward the finish line and quickly completed the fourth and final set at 25-19.

Takeaways

• Defense, defense, defense. Both teams knew how to block, and both teams showed it off. Penn State finished the match with 11 blocks, which proved to be crucial in many moments where the score remained close or tied.
• It would be crazy not to mention Kashauana Williams’ dominance in the match. Across four sets, Williams tallied 22 kills, nearly passing her season high. Freshman Alexa Markley also ended the evening with an impressive 13 kills and two blocks.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will return to Happy Valley to play back-to-back matches at Rec Hall. Penn State will face off against Minnesota at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, November 18, for its annual Wear White match.