Penn State women’s volleyball open Big Ten play with resounding victory over Indiana

Story posted September 24, 2022 in

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa – No. 9 Penn State opened Big Ten play Friday night with a win.

Coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley said, “I thought our ladies battled and found a way to win at the end when it got pretty tight.”

Penn State got off to a quick start with a pair of Allie Holland blocks that brought Rec Hall to its feet, but Indiana would begin to claw back.

Mady Saris had a couple of kills to keep the score close for Indiana but it wasn’t enough, as Penn State would force the Hoosiers into a timeout.

The Nittany Lions continued to apply the pressure after the timeout as Anjelina Starck led the offense in kills.

Penn State would take the first set by a score of 25-17 in a commanding fashion.

Starck, Zoe Weatherington and Kashauna Williams led the Nittany Lion offense with a combined 11 kills while on the Indiana side Saris, Melisa Ilter and Morgan Geddes combined for eight kills.

Maddy Bilinovic also had two service aces in the first set. 

Indiana got off to a quick start in the second half and then Penn State fought back to tie up the game on multiple occasions.

Penn State eventually went on a 3-0 scoring run to take the lead before the Hoosiers called their first timeout of the set.

The Nittany Lions then began to pull away with another 3-0 run before Indiana would take another timeout. 

Penn State took the second set by a score of 25-21.

The Nittany Lions controlled the net front as they led Indiana in blocks, 11-7 and didn’t have a block against them in the entire second set.

The third set would get off to a competitive start with each team exchanging points and challenges by Penn State and Indiana. 

Indiana went on a four-point scoring run to break away from Penn State.

The Nittany Lions would respond with their own three point run to tighten the game back up and eventually tie it up and cause Indiana to call a timeout.

“I thought they were definitely not going away and making us earn every point,” Bilinovic said.

Penn State came out of the timeout with two points, including Maddy Bilinovic’s third service ace of the game, which would force another timeout from the Hoosiers.

The Nittany Lions went on a six-point scoring run to bring the third set to set point and put the Hoosiers on the brink of losing.

Indiana would respond with three straight points to get within one of the Nittany Lions and force them into a timeout. 

Penn State would immediately score after the timeout to win the third set 25-23 and defeat the Hoosiers in straight sets.

 

James Morrison is a junior majoring in Broadcast Journalism. To contact him, email jpm6920@psu.edu.