LOUISVILLE, Ky.- Playing one of its highest ranked opponents in program history, the Western Kentucky University volleyball team (0-2) took a 3-0 setback (10-25, 22-25, 22-25) against No. 3 Penn State (2-0) Saturday in the team's first game of the Active Ankle Challenge at Louisville's KFC Yum! Center.
WKU's final game of the tournament starts at approximately 4 p.m. CT against Morehead State. For the live stats link, visit the volleyball schedule on WKUSports.com.
Offensively, senior Jordyn Skinner recorded a team-high seven kills and two service aces. Redshirt Junior Paige Wessel and sophomore Heather Boyan added five each while freshman Haley Bodway notched three. Junior Melanie Stutsman put up 25 assists while junior Ashley Potts recorded 15 digs.
For Penn State, Ariel Scott led the team with 15 kills while Katie Slay notched 11 kills and .421 hitting percentage.
Penn State opened the match on a scoring surge in set one, reaching an early 4-0 lead before WKU climbed back to set the score at 7-5, thanks to kills from freshman Noelle Langenkamp, Wessel and Boyan plus an ace from Skinner. With the Lady Toppers calling a break at 10-5 in favor of the opponent, Penn State rattled off 10-straight points en route to a 25-10 set win.
Stutsman opened set two with an ace, as WKU rolled out to an early 3-1 lead. The momentum stayed with the Lady Toppers early, as back-to-back kills from junior Janee' Diggins and one from Wessel helped WKU to a 6-3 advantage. The Nittany Lions rallied back with a 4-0 scoring run to take their first lead of the set at 7-6. After a WKU timeout, Lady Toppers capitalized on six Penn State errors, going up 14-11.
Holding steady, WKU went up 17-14 in the second set before Penn State took the lead at 22-18. A kill from Skinner and Penn State mistakes cut the deficit to 22-21 to force a Nittany Lion timeout, but Penn State came out of it to take the set 25-22.
After Penn State took the first point of the third set, WKU grabbed a 4-2 lead sparked by kills from Skinner and Diggins plus a block from Skinner and Boyan. The teams then got into a stalemate, trading points with 10 tied scores and five lead changes before Penn State took the lead at 19-15. The Nittany Lions got to set point at 24-20, but back-to-back kills from Bodway put the set at 24-22 and forced a Penn State timeout. Out of the break, a Penn State kill gave it the set at 25-22 and the match.
After this weekend, WKU will have its home opener against Austin Peay on Tuesday, August 28 at 7 p.m. CT.
