Penn State Women’s Volleyball Tops Towson in Opening Round of NCAA Tournament

Photo by Mikey DeAngelis | Onward State

Penn State women’s volleyball (20-10, 13-7 Big Ten) defeated Towson (26-4, 12-4 CAA) in four sets (25-11, 25-27, 25-20, 25-21) on Friday in Pittsburgh to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Senior opposite hitter Jonni Parker had a big night to help carry the Nittany Lions to a 3-1 victory over the Tigers. She finished the match with 18 kills, 11 digs, and a .348 hitting percentage.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions started off hot with a 5-0 lead in the first set thanks to strong play at the net. Kills from senior opposite hitter Jonni Parker and freshman outside hitter Anjelina Starck boosted Penn State’s lead to 11-3. Towson cut its deficit to 15-10, but that was as close as the Tigers came to trying to overtake the lead.

Penn State went on a 7-0 scoring run at 22-10 before closing out the set on a 25-11 win. The Nittany Lions finished the first set with a .407 hitting percentage. Both senior outside hitter Adanna Rollins and Parker finished the set with a .500 hitting percentage while Starck hit .571.

Towson stayed right with the Nittany Lions in the second set, turning a narrow early deficit into a 9-7 lead. over Penn State kept it within reach, though, before regaining an 18-15 lead on back-to-back kills from senior outside hitter Erika Pritchard.

The Tigers tied the set at 18-18 and 19-19 before the Nittany Lions took the lead at 21-19 on kills from Parker and Rollins. From there, Penn State and Towson tied the set five times up to 25-25 but following a long volley, the Tigers won 27-25.

Penn State found its footing again at the start of the third set with a 6-3 lead thanks to kills from senior middle hitter Kaitlyn Hord and Starck. The Nittany Lions dominated at the net to boost their lead to 14-11 on kills from sophomore middle hitter Allie Holland and Parker.

The Nittany Lions went on a 4-0 scoring run on back-to-back-to-back kills from Rollins to give them an 18-13 lead halfway through the set. The Tigers cut their deficit to trail 21-19 behind Penn State following a 3-0 scoring run. Ultimately, the Nittany Lions powered their way to close out the set with a 25-20 win on a 3-0 scoring run.

Penn State started the fourth set with a 4-0 scoring run, but Towson remained close behind. Back-to-back kills from Parker gave Penn State a 10-8 lead over the Tigers.

Despite Towson keeping it close halfway through the fourth set, the Nittany Lions capitalized on Tiger errors and closed out the match with a 25-21 win on a kill from Rollins.

Hord finished the match with 11 kills and seven blocks while Rollins finished with 10 kills, eight digs, and four blocks. Senior setter Gabby Blossom finished the night with five kills, 47 assists, 11 digs and a . 714 hitting percentage. Senior libero Jenna Hampton closed out the match with 27 digs.

Player Of The Match

Jonni Parker | Opposite Hitter

Senior opposite hitter Jonni Parker finished the match with 18 kills, 11 digs, and a . 348 hitting percentage to lead the Nittany Lions over Towson in four sets. To put her dominance in perspective, no other player in the match topped 11 kills.