Nittany Lions breeze past Howard in NCAA Tournament opener

Penn State’s size and experience was just too much.

The No. 7-seeded Nittany Lions controlled the net and swept past Howard 25-16, 25-8, 25-17 in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday night at Rec Hall.

Penn State will meet Dayton in the second round at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The Flyers beat Villanova in four sets in the night’s first contest.

Without a player taller than 6-foot, the Bison were overmatched by the taller Nittany Lions (27-5). Penn State had a decisive 10-3 blocking advantage and hit .424 as a team. The Bison (18-14) hit just .053.

Ali Frantti and Aiyana Whitney paced the offense with 12 and 10 kills, respectively, while Haleigh Washington added eight kills and seven blocks. Washington had just one error and hit .636, and Whitney was error-free and hit .588.

“She’s our best attacker, and has been our best attacker, and at times is one of the best attackers in the country,” Penn State coach Russ Rose said of Whitney. “If there was an advantage that we had against Howard, its that we had size and by setting the ball higher, we had opportunities to hit the ball over the top.”

Megan Courtney posted 10 digs and five blocks, and Bryana Weiskircher delivered 32 assists and nine digs.

Khaila Donaldson’s 10 kills led Howard, with 10 digs for Morgan Marlbrough and 18 assists for Tamia Dockery. The match snapped the Bison’s 13-match win streak.

“We got a little, I think, overwhelmed by the situation at certain points, but we were able to put ot together and make some good runs,” coach Shaun Kupferberg said. “Penn State, obviously, is an amazing team. There’s a reason why they are legendary like they are.”

Even with the size advantage, the Nittany Lions figured to get a different kind of test from the Bison.

“We knew watching film on them that they were going to be athletic,” Courtney said. “They did get a couple good touches early in the game and throughout the entire match on us.”

The Bison enjoyed the experience, in part for the chance to play the two-time defending champions and to wander the halls of the arena, and for the opportunity to learn.

“It’s difficult but it’s fun,” Donaldson said. “Aiyana Whitney — I’ve been watching her since I was in high school. I was like, ‘Wow, this girl is like incredible, so to be standing across the net from her, blocking her, it’s surreal.”

Dayton 3, Villanova 1

The Flyers advanced with a 21-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-23 squeaker behind 24 kills and 11 digs from Alaina Turner, 16 kills for Jill Loirs, 13 kills for Jenna Jendryk and 11 kills and five blocks for Amber Erhahon. Jane Emmenecker had 57 assists and 25 digs and Janna Kafka added 26 digs to extend the nation’s longest win streak to 25 straight and advance to the second round for the second straight season.

Allie Loitz paced the Wildcats (25-9) with 17 kills, while Amanda Pederson-Henry and Claire Crutchfield posted a dozen kills apiece. Emma Pettit gave out 42 assists, Michelle Adams served up four aces and Allison Fitzgerald had 16 digs in the program’s first NCAA appearance since 1997.

This story was originally published December 4, 2015 at 9:21 PM with the headline "Nittany Lions breeze past Howard in NCAA Tournament opener."