Katie Slay and Penn State: a match made in heaven?
Lions Sweep Buckeyes (Error Message Received?)
On a night when Deja McClendon left the match midway through the first set with what appeared to be a twisted ankle, the crowd almost certainly would have traded a sweep for a healthy Deja.
As it turned, that wasn’t necessary, as McClendon started the second set and proceeded to have a very solid match, totaling 7 kills with a .385 attack %. But the leaders for Penn State were MHs Katie Slay, with 9 kills (.438 attack %) and 8 blocks, and Nia Grant, with 9 kills (and an eye-popping .818 attack %). Maddie Martin quietly put together a solid performance with 7 kills (.400 attack %), including a very weird two-handed backwards hit meant only to clear the net, which somehow grew eyes to fall in the one spot where the Buckeyes weren’t. Micha Hancock directed the team to a .389 attack %. Improvement? If you didn’t answer “yes,” please move into the section marked “very tough crowd.”
The big story for the evening probably wasn’t what the Nittany Lions did as much as it was what they didn’t do — commit errors. In today’s Daily Collegian, Stephen Pianovich reported that in Penn State’s five losses, the Nittany Lions averaged 5.88 hitting errors per set. In Penn State’s 13 victories? Only 4.35 hitting errors per set. Tonight against Ohio State? Only 3.33 hitting errors per set, which certainly contributed to the 3-0 victory for Penn State (28-26, 25-18, 25-15). Russ Rose has been preaching error-reduction. Could it finally be getting through?
Match Stats
Here are the stats for the match:
Anybody else notice what an unusual box score that is? Six players with 7 or more kills but nobody with 10. I wonder how much that had to do with them hitting .389. If I were Ohio State, I would have had no idea where to set up a block.
There really were alot of players with multiple kills in that 5-9 range.
Other than fewer errors and great hitting percentage, there is much to be encouraged by the game, including: 18 kills from the middle!; Slay’s a blocking beast!; the Slay-Scott block knocked the wheels off Ohio State’s train and could do same to others; Maddie is becoming a solid offensive threat; Deja is looking 2010ish due in part to Micha’s faster sets and other hitters pulling blockers from Deja; Nia’s becoming a real threat in the center when Katie is not there; Micha seems more in control. This locomotive is starting to gain momentum!
The middles really did have a solid match. Nia Grant continues to impress me — particularly the fact that she’s playing in the back as well as at the net. She has made some really nice defensive plays. Katie Slay is, as Russ Rose said at the start of the season, the player you build your team around. Plus, she seems like a very nice person.