No. 17 Penn State women’s volleyball downed LSU with the Nittany Lions’ fifth sweep of the season to close out the Penn State Classic Saturday night at Rec Hall.
With 14 kills, Maryland transfer and outside hitter Erika Pritchard dominated the match to help the Nittany Lions win in three sets (25-13, 25-21, 25-21).
It capped a perfect weekend for Penn State, which also swept Iowa State on Friday night and Oregon State on Saturday morning to improve to 5-1 on year. The Nittany Lions haven’t dropped a set since their 3-1 season-opening loss to Georgia Tech last weekend.
How It Happened
Penn State started out hot against LSU with a 3-0 lead on a block from Jonni Parker and a kill from Erika Pritchard. Back-to-back blocks from Allie Holland and a kill from Adanna Rollins brought Penn State’s lead to 8-4 on a 4-0 run.
Strong hitting from Erika Pritchard and attack errors from the Tigers brought the Nittany Lions’ lead to 20-10 late in the first set. Kills from Rollins and Holland gave Penn State the extra edge it needed to close out a solid first set with a 25-13 win.
The Nittany Lions started the second set just as strong with kills from Pritchard, Parker and Kaitlyn Hord. LSU quickly came back to tie set at 3-3 on two kills from Sana Dotson and an ace from Kylie Kuyava-Deberg. Penn State was able to regain the lead 8-5 on kills from Parker and Rollins.
The Tigers tied the second set at 14-14 on kills from Hannah Brister before the Nittany Lions took over again at 19-15 on a block and back-to-back kills from Pritchard. Penn State took the second set with a 25-21 win thanks to kills from Hord and Holland.
The third set was a bit closer than the first two, but Penn State still managed to take a 5-3 lead early on. LSU came back to tie the set on a block from Ella Larkin and a kill from Kuyava-Deberg.
The Nittany Lions regained a 13-10 lead on blocks from Hord, Pritchard, and Rollins, but the Tigers remained close behind. LSU took the lead at 19-18 on a kill from Kuyava-Deberg. Back-to-back kills from Pritchard gave Penn State a 22-19 lead on a 4-0 scoring run before closing out the match. The Nittany Lions won 25-21 over LSU, marking their fifth sweep of the season.
Player Of The Match
Erika Pritchard | Outside Hitter
Pritchard dominated throughout the match, totaling a team-high 14 kills, six digs and three blocks on the night.
What’s Next?
Penn State will hit the road to face Oregon at 10 p.m. on Friday to begin the Big Ten/PAC 12 Challenge. The Nittany Lions won’t return to Rec Hall until Sept. 26 when they host Ohio State.
