NCAA volleyball: Penn State tops Purdue, wins for Huskers, Maryland, UK, Florida, Pitt, FSU

Don’t bury Penn State yet. The Nittany Lions, who lost to Purdue on Friday, came back and won in four on Saturday to even their Big Ten record at 5-5. 

Nebraska and Maryland also won in the B1G. 

Kentucky and Florida kept rolling in the SEC, and Pitt and Florida State got ACC wins.

Creighton got a Big East sweep, which was doubly fortuitous for coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. 

And Rachel Ahrens had 27 kills for Pepperdine in its WCC win over Gonzaga. 

On the men’s side, among the results was Penn State sweeping Charleston in an EIVA match that saw the Nittany Lions hit .519 and Charleston .421, and King’s Joshua King had 36 kills in a Conference Carolinas win at Mount Olive.

The recaps follow, but first a look at what will be a very busy Sunday in NCAA Division I women’s schedule.

There are five Pac-12 matches, including first-place Washington back at Oregon, which is two games back in the win column and tied with Utah and Washington State for second place. Speaking of which, Utah is home again for Stanford, while UCLA, a game back returns to Colorado. Oregon State is at Cal, and Arizona is at Arizona State, but Washington State at USC was canceled.

The lone SEC match has Ole Miss at South Carolina.

In the ACC, Clemson is at Syracuse, Miami is at Notre Dame, and Georgia Tech plays Virginia at Pittsburgh.

The Big 12 is idle and the only match scheduled for Saturday, Oklahoma at Baylor, was postponed “due to the Big 12 Conference volleyball interruption guidelines.”

The Big Ten is off until Friday when seven matches are scheduled but one can only wonder how many will actually be played.

Other conferences in action Sunday include the Atlantic 10, Big Sky, Conference USA, Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley, Patriot, and SoCon.

And the MAAC, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Association — gets its spring season under way.

Their are four Division I-II men’s matches on the slate, two at UC Santa Barbara, as the Gauchos play against Big West foe UC Irvine twice, at 10 a.m. and again at 4. In the MPSF, Stanford is at UCLA and Concordia is at USC.

Want to watch a match? We’ve got the links in the VolleyballMag.com TV & Streaming Listings.

BIG TEN — Penn State (5-5) got off the canvas Saturday and rebounded from its Friday loss to Purdue (9-5) and beat the visiting Boilermakers in four. The Nittany Lions, who hit .192, got 16 kills apiece from Jonni Parker and Annie Cate Fitzpatrick and 12 from Anastasiya Kudryashova. Parker had six blocks and nine digs, while Fitzpatrick had an assist, three aces, two blocks, and 13 digs. Kaitlyn Hord had six kills with no errors in 21 attacks and six blocks. Gabby Blossom had 46 assists, an ace, two blocks, and 13 digs. Purdue, which hit .186, got 16 kills from Caitlyn Newton, who had two aces, six digs, and three blocks, one solo. Grace Cleveland had 13 kills, five blocks, and six digs. Hayley Bush had two kills in three errorless tries, 39 assists, an ace, 13 digs, and three blocks, one solo … 

Nebraska (9-1) swept at Illinois (2-8) as Lexi Sun led a balanced attack with 14 kills, two blocks, and three digs. Lauren Stivrins had 11 kills with one error in 16 attacks, three blocks, and two digs. Nicklin Hames had three kills, 33 assists, a block and three digs. Illlinois got 13 kills from Terry Raina, who hit .320 and had two assists, three aces, and four digs. Megan Cooney had 11 kills, an ace, two blocks, and five digs … 

Maryland (2-10) won in four at Indiana (3-11) as Erika Pritchard had 17 kills and Sam Csire 16. Pritchard had an ace, three blocks, and nine digs. Csire had one error in 36 attacks, two assists, two aces, a block, and 14 digs. Laila Ricks added eight kills and nine blocks, one solo, and she had six digs. Tommi Stockham had 10 kills for IU … 

Wisconsin at Iowa, Michigan at Rutgers, Minnesota at Ohio State, and Michigan State at Northwestern were all postponed.

