Box Score UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Kaitlyn Hord recorded the rare double-double by a middle blocker with 12 kills and 11 blocks, but it wasn’t enough as No. 15 Penn State came up short in a 3-1 (27-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-18) loss to No. 10 Minnesota in Big Ten women’s volleyball action Friday night at Rec Hall.
Penn State’s record dipped to 19-10 overall and 12-7 in the Big Ten. Minnesota improved to 19-8 overall and 14-5 in the conference. Both teams have one match remaining in the regular season before turning their attention to the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
Hord’s 12 kills came on .393 hitting. She was at least a part of 11 of the team’s 17 blocks, totaling one solo and 10 block assists. She finished the match with 504 career blocks, which ranks 10th in program history. Her 500th career block came in the second set.
Hord wasn’t the only Penn State player to reach a milestone in Friday’s match. Senior libero Jenna Hampton led all players with 20 digs, giving her 1,016 for her career. Her 1,000th career dig came on her fourth dig of the first set.
Both teams finished under .200 hitting, but Minnesota received a prolific individual effort from Stephanie Samedy, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year. She finished with 26 kills while taking 67 swings and completed a double-double with 13 digs.
Samedy was one of three Minnesota players with double-doubles in the match. Jenna Wenaas tallied 12 kills and 13 digs, while Melani Shaffmaster totaled 49 assists and 15 digs. CC McGraw led the Gophers in digs with 18.
Two closely-contested sets early on went Minnesota’s way to help turn the match in its favor. The Gophers led 19-12 in the opening set, but Penn State erased the lead with a 7-0 run that was fueled by the play of Hord. She had one kill and four block assists during the run. The four block assists came on consecutive points as she teamed with Jonni Parker on two and Adanna Rollins on two.
The Lions eventually took a 23-22 lead in set one on back-to-back kills by Allie Holland and Erika Pritchard, and had a chance at set point after a kill by Parker made it 24-23. A service error kept the Gophers’ hopes alive and they went on to take a 1-0 lead in the match thanks to kills by Airi Miyabe and Samedy for the 27-25 set win.
Despite the loss in set one, it appeared Penn State had solved Minnesota as it…
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