#12 Penn State def. #16 Michigan 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-23)
- Penn State moves to 11-3, 2-2 Big Ten; Michigan falls to 13-2, 2-2 Big Ten
- Box Score
- Penn State Recap / Michigan Recap
- Attendance: 5,433
Penn State leveled its Big Ten record after an 0-2 league start by ruining Michigan’s perfect 9-0 home record.
The Nittany Lions were better in every way and won despite being outhit in the final stanza. PSU led .248 to .150 in hitting efficiency, 44-38 in kills, 4-2 in aces and 9-6 in blocks.
Penn State hit .250 or better in the first two stanzas, but fell to .200 in Set 3. Michigan, meanwhile, started at .067 and worked its way to .132 and then a final .231 clip.
Five Nittany Lion players managed seven or more kills in the match, led by Kaitlyn Hord‘s 10. Serena Gray (9), Jonni Parker (9), Nia Reed (7) and Taylor Leath (7) rounded out the group. Gray hit at a team-leading .571 clip and put up a team-best six blocks. Hord followed with a .412 hitting effort.
Carly Skjodt led all hitters with 15 putaways for the Wolverines, while hitting .273 and turning in nine digs. Paige Jones followed with 11 kills on a .318 clip. Cori Crocker was the team’s best blocker with three stuffs.
PSU jumped on top 6-2 in Set 1 and soon led by five at 10-5. Michigan rallied with eight of the next 10 to grab the lead at 13-12. Penn State countered with six straight points, including two blocks and a kill by Gray, to go up 18-13. The Wolverines never got closer than four after that and Penn State ended the stanza on a 3-0 run, including an Emily Sciorra ace and a final solo stuff by Reed.
The teams tied nine times in Set 2, last at 17 all. Back to back kills by Parker capped a 5-0 run to make it 21-17 Penn State. Michigan called timeout and scored four of the next six to narrow the gap to two at 23-21 with help from two PSU miscues. The Nittany Lions took a break of their own and Parker and Leath came through with putaways to cap the 25-21 win.
Penn State built a 9-5 lead in Set 3 and despite a tie at 9, maintained control. A stuff by Gray and Bryanna Weiskircher pushed the advantage back to three at 13-10 and two Gray putaways and a third from Leath gave the Nittany Lions a five-point edge at 18-13. The Wolverines chipped away, pulling within two at 22-20 with help from two PSU errors and kills by Skjodt, Paige Jones and Katarina Glavinic. Back to back kills by Reed put Penn State on the hill at 24-21. Crocker and Skjodt held the Nittany Lions at bay temporarily, before Parker finished off the sweep.
Up Next
- The Wolverines continue their homestand with a Friday match against Purdue.
- The Nittany Lions
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