Match Stats
- No. 1 Nebraska def. No. 15 Penn State 3-0, (25-17, 25-14, 25-22)
- Huskers move to 25-1, 16-1 B1G, Penn State falls to 19-9, 11-6 B1G
- Hosted by Nebraska
Nebraska dominated Penn State in a three set sweep, for their 13th consecutive win. The Huskers held the Nittany Lions to a low .065 hitting percentage, while hitting .290 themselves.
Andie Malloy led the attack for the Huskers with 11 kills and a .400 hitting percentage. Close behind was Mikaela Foecke with 10 kills. Kelly Hunter recorded a double-double with 36 assists and 15 digs.
For Penn State, Ali Frantti put down seven kills, while Kendall White picked up 18 digs.
Press Release
Courtesy of Nebraska Athletics
LINCOLN, Neb. – The top-ranked Nebraska volleyball team turned in another dominant defensive effort in a 25-17, 25-14, 25-22 sweep of No. 15 Penn State in front of 8,407 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Wednesday night.
The win was the Huskers’ 13th straight victory and helped Nebraska remain alone in first place in the Big Ten standings with a 16-1 record. Nebraska is 25-1 overall and has won four straight matches against the Nittany Lions. NU’s defense held Penn State to season lows in kills and attack percentage. The Nittany Lions’ 28 kills were nine fewer than their previous season low, while Penn State’s .065 attack percentage was nearly .100 points worse than its previous low (.164). Five of the nine Nittany Lions who took a swing were held to a .000 or negative attack percentage, as Nebraska tallied nine blocks and 54 digs.
Offensively, it was another balanced night for the Big Red as five Huskers had six or more kills in the three-set victory. Senior Andie Malloy led the way with a match-high 11 kills on .400 hitting, while sophomore Mikaela Foecke totaled 10 kills with a season-high seven digs. Nebraska’s dynamic middle blocking duo of senior Amber Rolfzen and junior Briana Holman also excelled, combining for 14 kills on 23 swings. Both middles hit .500 or above, with Holman producing eight kills on a .615 attack percentage and Rolfzen tallying six kills on a .500 attack percentage. All-America outside hitter Kadie Rolfzen added six kills for Nebraska, which has now won nine consecutive home sets against Penn State (19-9, 11-6 Big Ten) dating back to 2014. Junior setter Kelly Hunter led Nebraska to a .290 attack percentage in the match, while totaling 36 assists and 15 digs to post her sixth double-double of the season. Annika Albrecht added 10 digs and two aces, including one on match point.
Nebraska’s 3-0 victory was its seventh sweep of a ranked opponent this season, while the Huskers improved to 12-1 overall against top-25 foes.
Set 1: A kill and solo block by Foecke on consecutive rallies gave the Huskers their first lead at 6-5. Albrecht produced four early digs, as the Husker back row contributed in a big way to a 9-6 lead after Holman and Foecke posted kills around a Penn State hitting error. Despite just two kills and a .000 hitting percentage, the Nittany Lions came back to tie the set at 10-10. A pair of kills by Malloy, one of which came off of a bump set from Justine Wong-Orantes, put the Huskers back up 13-10. Nebraska continued to feed the left side as Malloy put home her third kill for a 15-12 lead. Hunter struck for a pair of kills to make it 18-14 and force Penn State’s final timeout. Foecke’s fifth kill put to rest a two-point Penn State rally and set off a 6-0 Husker run that gave the Huskers set point at 24-16, with Holman and Malloy also contributing kills. Holman ended the set at 25-17 with her fourth kill. Nebraska dominated the set with a .324 to .026 advantage in hitting percentage. The Husker defense was the difference with a 23-14 edge in digs.
Set 2: The Huskers carried the domination into set two as they took a 5-1 lead with two kills by Holman, one by Kadie Rolfzen, a solo stuff by Malloy and a combo block by Kadie Rolfzen and Holman. The Rolfzen twins teamed up for Nebraska’s third block of the set to make it 7-2. Penn State took its first timeout after Amber Rolfzen made it 9-4 with back-to-back kills. The Huskers continued to pour it on after the timeout, as Foecke and Amber Rolfzen were in on two blocks together, and Albrecht served an ace as the Huskers built a 14-5 lead. The Nittany Lions needed another timeout after NU’s lead ballooned to 20-10. The Huskers closed out a 25-14 win, hitting .250 and holding Penn State to -.065.
Set 3: Nebraska was up 10-7 before Penn State came back to take an 11-10 lead. The Nittany Lions claimed a 13-11 lead, but a kill by Malloy, and a Penn State error followed by a Kadie Rolfzen kill restored a 15-14 Husker advantage. The teams played sideout volleyball for 13 rallies before the Huskers committed a hitting error to give Penn State a 22-21 lead. Trailing by one, Nebraska called its final timeout and responded by winning the final four rallies of the match. After the timeout, Malloy tallied a kill from the left side to even the score at 22-22. Penn State then hit long, and Albrecht dug a ball that led to a Foecke kill for match point. Following a Penn State timeout, Albrecht ended the match with her second ace of the night. Penn State finished with 14 kills in the third set – doubling its total from each of the first two sets – but Nebraska totaled 15 kills and hit .289.
