How Penn State women’s volleyball owned the crucial moments vs. Towson to earn a Sweet 16 berth

Much like the previous night, Penn State found itself in an unexpected battle against an unfamiliar opponent.

And as they did 24 hours ago, the Nittany Lions found a way to keep their composure in the pivotal moments.

In what likely was its final match at Rec Hall this season, Penn State overcame some early mistakes, before eventually prevailing in four hard-fought sets (22-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-20) against a very game Towson team.

The Nittany Lions improved to 26-5 with the win, and have now won 17 of their last 19 games. Saturday’s victory gave Penn State its 32nd berth in the Sweet 16, and sent the Tigers home with just their third loss of the 2019 campaign.

“I thought Towson came out and represented themselves very well,” head coach Russ Rose said. “It’s always tough to win a game in the (NCAA) tournament, no matter who you’re playing, but I thought we competed really hard and we’re moving on.”

Penn State has been carried by its sophomore stars all season long, and that didn’t change against Towson.

But it was an unlikely veteran who also put together a standout effort for the Nittany Lions on Saturday.

Making a start in her third consecutive NCAA tournament, experienced middle blocker Tori Gorrell tallied 12 kills on 26 total attacks, good enough for a .385 hitting percentage on the evening.

The redshirt senior was joined by right side Jonni Parker and middle blocker Kaityln Hord, two familiar faces when it comes to leading the Penn State attack.

Parker finished with a tournament-high 19 kills — to go along with five digs on the defensive side of the ball — and a hitting percentage of .447, while Hord added 13 kills of her own and a hitting percentage of .545 for the game.

“I was especially pleased with Jonni tonight,” Rose said. “I know that she struggled a bit early but she really bounced back and had a great match offensively.”

The first crucial moment in the match came early on, in a situation that looked dire for Penn State.

Already one set down, the Nittany Lions had raced out to an early lead in the second set, before surrendering a 6-3 Towson run that equalized the score at nine.

But Penn State wouldn’t flinch, tallying six of the next seven points to hold a 15-10 edge at the media timeout, and the hosts would coast to a 25-16 set victory.

“I thought that after the first set we came together pretty well and kept our heads up,” Parker said. “We did a good job of not shutting down and we have to continue to always have that mentality.”

The match was evened at one set apiece, but the final two sets were far from routine.

After both teams traded blows to start the third set — resulting in a slim 13-12 lead for the Nittany Lions — Penn State scored six straight points, four of which came on kills from Hord to create some much needed separation en route to securing a 2-1 lead.

The fourth saw Towson play with a renewed sense of aggression in all phases of the game.

Penn State was still hitting for a solid percentage, but the Tigers were playing some inspired volleyball on their way to a 16-12 lead midway through the frame.

Looking to avoid a sudden-death fifth set, the Nittany Lions turned to Parker and the sophomore delivered, producing four kills on five consecutive Penn State points to give the hosts an 18-17 edge.

From there, the Nittany Lions would not look back, ending the set on a 7-3 run, highlighted by a kill from freshman Lauren Clark to clinch the match and send Penn State to the second weekend.

“The good players and the good teams have an ability to weather the storm and take a punch,” Rose said. “They don’t get too distracted when things go bad, and I thought we stay focused tonight.”

This story was originally published December 7, 2019 at 11:10 PM.