Nov. 30, 2007

Final Stats

Top ranked Penn State flexed its muscle in a 3-0 (30-19, 30-11 and 30-14) NCAA victory before a near-capacity crowd Friday night at Rec Hall in University Park, Pa. Megan Hodge led the way with 17 kills and a robust .714 hitting percentage for the Nittany Lions.

Siena, which earned its fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament by capturing the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship, finishes its season with a 24-8 record. Penn State who advances to the Second Round where they will meet UAlbany Saturday night at 7 p.m.

"We did our best," Siena head coach Garvey Pierre said. "Penn State is very strong - one of the best team's in the country. This was another good experience for our program and we are very proud of our accomplishments this season. It is not easy to make three straight trips to the NCAA's"

Siena struggled to counter Penn State's size advantage, especially at the net. The Nittany Lions controlled a 17-3 advantage in blocks for the match.

"We knew they had a tough block," senior Nadiege Honroe said. "We were prepared to play a lot of cover, but it still created problems for our attack."

Honore had five kills, finishing her career just three shy of Siena's all-time career mark of 1,464 held by Kristin May.

Setter April London finished with 18 of Siena's 22 assists.

"As the setter I was trying to watch where there block was going so I could give my hitters a chance," London said. "But it's hard to fool them because they're such a great blocking team."

The Saints best effort came in the first game.

Siena jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead behind the service of Jessica Hackett, but the Nittany Lions responded with three straight points to gain their first advantage. A Burgandy McCurty kill kept Siena close at 6-5, but PSU scored the next five points to assume command, 11-5.

The Saints hung tough, trailing 21-14 before libero Robert Holehouse posted consecutive aces for the Nittany Lions. Siena scored three straight points to close the gap back to seven in a rally culminating in an Honore block. The Lady Lions answered with three points of their own and denied Siena its 20th point of the game when Alisha Glass and Arielle Wilson combined for a block to post game point.

PSU dominated the second game after Siena took its only lead on a service error on the first point. The Nittany Lions used a 12-3 run to take a commanding 19-7 lead and never looked back in a 30-11 triumph.

Penn State posted a .583 hitting percentage in the second game and limited Siena to a -.194 mark. Hodge killed all six of her attempts in the middle game to pace the Nittany Lions.

The Saints again scored the first point in game three, and trailed just 14-9 before a 4-0 PSU run pushed the lead to nine.

The lead stayed at nine, 21-12, before the Lady Lions rallied to score four straight points to put the game away.

Penn State dominated the match statistically, limiting Siena to a -.057 hitting percentage for the match. The Nittany Lions were efficient on offense, killing 46 of their 70 attacks (.514).

Only Siena senior middle hitter Janine Pesusich - who killed both of her attacks - and London finished with positive hitting percentages.