Indiana Volleyball Falls to No. 8 Penn State

Wednesday, November 20

Bloomington, Ind.

8:00 PM

Indiana University

13-17,2-15Big Ten

#8 Penn State

21-5,14-3Big Ten

Penn St.

Indiana

11/20/2019 11:02:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.– The Indiana volleyball team dropped their match against conference opponent No. 8 Penn State, losing 3-0 (16-25, 20-25, 26-28) on Wednesday at Wilkinson Hall.

Key Moments

With the Hoosiers down 10-7 in the first set, Penn State used a 6-2 run to push their lead to 16-9 and force an IU timeout.
With Penn State up 19-10, the Hoosiers used a 5-1 run featuring two Jacqui Armer kills to close their deficit to 20-15 and force a PSU timeout. Penn State would go on to win set one 25-16.
A Jacqui Armer kill closed the IU gap to 14-11 in set two before a 3-0 Penn State run pushed their lead to 17-11 and forced an IU timeout. The Hoosiers responded with a 3-0 run of their own that brought them within three at 17-14.
Down 21-18 late in the set, a 3-0 Penn State run would give the Nittany Lions a 24-18 lead. The Hoosiers fought off consecutive set points to pull within four at 24-20, but Penn State went on to win the second set 25-20.
The Hoosiers tied the score at 18-18 in the third set on a kill by Emily Fitzner before Penn State used a 4-0 run to go up 22-18 and force an IU timeout. IU would respond with a 3-1 run to close their deficit to 23-21 on a block by Kamryn Malloy and Jacqui Armer.
Penn State went up 24-21, but the Hoosiers fought off three consecutive match points before tying the score at 24-24 and forcing a PSU timeout. The Hoosiers would go on to win a fourth and fifth match point, tying the score at 26-26, but Penn State went on to win the clinching third set 28-26.

Notables

The Hoosiers fell to 13-17 overall and 2-15 in Big Ten play. Penn State improved to 22-4 overall and 15-2 in the Big Ten.
The Hoosiers held Penn State to a .224 hitting percentage, below their .279 average for the season.
Junior Kamryn Malloy led the Hoosiers in kills with eight, the third time she has led IU. She also added nine digs and two blocks.
Senior middle blockers Hayden Huybers (7) and Jacqui Armer (6) combined for 13 Hoosier kills. Armer also recorded a team-high in blocks with five.
Freshman Emily Fitzner contributed a team-high 24 assists. She also provided two aces, two digs, and one kill.
Junior Bayli Lebo led IU with 11 digs, her seventh time leading the team and ninth time reaching double-digits.

Up Next
Up next the Hoosiers host conference opponent Michigan State for a match on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 1:00p.m. EST at Wilkinson Hall. The Hoosiers will be celebrating Senior Day in what will be the last home game for their seven seniors

Indiana Head Coach Steve Aird
"Penn State is good. We're a little beat up and had some struggles at times late in games, but I thought we battled first whistle to last whistle. They're an awfully good team; a good program. They're 15-2 in conference, we're 2-15. So, matches like this are about experience for us, getting better, and grinding away. I thought we did some really good things tonight. I thought both of our middle blockers had great matches. We were playing two of the best middles in the NCAA at Penn State. We did some good things against them, and for Penn State to hit .224 that's pretty low compared to what they usually do.

I hate losing. I hate losing more than anything, but I was proud of the kids and I thought they competed; I thought they battled. I thought everyone who came in made good contributions. There are no moral victories because you've got to win, I understand that, but that's the No. 8 team in the country. They're in rhythm, they've been mowing people down. I thought at least we competed like crazy and gave them a match. That was the deal."