Media Wrap: PSU vs. Kansas
GoPSUsports.com: No. 3 Women’s Volleyball Wins Villanova Classic
VILLANOVA, Pa. – No. 3 Penn State women’s volleyball (8-1) captured the Villanova Classic crown with a straight-set (25-10, 27-25, 25-23) victory against No. 24 Kansas (9-2) Saturday evening at the Pavilion. Senior Micha Hancock earned Villanova Classic MVP honors while senior Nia Grant and redshirt junior Aiyana Whitney joined her on the All-Tournament Team.
Grant and Whitney both powered the Penn State offense with double-digit kills in the win. Whitney tallied 13 on .571 hitting, while also leading the team with six blocks. Grant recorded 10 kills on .467 hitting, adding two digs and two blocks. Junior Megan Courtney finished second on the team with five blocks and seven digs, while also posting four kills. Senior Dominique Gonzalez anchored the defense with 12 digs. Hancock registered another standout performance from the endline, tallying six aces to go along with four kills and two blocks.
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KUathletics.com: No. 24 Kansas Succumbs to Defending Champ, No. 3 Penn State, 3-0
VILLANOVA, Pa. – Across the net from the defending national champions, No. 24 Kansas turned a grueling first-set loss into back-to-back battles in the sets that followed until No. 3 Penn State closed the door on the Jayhawks. The Nittany Lions defeated the Jayhawks in three sets, 10-25, 25-27, 23-25. The two remaining unbeaten teams in the Villanova Classic, Kansas (9-2) and Penn State (8-1) squared off for the first time in program history in the tournament championship.
The pinnacle of collegiate volleyball, the Nittany Lions have won five of the last seven national championships and six overall, tying for the most in the NCAA. Opposing head coach Russ Rose is a five-time National Coach of the Year, and has led his squad to 16 Big Ten Championships and 10 of the last 11. His team can play. In spite of the loss, the Jayhawks showed that they can, too. After enduring a brutal first-set loss that saw PSU strike for 17 kills and only one error, the Jayhawks refused to be humiliated at their own game. Led by 11 kills from freshman outside hitter Madison Rigdon, KU halted the blowout and forced Penn State to the minimum two-point victory in the last two sets. A three-set loss wasn’t the plan, but aside from their loss to then-No. 2 Stanford, Penn State hasn’t had to win sets by the minimum margin in more than one set all season.
“There are some things to take away from this to feel good about, but we won’t settle for a three-set loss either,” head coach Ray Bechard said. “Even though sets two and three were close, you’ve got to find a way to at least get one of those to extend the match.”
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Match Stats (courtesy GoPSUsports.com)
2014 Statistics
Attack Leaders (9-14-14)
| # | Name | Cl. | SP | MP | K | K/S | E | TA | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Frantti, Ali | 1/Fr. | 30 | 9 | 107 | 3.57 | 27 | 219 | .365 |
| 17 | Courtney, Megan | 3/Jr. | 30 | 9 | 80 | 2.67 | 19 | 178 | .343 |
