George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
#2 Penn State
Volleyball Overwhelmed by No. 2 Penn State, 3-0
9/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 17, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA -- The GW Volleyball team was no match for three-time defending national champion and second-ranked Penn State Friday losing to the Nittany Lions, 25-12, 25-5, 25-13, in the Rockvale Outlets Classic at PSU's Rec Hall.
Before a crowd of more than 3,800, the Colonials were held to a season-low -.060 team attack percentage on 18 kills with 23 errors in 84 attempts. Much of that was due to the Penn State defense which combined for 19 blocks. The Nittany Lions' offense combined to hit .541 on 42 kills while committing just two attack errors in 74 swings.
GW sophomore Lauren Whyte led the Colonials with her season-low five kills but was held to an uncharacteristic -.068 hitting percentage. Freshman Rachael Goss added four kills but managed just a -.070 attack percentage. Katie Crosby assisted on 15 of GW's 18 kills and added six digs while sophomore libero Candace Silva-Martin led GW with eight digs.
The Colonials' five points in the second set was its lowest single-set scoring output since the final match of the 2000 regular season, prior to the adoption of rally scoring.
Penn State (8-1) was led by Deja McClendon's match-high 15 kills while hitting .636. Two other Nittany Lions had errorless hitting nights, Arielle Wilson with a .727 and Katie Kabbes who recorded nine kills and hit. 692. Kabbes is the sister of former GW Volleyball standout, Kelly Kabbes (`07).
It marked the 23rd meeting between the former A-10 Conference rivals and the first since 2008. The victory gave PSU a 21-2 advantage in the all-time series. Penn State entered Friday's match after suffering its first loss in three years (109 matches) after dropping a 3-0 decision to top-ranked Stanford last Saturday in Gainesville, FL.
GW (8-4) will have to bounce back quickly as it plays back-to-back matches Saturday beginning with St. John's (11-3) at 1 p.m. followed by Princeton (4-3) at 4 p.m. in the second day of the Rockvale Outlets Classic.
