Updated at 9:31 p.m.
The loudest roar of the night came after sophomore setter Micha Hancock smacked her 21st serve of the second set into the net.
That ended a 21-0 scoring run, with it the only suspense on a night Penn State advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament with a 3-0 sweep against Binghamton at Rec Hall: Could it win 25-0?
The 25-3 victory in the second set was the fewest points Penn State ever allowed in the era of rally scoring. It’s almost unheard of when the rules award a point on any Penn State mishit or Binghamton kill.
‘You don’t like to be a part of it when you’re doing it or receiving it because it’s not good for the winning team either,’ Penn State coach Russ Rose said. ‘This was just a situation that kind of got away.’
It did not take long to know only three sets would be needed in the best-of-five match. The decisive set started with a 13-0 start, easily assuring a matchup with Bowling Green at 7:30 Saturday night in the single-elimination tournament.
Hancock, the Big Ten Setter of the Year who led off each set with the serve, recorded six aces in the second frame. Her 21 straight serves was the second-longest such streak in NCAA history.
‘It’s not that sore,’ she said of her shoulder. ‘I was just tired going back to the end line.’
Penn State recorded a .587 hitting percentage to Binghamton’s -.075. Outside hitter Deja McClendon led all players with 12 kills on just 15 swings.
Binghamton’s only lead of the night came after the first point. The Penn State crowd was never worried and only grew restless when an NCAA video featuring president Mark Emmert popped up on the big screen, eliciting a shower of boos.
It was the result everyone knew was coming. Binghamton, whose run to the field of 64 made it a season to remember, only wished it could’ve played better.
‘It was just tough out there tonight,’ Binghamton coach Glenn Kiriyama said. ‘They scored a lot of points in that rotation.’
