UCLA
Penn State
Bruins Drop Three-Set Decision to #1 Penn State
September 07, 2014 | Women's Volleyball
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STANFORD, Calif. - Senior Karsta Lowe surpassed the 20-kill mark for the third straight match, hitting the number on the nose, but the Bruins dropped a three-set decision to top-ranked Penn State on Saturday at the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge at Maples Pavilion.
The Bruins (3-2) had six aces, but hit just .183 and had only one block. Sophomore Claire Felix produced seven kills and only one error in 15 attempts for a .400 hitting percentage, while freshman Olga Strantzali had six kills, five digs and two aces. Senior Julie Consani recorded 34 assists, sophomore Taylor Formico had 10 digs and junior Karly Drolson added six digs.
The Bruins never led in set one, falling behind early 4-0, 6-1 and 8-2. Penn State's largest lead of the set was 10 at 15-5, which is when UCLA made its run, scoring five of the next six on kills by Lowe and Strantzali, a combo block by Strantzali and senior Zoë Nightingale and two Nittany Lion errors to make it 16-10.
Trailing 18-11, a kill and ace by Strantzali and a kill from sophomore Izzy Carmona got the Bruins to within four at 18-14, but they would get no closer, as Penn State (4-1) won the opener 25-19. Lowe had six kills in the first, while Strantzali and freshman Reily Buechler added three apiece. Formico recorded five digs, as the Bruins were out-hit .400 to .158.
The second set featured 16 ties and six lead changes, but the Bruins fell in overtime. Trailing 5-4, the Bruins scored four of five on kills by Felix, Nightingale and Lowe and a Penn State attack error to go up 8-6. Leading 9-8, a 5-2 run on two Felix kills, aces from Nightingale and Strantzali and a PSU error put the Bruins up by a set-best four at 14-10. The Nittany Lions would get even at 15, and then the teams traded 10 sideouts before Penn State went back up 21-20.
Kills by Felix and Lowe put the Bruins ahead 22-21, but Penn State would earn a set point at 24-23. A kill by Lowe and an ace from junior Rachel Inouye gave UCLA a set point, but the Nittany Lions netted the last three of the second to win it 27-25. Lowe had nine kills in the second, while Felix added five. The Bruins were out-hit .444 to .237.
The Bruins' largest lead in set three was a pair, but a late Penn State run finished off the sweep. With UCLA up 5-3, the Nittany Lions scored three straight, but kills from Nightingale and Lowe, as well as a PSU attack error, put the Bruins back up 8-6.
With UCLA up 15-13, Penn State closed out the match on a 12-2 run to win the third 25-17. Lowe led the Bruins with five kills in the third. UCLA hit .143 to Penn State's .500 in the final set.
Next up, the Bruins travel to Honolulu for the Outrigger Resorts Volleyball Challenge, which begins Thursday against San Francisco at 8 p.m. PT.
