MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – No. 20 Penn State women’s volleyball picked up the first ranked win of the Katie Schumacher-Cawley era on Friday night, taking down No. 11 Stanford 3-2 (25-16, 25-22, 17-25, 23-25, 15-10) at Minnesota’s Maturi Pavilion. The match was part of the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge.
The Nittany Lions, who entered the day as one of 28 unbeaten teams in the nation, improved to 7-0 with the win. They take on another ranked opponent, No. 18 Oregon, on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. (ET). The match will stream on B1G+.
Penn State ended a five-match losing streak to Stanford and improved to 13-14 in the all-time series between the two historic programs. The match featured two programs that have combined for 16 of the 41 national titles in the history of NCAA Division I women’s volleyball.
The Lions’ defensive effort fueled the victory. Their 21 blocks set a program record for a four-set match during the 25-point rally scoring era (2008-present). Six players contributed to that record, led by Taylor Trammell with 11 and Allie Holland with nine. Zoe Weatherington was in on eight blocks, while Seleisa Elisaia contributed on seven. Kashauna Williams and Anjelina Starck chipped in with two apiece.
After rolling through the first two sets, including an impressive .478 hitting percentage in set two, Penn State faced some adversity with back-to-back set losses that sent the match to a fifth. The teams went back and forth in the first half before the Lions took an 8-7 lead at the midway point. It remained close up to an 11-10 score before Penn State went on…
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