SEC — Kentucky (14-0) swept visiting LSU (5-11) again as the Wildcats hit .387 and Avery Skinner and Alli Stumler had 15 kills each in the 25-13, 25-19, 25-22 victory. Skinner hit .407 and had two blocks and four digs, and Stumler hit .433 and had an ace, three blocks, and 10 digs. Azhani Tealer had six kills with one error in 11 attacks and nine blocks, one solo. Taylor Bannister had 14 kills for LSU … 

Florida (14-2) swept visiting Arkansas (11-7) and hit in the 25-16, 25-21, 25-18 victory. T’ara Ceasar led with 12 kills and hit .385 to go with an assist, an ace, a block, and 10 digs, and Holly Carlton had 11 kills, hit .318, and had four blocks and four digs … 

Texas A&M (8-4) swept visiting Alabama (6-12) 27-25, 25-17, 25-22. Morgan Christon led with 14 kills and four digs. Four other Aggies had eight or more kills, including London Austin-Roark, who had no errors in 14 attacks, and three blocks, one solo. Riley Fisbeck had 12 kills and hit .440 for Alabama to go with 14 assists, a block, and 17 digs … 

Tennessee (8-6) beat visiting Mississippi State (4-12) 25-19, 25-17, 25-21 as Danielle Mahaffey and Morgahn Fingall had 14 kills apiece. Mahaffey had one error. In 24 swings to hit .542 and had three blocks and a dig. Gabby Waden had 18 kills and hit .429 for State … 

South Carolina (11-6) swept visiting Ole Miss (1-14) 25-19, 26-24, 25-19 although the Rebels hit .333. South Carolina, however, hit .392 as Riley Whitesides led with 15 kills. She had one error in 20 attacks and hit .700 to go with nine digs. Anna Bair had 11 kills for Ole Miss as she hit .429 and had an assist, a block, and a dig.

ACC — Pitt (6-4, 5-4) beat visiting Virginia (2-9, 0-9) in four as Kayla Lund had 15 kills and Chinaza Ndee 14 in the 25-20, 22-25, 25-23, 25-17 victory … 

Camryn Hannah had 27 kills and 21 digs as Clemson (10-6, 4-5) went down 0-2 but rallied for a 21-25, 17-25, 25-23, 25-18, 15-13 victory over North Carolina (8-4, 7-3) at Syracuse. Hannah hit .321 and had an ace and three blocks, two solo. McKenna Slavik had seven kills with no errors in 16 attacks, 50 assists, a block, and 14 digs. Amanda Phegly had 13 kills and hit .321 for UNC … 

Florida State (8-3, 5-3) swept at Duke (8-5 6-4) as Morgan Chacon and Jasmyn Martin had 12 kills each in the 25-23, 26-24, 26-24 victory. Ade Owokoniran had 14 kills for Duke and Payton Schwantz 12 … 

Louisville (6-2) hit .405 swept visiting Wake Forest (0-7). Claire Chaussee led with 16 kills as she hit .714 after having one error in 21 attacks to go with two blocks and two digs … 

Angela Grieve had 25 kills and Elizaveta Lukianova 20 as Miami (6-3) beat NC State (5-6, 4-6) in four at Notre Dame. Grieve hit .400 and had two assists, an ace, 11 digs, and three blocks, one solo. Lukianova hit 405 and had two blocks, one solo. Melissa Evans had 21 kills for NC State as she hit .340 and had four assists, three blocks, and 12 digs.

