Penn State women’s volleyball sweeps LSU to cap off a perfect tournament weekend

Penn State women’s volleyball started its 2021 season with a loss to then-No. 24 Georgia Tech on Aug. 27, but it has since found its rhythm.

And it has done so inside of the hallowed confines of Rec Hall — in front of the team’s ever-passionate fans.

The blue and white defeated LSU in straight sets Saturday night to cap off a perfect Penn State Classic for the program, not losing a single set in three matches over the course of two days.

Surrounded by thousands of the Nittany Lion faithful, Russ Rose’s squad went 9-0 against Iowa State, Oregon State and LSU, cementing a 5-1 record before traveling to Eugene, Oregon, for the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge next weekend.

With the pep band chanting “P-S-U” for every Penn State touch and the deafening cheers of thousands of fans, transfer outside hitter Erika Pritchard soaked in what it means to play on the hardwood inside Rec Hall.

“It’s such an awesome experience with all of the fans and the band, it just really gets your adrenaline going,” Pritchard said. “Having that support network behind you is just a really good confidence boost going into games.”

But playing in three matches in two days doesn’t always allow athletes to appropriately cool down, so Rose made certain to stress that aspect of recovery in between his team’s two Saturday matches.

Even if it meant for his players to watch a different Penn State team compete during their off time.

“You tell the players all the time that rest is best. I think when they’re young, they probably don’t really comprehend that because they want to get as many things done as they can during the day,” Rose said. “I’m sure they sat around and watched the football team win.

“If you don’t get psyched up for the day when you see a victory like that, then you’re missing something.”

The first game against LSU was rather lopsided, with Penn State trotting to a 25-13 set victory in the first round of action between the Nittany Lions and the Tigers since Sept. 7, 2019.

Win No. 2 didn’t come as easy, as the blue and white battled to an eventual 25-21 decision on the back of 19 team kills in the set. And although it was close, Rose’s group didn’t trail at any point in the penultimate set.

That trend wouldn’t make it to the end of the match, though, and LSU took its first lead of the night late in the third set when it took a 19-18 lead. Penn State quickly reclaimed control and didn’t give it back up for the duration of the match, eventually taking the third set 25-21.

Penn State’s success wasn’t reserved for just this weekend’s box score, either, as there was all-time history made for the team, too.

Senior right-side hitter Jonni Parker recorded her 1,000th career kill during the Nittany Lions’ win over Iowa State Friday night, becoming the 29th player in program history to reach the milestone and the only athlete on this year’s roster to have accomplished the feat.

After Saturday night’s win, Parker now sits at 1,031 kills on her four-year career in the blue-and-white uniform.

Newcomers also provided a helping hand in the Penn State offense, as both of the new senior outside hitters in Pritchard and Adanna Rollins heavily contributed to the scoring.

Pritchard, a fifth-year player in her first campaign with the program after starting her career at Maryland, finished with a team-high 14 kills to go along with six digs on the evening. Rollins, who transferred from Minnesota prior to this season, picked up seven kills, seven digs and two blocks of her own.

Practicing with some of the most decorated players in the country day in and day out, the propeller for Pritchard’s play is as simple as a thousands-year-old mantra.

“Iron sharpens iron,” Pritchard said. “It’s just really competitive and fun to play with them, I think they’re a great group of girls — the chemistry that we have is going to take us far.”

Rollins shared the sentiment that her veteran Nittany Lion teammates have made it easier for her to succeed on game days.

“They’ve welcomed us so well and helped us throughout the drills on the hard days and the good days, so it’s really nice,” Rollins said.

With a trip across the country on the immediate horizon, Rose saw his team meet its short-term expectations in its 9-0 barnstorming of the Penn State Classic.

“We’re playing better than we did last week, and that’s always the goal of a long season,” Rose said.

Set to enter its 490th-straight week in the AVCA Coaches Poll — the longest such streak in NCAA history — Penn State will face Oregon at 10 p.m. EST on Friday and Stanford at 7 p.m on Saturday.