UNIVERSITY PARK — The Penn State women’s volleyball team followed up its sweep of New Hampshire with another solid performance at Rec Hall against Bucknell on Sept. 9.
After taking New Hampshire two days before, 3-0, the Nittany Lions broke out with a 25-19 win in the first set against the Bison, went to 2-0 with a 25-10 in the second set, and then clinched the match in the third set, 25-20.
The victory, Penn State’s fourth of the season against three losses, set the team up for a tough upcoming schedule against Pitt, Princeton, Central Michigan and Big Ten foes USC and UCLA.
The Lions fought to an 11-7 lead midway through set No. 1 and then held on to that margin throughout the set. Ahead 24-19, Gillian Grimes closed the set out with an ace.
In the second set, PSU dominated with a 7-point early lead that extended to 18-10 later. Penn State ended it with seven straight points, led by Alexis Ewing’s two kills and a block.
In the final set, Penn State led most of the way, but Bucknell rallied to tie things at 18-18. From there, the teams battled back-and-forth until the Lions, ahead 22-20, made a final 3-0 run to take the set and match, 25-20. The set saw six tie scores and two lead changes.
Penn State had 47 kills in the match, led by Emmi Sellman with 10, Maggie Mendelson with 9, and Ewing and Caroline Jurevicius with 8 each.
Setter Addie Lyon dished 37 assists to go with 3 aces and 4 digs. Grimes led with 14 digs and Ewing had 5 blocks.
Penn State will next host Pitt before the Penn State Classic begins on Friday, September 19 with a match against Princeton.
On Sunday, Sept. 21, the team will finish the Classic against Central Michigan at 2 p.m. in Rec Hall.
Penn State will then begin its Big Ten schedule with home matches against USC and UCLA.
The Lady Trojans will visit Rec Hall on Sept. 26, and then UCLA will follow on Sunday, Sept. 28.