BIG EAST — Creighton (6-2, 3-1) swept visiting DePaul (3-5) as the Bluejays hit .385 and, as coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth later Tweeted, her team actually talked about trying to win in three so she could leave and get to her daughter’s state-championship basketball match. Jaela Zimmerman led Creighton with 13 kills and hit .333 and added an assist, three blocks, and eight digs. Kiana Schmitt had 12 kills with no errors in 16 attacks and six blocks, one solo. And Reese Booth’s Elkhorn North team beat Norris to win the Nebraska state Class B title … 

A day after getting upset by the Bulldogs, Marquette (9-3, 4-2) bounced back and swept at Butler (4-6, 1-3). Taylor Wolfe had 15 kills, hit .355, had 14 assists, an ace, two blocks, and eight digs. Hannah Vanden Berg had 13 kills with one error in 26 attacks, two blocks, and nine digs … Providence (3-1, 1-1) swept at Seton Hall (3-2, 1-1). Jennifer Leitman led with 12 kills, an assist, three blocks, and four digs. Tsvetelina Ilieva led Seton Hall with 14 kills, four blocks, two assists, and six digs … UConn (2-3, 2-2) bounced back at Villanova (2-2, 1-2) and won in four. Caylee Parker led with 13 kills, an ace, two blocks, and nine digs. Riley Homer had 18 kills for Villanova and added an ace, two blocks, and 12 digs.

AMERICAN ATHLETIC — Houston (10-2, 6-0) won again, this time in four at Tulsa (2-4) as Kortlyn Henderson had 18 kills and Isabel Theut and Kendall Haywood had 14 each. Annie Cook had three kills, 53 assists, two aces, and 20 digs. Kayley Cassaday had 17 kills for Tulsa … 

UCF (10-1, 4-0) beat visiting East Carolina (2-6, 0-6) in four as McKenna Melville had 19 kills, an assist, three aces, 21 digs, and two blocks, one solo. Anne-Marie Watson had 13 kills. ECU’s Sydney Kleinman had 17 kills, three aces, a block, and five digs … 

ASUN — Kennesaw State (10-0) kept on rolling with a four-set victory over visiting Liberty (2-7, 2-6) as five players had eight or more kills. Emma Schurfranz had 18, hit .517, and had an ace, three digs, and five blocks, one solo. Trinity Watts had 13 kills for Liberty … Stetson (4-3, 3-3) swept visiting Jacksonville (2-8, 0-6) as Naina Ivanova and Chelcie Spence had 10 kills apeice … UNF (6-7, 5-2) swept at FGCU (7-2, 5-2). Gabby O’Connell had 15 kills and hit .379 for North Florida and hit .379 to go with two assists, two aces, and nine digs. Solimar Cestero had 13 kills and hit .357 as their team hit .324. Erin Shomaker had 14 kills for FGCU … And Bellarmine (2-9, 1-6) went the distance to get its first ASUN victory in its first season in the league, a 25-15, 21-25, 25-22, 18-25, 18-16 win at North Alabama (1-9, 1-8). Abbie Oetting led with 17 kills as she hit .412 and had an ace, two digs, and seven blocks. Bailey Roszman had 16 kills, an ace, seven digs, and four blocks. Karleigh Wilson had 24 digs. UNA’s Kamryn Parsonage had 14 kills, an ace, four blocks, and 12 digs.

ATLANTIC 10 — Dayton (5-1, 3-1) made short work of visiting VCU (8-3, 3-2) as Jamie Peterson had 13 kills and hit .367 in in the sweep. She had an assist, three aces, and eight digs  … Duquesne (1-4) swept visiting Davidson (2-7, 1-6). Summer Slade led with 11 kills, eight digs, and three blocks, one solo. Anita Parrott had nine kills and six blocks, one solo … Fordham (1-1, 1-0) won in four at George Washington (1-8, 0-6) as Whitley Moody had 15 kills, an assist, two blocks, and 10 digs, and Isabel Fichtel had 14 kills with one error in 24 attacks and six blocks. Sarah Pintel had 19 kills for GWU. 

BIG SKY — Southern Utah (5-7, 5-6) beat visiting Idaho State (4-9, 2-9) in five. Stacey Hone and Andreanna McKee had 14 kills each, while Idaho State’s Taylor Meeks and Kaia Rhodes had 11 kills each … Sacramento State (6-5) swept visiting Eastern Washington (5-7 4-7) as Caitlin Volkmann and Bridgette Smith had nine kills each.

