UAlbany Volleyball Falls to Penn State in Second Round of NCAA Tournament

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

University Park, Pa. – Nicole Fawcett’s 17 kills led Penn State to a 3-0 win over the University at Albany in the NCAA Volleyball Championship second round on Saturday night at Rec Hall. With the win, the Nittany Lions advance to the Sweet 16 Regional that will also be held at Rec Hall on December 7-8. The Great Danes concluded their most successful season in program history with a 24-10 overall record.

The Nittany Lions, who improved to 30-2 with the win, swept the match with scores of 30-15, 30-9 and 30-19.

In game one, Penn State jumped out to a 3-0 lead courtesy of a pair of kills from Alisha Glass and Fawcett and a block assist from Fawcett and Arielle Wilson, but UAlbany fought back to cut the score to a 3-2 deficit. The Great Danes tied the score at 4-4 on a Brooke Stanley kill and stayed close until the Nittany Lions went on a 10-3 run to break open the game and give Penn State a 19-11 lead. The Nittany Lions closed out the match with an 11-4 spurt to put the game away. Penn State hit a tenacious .692, with Fawcett leading the way with seven kills. Valerie Sourbeer had four kills for the Great Danes who hit just .200.

The Nittany Lions picked up game two where they left off, jumping out to a 6-2 lead and building a commanding 23-7 margin thanks in part to another outstanding hitting effort at .660 percent combined with 11 UAlbany attack errors. Penn State closed out the second game with a 7-2 scoring streak and took a 2-0 lead in the match. Fawcett and Megan Hodge each had five kills for the Nittany Lions.

Penn State stamped their ticket to the regional finals taking the third and decisive game. The Nittany Lions built a 7-2 lead before a Kate Eckhardt kill and a Teresa Coppiellie service ace cut the lead to 7-4. Penn State extended its lead to 14-6 before UAlbany rattled off four consecutive points led by an Amanda Cowdrey kill and service ace to cut the deficit to 14-9. The Nittany Lions went on a 6-0 run to lead 20-9, but split the next 10 points to lead 25-15. The Great Danes, refusing to go down without a fight, posted the next two points on a Penn State attack error and a Kamisha Kellam kill. Back-to-back kills by Fawcett increased the Nittany Lions’ lead to 28-17. Blair Brown smacked a kill for Penn State, followed by an attack error on the Great Danes to seal the win.

Sourbeer led UAlbany with six kills, while Cowdrey, Eckhardt and Kellam finished with five apiece. Tawny Dahmes led the Great Danes defensively, finishing with nine digs.

Penn State got a double-double from Hodge, who finished with 11 kills and a team-high 12 digs. Christa Harmotto added 13 kills for the Nittany Lions, who outblocked the Great Danes, 5-1. Penn State dominated at the net, hitting .602 to UAlbany’s .120.