| 7 | Grant, Nia | 4/Sr. | 28 | 9 | 72 | 2.57 | 13 | 115 | .513 |
| 14 | Whitney, Aiyana | 3/RS Jr. | 30 | 9 | 75 | 2.50 | 20 | 148 | .372 |
| 22 | Lee, Simone | 1/Fr. | 25 | 8 | 55 | 2.20 | 22 | 144 | .229 |
| 12 | Hancock, Micha | 4/Sr. | 30 | 9 | 32 | 1.07 | 9 | 68 | .338 |
| 19 | Thelen, Heidi | 1/Fr. | 6 | 4 | 9 | 1.50 | 2 | 16 | .438 |
| Team | n/a | 30 | 9 | 438 | 14.60 | 112 | 902 | .361 | |
| Opp. | n/a | 30 | 9 | 272 | 9.07 | 164 | 867 | .125 |
Setting Leaders (9-14-14)
| # | Name | Class | SP | MP | A | A/S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Hancock, Micha | 4/Sr. | 30 | 9 | 347 | 11.57 |
| 4 | Gonzalez, Dominique | 4/Sr. | 30 | 9 | 21 | 0.70 |
| 17 | Courtney, Megan | 3/Jr. | 30 | 9 | 17 | 0.57 |
| 5 | Frantti, Ali | 1/Fr. | 30 | 9 | 5 | 0.17 |
| 33 | Fuller, Lacey | 4/Sr, | 30 | 9 | 5 | 0.17 |
| Team | n/a | 30 | 9 | 398 | 13.27 | |
| Opp. | n/a | 30 | 9 | 255 | 8.50 |
Serving Leaders (9-14-14)
| # | Name | Class | SP | MP | SA | SA /S | SE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Hancock, Micha | 4/Sr. | 30 | 9 | 27 | 0.90 | 28 |
| 7 | Grant, Nia | 4/Sr. | 28 | 9 | 5 | 0.18 | 10 |
| 4 | Gonzalez, Dominique | 4/Sr. | 30 | 9 | 5 | 0.17 | 11 |
| 5 | Frantti, Ali | 1/Fr. | 30 | 9 | 4 | 0.13 | 9 |
| 17 | Courtney, Megan | 3/Jr. | 30 | 9 | 3 | 0.10 | 3 |
| Team | n/a | 30 | 9 | 49 | 1.63 | 80 | |
| Opp. | n/a | 30 | 9 | 19 | 0.63 | 70 |
Rcpt/Dig Leaders (9-14-14)
| # | Name | Class | SP | MP | RE | Dig | Dig/ Set |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Gonzalez, Dominique | 4/Sr. | 30 | 9 | 3 | 110 | 3.67 |
| 17 | Courtney, Megan | 3/Jr. | 30 | 9 | 9 | 59 | 1.97 |
| 12 | Hancock, Micha | 4/Sr. | 30 | 9 | 0 | 54 | 1.80 |
| 5 | Frantti, Ali | 1/Fr. | 30 | 9 | 3 | 44 | 1.47 |
| 33 | Fuller, Lacey | 4/Sr. | 30 | 9 | 1 | 44 | 1.47 |
| 7 | Grant, Nia | 4/Sr. | 28 | 9 | 0 | 20 | 0.71 |
| 22 | Lee, Simone | 1/Fr. | 25 | 8 | 0 | 13 | 0.52 |
| Team | n/a | 30 | 9 | 19 | 375 | 12.50 | |
| Opp. | n/a | 30 | 9 | 49 | 304 | 10.13 |
Blocking/Points Leaders (9-14-14)
| # | Name | Class | SP | MP | BS | BA | TB | B/S | BE | BHE | Pts. | Pts/ Set |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Frantti, Ali | 1/Fr. | 30 | 9 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 0.53 | 0 | 1 | 120.0 | 4.00 |
| 7 | Grant, Nia | 4/Sr. | 28 | 9 | 3 | 23 | 26 | 0.93 | 2 | 0 | 91.5 | 3.27 |
| 17 | Courtney, Megan | 3/Jr. | 30 | 9 | 1 | 24 | 25 | 0.83 | 1 | 0 | 96.0 | 3.20 |
| 14 | Whitney, Aiyana | 3/RS Jr. | 30 | 9 | 1 | 24 | 25 | 0.83 | 5 | 0 | 88.0 | 2.93 |
| 22 | Lee, Simone | 1/Fr. | 25 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0.36 | 1 | 0 | 61.0 | 2.44 |
| 12 | Hancock, Micha | 4/Sr. | 30 | 9 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 0.47 | 2 | 0 | 67.0 | 2.23 |
| 19 | Thelen, Heidi | 1/Fr. | 6 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0.83 | 0 | 0 | 11.5 | 1.92 |
| Team | n/a | 30 | 9 | 13 | 110 | 68.0 | 2.27 | 11 | 2 | 555.0 | 18.50 | |
| Opp. | n/a | 30 | 9 | 5 | 56 | 33.0 | 1.10 | 16 | 11 | 324.0 | 10.80 |
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Photo/Video Credits
- PSU vs. Kansas Video: courtesy of psumaui