COLONIAL — Elon (1-3,1-2) beat visiting UNCW (0-6, 0-3) in five as Leah Daniel had 19 kills, an ace, a block and 10 digs. Brooke Hanshumaker had 16 kills and hit .444 for UNCW and she had three blocks … Colege of Charleston (2-1, 1-0) beat visiting William & Mary (2-1) in four. Hazel Brown led a balanced attack with 10 kills, four blocks, and five digs. W&M’s Kate Dedrick had 21 kills, an ace, three blocks, and four digs.

MID-AMERICAN — In the only MAC match of the day, Toledo (3-7) swept at Eastern Michigan (5-6). Taylor Alt led with 12 kills, an ace, a block, and seven digs. Franki Strefling contineud to lead EMU as she had 14 kills and an assist, two blocks, and 14 digs. She’s averaging 4.56 kills per set this season.

MOUNTAIN WEST — How about these scores as Fresno State (5-3) won in five at Air Force (5-5): 23-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-17, 24-22. Savannah Smith led Fresno with 19 kills as she hit .429 and had two blocks, and two digs. Amaria Kelley, who had five blocks, and Grace Doyle, who had eight blocks and dive digs, had 12 kills each. Four Air Force players had 12 or more kills, led by Bailey Keith with 14. She had five blocks and three digs … 

Wyoming (7-3) swept visiting San Diego State (3-7). Emerson Cyza and Faith Waitsman led a balanced attack with nine kills each. Cyza had an assist, an ace, 11 digs, and two blocks, one solo, and Waitsman had one error in 12 attacks and five blocks, one solo … San Jose State (3-5) swept visiting Nevada (3-7) as the Spartans hit .304 and Haylee Nelson had 10 kills. She hit .320 and had three aces, a block, and 10 digs … Boise State (8-2) hit .351 and swept visiting New Mexico (3-7). Kayly Pau led with 10 kills as she hit .333 and had three blocks and a dig … First-place UNLV at  last-place Utah State was canceled. 

SOUTHLAND — McNeese (4-4) swept visiting Northwestern State (2-6, 0-6). Regan Stiawalt led with 13 kills as she hit .440 and had an ace and three digs … Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (7-3, 5-3) swept visiting Houston Baptist (5-7, 4-2) as the Islanders hit .317. Rachel Young led with 13 kills and hit .435. Anna Gadway had 13 kills and hit .476 for HBU and she had four assists, an ace, two solo blocks, and nine digs.

SUMMIT — South Dakota (9-4, 8-1) had to go five to beat visiting Oral Roberts (2-9, 2-7). Elizabeth Juhnke led with 22 kills, three assists, four blocks, and 15 digs. Sami Slaughter had 13 kills, four digs, and four blocks, two solo, and Aimee Adams had 10 kills with one error in 21 attacks, five blocks, and 11 digs. Lolo Weideman had 29 digs, five assists, and an ace. Aixa Vigil led Oral Roberts with 21 kills, two aces, 19 digs, and three blocks, one solo. Sarah Thiessen had 21 digs, eight assists, and three aces … 

South Dakota State (3-10, 3-9) swept at Omaha (9-5, 8-4). Crystal Burk led with 13 kills, a block, and 17 digs … North Dakota State (8-4, 6-4) swept winless Western Illinois (0-13, 0-12) again as Ali Hinze led a balanced attack with 12 kills, an ace, two blocks, and nine digs …  And Denver (9-1) hit .339 and swept at North Dakota (2-10, 2-8) as 10 player had kills. Lydia Bartalo led with 12 as she hit .458 with one error in 24 attacks to go with five assists, two aces, a block, and seven digs. Lorrin Poulter had 11 kills with no errors in 20 attacks, 15 assists, four blocks, and nine digs.

