Volleyball Showdown: #4 Penn State Drops #2 UT - kcentv.com - KCEN HD - Waco, Temple, and Killeen

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The fourth-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team grabbed a convincing 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-22) win against No. 2 Texas. The Nittany Lions improved to 5-0 for the season, while the Longhorns are now 5-1.

It wasn't until halfway through set two that either team was able to develop any momentum to take a strong lead. With the score knotted at 10-10, two straight PSU kills and an ace from senior Kristin Carpenter (Mechanicsville, Va.) had the Lions leading by three, 13-10. Texas called a timeout and slowed the Nittany Lions enough to take a 14-13 lead. Texas's lead grew to two, 16-14, and again at 19-17, which forced a Penn State timeout. Texas had a serving error to give Penn State the ball and Scott and Hancock each pounded a kill to move the Lions in front by one, 20-19. Texas used its final timeout and tied the score at 20-20, but a 3-0 Nittany Lions run had Penn State within two of taking the set, 23-20. A solo stuff by Texas proved to be the Longhorns' final point as a McClendon kill and a Texas error secured set two for PSU, 25-21.

The Nittany Lions took control early in the third frame with a 6-3 lead. The Longhorns used an early timeout, but Penn State held on to its three-point lead at 8-5. The Nittany Lions maintained the lead until more than halfway through when the Longhorns knotted the score at 15-15 after an ace and a kill. The score tied twice more before a Courtney kill and a block from Hancock and Slay had PSU with a 20-18 advantage. The Longhorns called a second timeout, but a block and a kill from the Nittany Lions pushed Penn State closer to the finish at 22-19. A Texas error and a McClendon kill had Penn State at match-point, 24-20. The Longhorns tallied two final points before a service error sealed the win for Penn State, 25-22.