LINCOLN, Neb. – No. 15 Penn State dropped a pair of closely-contested sets on its way to a 3-0 (25-14, 25-23, 25-23) loss to No. 11 Nebraska on Friday night at the Devaney Center. The Nittany Lions dropped to 19-8 overall and 12-5 in the Big Ten, while the Cornhuskers improved to 20-6, 14-3.
Senior Jonni Parker did her best to give Penn State a shot to win on the road, leading all players with 14 kills while adding five digs and two blocks. But Penn State hit .088 as a team and was doomed by eight service errors.
After a slow start, Penn State came to life in the second set and worked its way to a 22-15 lead that included a kill by Gabby Blossom. Nebraska scored 10 of the final 11 points to go up 2-0 in the match. The Cornhuskers went on a 4-0 run before Kaitlyn Hord stopped the slide with a kill for the Lions. Nebraska closed the set on a 6-0 run.
The third set also went down to the wire and saw momentum turn on a pivotal challenge call. With the match tied at 19-19, an attack by Nebraska’s Lexi Sun landed out of bounds, but a touch was called. Penn State challenged the play, but the touch call was upheld and the Huskers took a 20-19 lead.
The teams battled to a 23-23 tie in the final set with Parker tying it up with a kill. Nebraska finished off the sweep with a kill by Whitney Lauenstein and an ace by Sun.
Penn State was strong defensively, holding Nebraska to .186 hitting in the match. Blossom recorded a double-double with…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Penn State University Athletics…