WEST COAST — BYU (9-1, 8-1) hit .338 and Taylen Ballard-Nixon had 23 kills as the Cougars won in four at San Francisco (5-6). Ballard-Nixon hit .316 and had a solo block and 11 digs. Erin Livingston had 18 kills, hit .375, and had six blocks and three digs. Whitney Bower had 52 assists, a block, and 16 digs. McKenna Marshall had 22 kills and hit .396 for USF to go with an assist, a block, and six digs … 

In the only other WCC match Saturday, Rachel Ahrens had a career-high 27 kills for Pepperdine (9-2. 9-1) in its five set win over visiting Gonzaga (3-9). Ahrens hit .358 and had an ace, two blocks, and five digs. Shannon Scully had 15 kills, three assists, and 15 digs. Isabel Zelaya had two kills in three errorless attempts, 54 assists, five blocks and 10 digs. Chapin Gray led Gonzaga with 21 kills and a solo block.

MEN — In the MPSF, UCLA (8-3) hit .402 beat visiting Stanford (0-5) in four behind 17 kills by Cole Ketrzynski and 10 by Merrick McHenry. Ketrzynski had four errors in 26 attacks and hit .500 and had nine digs. McHenry had no errors in 23 attacks, three digs, and five blocks, three solo. In two matches against Stanford, McHenry had 27 kills with one error in 50 attacks. Ethan Champlin had eight kills with no errors in 16 swings, an assist, five aces, and four digs. Austin Matautia had seven kills with one error in 16 attacks, and Sam Kobrine had four kills, 41 assists, a block, and 10 digs. Will Rottman had 12 kills for Stanford … Raymond Barsemian had 23 kills and hit .340 as Concordia (2-6) won in five at USC (2-6). Jordan Hoppe added 11 kills, an assist, two aces, nine digs, and four blocks, one solo, and Gil Herold had eight kills with one error in 16 attacks, an assist, two digs, and two blocks, one solo … 

In the only MIVA match Saturday, Lewis (10-2, 5-2) swept visiting Ball State (7-4, 4-3). The Flyers hit .407, led by Kyle Bugee, who had 15 kills, hit .458, and had three aces, two blocks, and three digs. Ryan Coenen had 10 kills, three blocks, and five digs, and Tyler Mitchem had nine kills, four blocks, and two digs. Carlos Jimenez had 16 digs and a kill on his only attempt. Kaleb Jenness had eight kills for Ball State … 

In the EIVA, Penn State (12-2, 9-1) swept Charleston (4-6) but what incredible hitting percentages: Penn State hit .519 and had 33 kills with five errors in 54 attacks, while Charleston hit .421 and had 43 kills with 11 errors in 76 attacks. Cal Fisher had 11 kills for Penn State and hit .364 and added four aces and two digs. Brett Wildman had 10 kills with no errors in 15 attacks. Maarten Bartels had 11 kills and hit .308 for Charleston to go with assist, an ace, and a dig. Ismael Sneed had nine kills with no errors in 18 swings … Saint Francis (3-14, 2-8) swept visiting Sacred Heart (0-8). Trevor Lewis led with 11 kills as he hit .429 and had an ace, five digs, and three blocks, and Michael Fisher had 10 kills with no errors in 21 swings, two assists, an ace, five digs, and four blocks … And NJIT (9-3, 9-1) swept at George Mason (7-5, 4-4) for its seventh win in a row. Alvaro Gimeno had 12 kills to lead four NJIT. Players with eight or more kills as the Highlanders hit .364. He had two assist, five blocks, and seven digs. Luca Berger had 10 kills with one error in 15 attacks and seven blocks, two solo. Mason’s Hayden Wagner had 10 kills and hit .389 …

In Conference Carolinas, King’s Joshua Kim had the line of the night as the senior right side from Garden Grove, California had 36 kills, a school record, as King (7-5, 4-3) won in five at Mount Olive (9-2, 8-2). Kim hit .433 and had 10 digs. Jackson Carroll had 13 kills and hit .324. Luke Visgitis led Mount Olive with 16 kills as he hit .455 after having one error in 33 attacks to go with two digs and three blocks, one solo. The other Visgitis, Eric, had 14 kills, hit .429, and had an ace and four blocks, two solo … Barton (7-6, 5-5) swept Lees-McRae (0-10, 0-7) as Adrian Iglesias had 15 kills and hit .448 and Nathan Chapparo had 12 kills and hit .435 … Also in Conference Carolinas, North Greenville beat independent Queens in four.

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