Up Next: The Huskers head to Iowa City to play the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday at 8 p.m.
Press Release
Courtesy of Penn State Athletics
LINCOLN, Neb. – The No.15 Penn State women’s volleyball team (19-9, 11-6 Big Ten) fell to reigning national champion and top-ranked Nebraska (25-1, 16-1 Big Ten), 3-0 (17-25, 14-25, 22-25) on Wednesday night inside the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
Junior outside hitter Ali Frantti led the way for Penn State, logging seven kills in the outing, while classmates Haleigh Washington and Simone Lee posted six apiece.
The back row defense was highlighted once again by standout play from freshman Kendall White at libero. The Indianapolis, Indiana native posted a match-high 18 digs and was the lone Penn State played to log double-figures in the statistical category.
The Nittany Lions return to Happy Valley for the remainder of the regular season schedule. The team next faces the Purdue Boilermakers, taking on the Indiana squad on Saturday, Nov. 19, with first serve set for 7 p.m. ET inside Rec Hall.
Junior right side Heidi Thelen started the match with an emphatic kill. The two sides swapped point-for-point, tying six times to a knot the score at 6-all. The Huskers then opened a 3-0 run, prompting the Nittany Lions to use their first timeout. Out of the break Penn State forged a 4-1 run on an ace from Detering, a kill by Thelen and a block courtesy of Washington and Frantti to tie the match at 10-10. Nebraska countered with a second 3-0 run before a kill from Lee broke up the streak for a 13-11 score. Another strike from Thelen pulled Penn State back within two at a 16-14 score. Nebraska took the next two points, prompting Penn State’s second timeout. Thelen pounded her fourth kill out of the break before making a block with Washington the next play to pull within two at 18-16. Nebraska ended the set on a 7-1 run, taking the first 25-17.
Washington opened the second set with a kill before Nebraska took the next five points. Lee made the kill to break up the run and make the score 5-2. Nebraska took two more before Detering swapped with redshirt sophomore Bryanna Weiskircher to take over the setting duties. Lee scored on a ferocious kill following the swap and Thelen made a block the next play to cut the deficit to three. Nebraska scored twice more before Penn State called for time, behind 9-4. The Huskers erred out the break before taking the next five points. Another error from Nebraska stopped the streak before a big block from Detering and Washington the next play made the score 14-7. The Huskers opened another run, with a kills from Washington and Frantti breaking up the Nebraska scores. With Nebraska up 20-10, PSU used its final timeout of the set. A kill from Gorrell to plays later made it 21-11, before the redshirt freshman logged a block two points later. With the score 24-12, a kill from Frantti and an ace from Holcomb fended off set points, but Nebraska logged a final kill for the 25-14 set two win.
A kill from Frantti on the second play of the third set tied it at 1-1. Nebraska made a 4-1 run before a pair of Husker errors closed the gap to one at 5-4. A kill from Gorrell two plays later kept the help the difference at one point. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Clare Powers and Gorrell both notched kills to make the score 9-7 in Nebraska’s favor. After another Nebraska score, Penn State made a 4-0 run book-ended by kills from Washington to take an 11-10 lead and force a Huskers timeout. Washington and Lee posted kills before a strike from Frantti made it 14-12 for PSU. Nebraska made a 3-0 run, but an aptly time kill by Lee knotted the match at 15-all. Four plays later, Gorrell hammered home another kill for a 17-17 tie. The two sides tied twice, as a pair of kill from Frantti made the score 19-19. After service error from both sides, Nebraska erred twice more calling time as Penn State regained the lead, 22-21. Nebraska went on to take the next three points, with the Nittany Lions using both timeouts over the span. Nebraska would win the match on an ace, taking the third, 25-22.
NOTES:
Team
– No. 15 Penn State fell to the Nebraska Cornhuskers (17-25, 14-25, 22-25) Friday night inside the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
– With the loss, Penn State’s record advances to 19-9 on the season, with an 11-6 record in Big Ten conference play.
– The loss marked the first time Penn State has been swept since Oct. 29, when Minnesota did so.
– Freshman libero Kendall White posted 18 digs, leading all players in the match. It marked the 25th time this season White has led the Nittany Lions in digs.
Series
– With the loss against the Cornhuskers, Penn State moves to 10-18 all-time against Nebraska.
– Penn State is now 3-15 in matches against Nebraska in Lincoln, while the Penn State loss extends Nebraska’s win streak to four against the Nittany Lions.
Players
Ali Frantti, junior outside hitter: Frantti logged a team-best seven kills. She added three digs and a block.
Haleigh Washington, junior middle blocker: Washington charted six kills and a trio of blocks in the loss. Her three blocks tied for the best on the team.
Heidi Thelen, junior opposite: Thelen posted four kills, all in the first set, while adding a team-best three blocks in the sweep.
Simone Lee, junior outside hitter: Lee tallied six kills and seven digs in the sweep in Lincoln.
Kendall White, freshman defense specialist: White registered a team-best 18 digs, leading the team in the statistical category for the 25th time in 2016.
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