Northwestern
Penn State
Wildcats Fall To No. 17 Penn State In Three
10/31/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 31, 2003
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Northwestern could not take out No. 17 Penn State on Friday night, falling in three by the scores of 30-25, 30-25, 30-19. The Nittany Lions swept the 2003 series with the 'Cats with the win.
The Wildcats took a quick lead in the first, before Penn State rallied and went up 20-17. Northwestern brought it within one at 23-22 but lost four consecutive points with Penn State's Cara Smith serving. The Nittany Lions took the game 30-25, holding a .150 to .083 attack percent advantage over NU. Drew Robertson (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly) was 2-4 (.500) in the game with five digs.
Game two mirrored game one with the Wildcats taking the early lead. Penn State tied the game at 12 and the teams alternated points through 20. The Nittany Lions held a two-point lead with Christie Gardner (West Bend, Wis./West Bend East) coming up for the serve. Gardner helped tie the game at 23, but Penn State took advantage of NU errors and regained the lead at 27-24. PSU eventually took the middle game by the score of 30-25 for the two-game lead.
The Nittany Lions again held the advantage in hitting percentage (.220 to .067) in game two. Erika Lange (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) led the 'Cats, going 8-14 (.357) and adding a solo block.
Penn State didn't lose their momentum in game three, keeping early leads and taking over late, up 21-14. The Nittany Lions closed the game 30-19.
Northwestern, 13-10, 4-7, travel to Ohio State on Saturday. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern.
