There were lots of parties this weekend in honor of Halloween, but the grandest of them all might have been the block party that took place at Rec Hall on Friday and Saturday night.

Blocks were key this weekend in the Penn State women's volleyball victories. Although the Nittany Lions dominated all aspects of their matches against Indiana and Purdue, their ability to get to the net and block kill attempts really put them over the top.

Both nights, the Lions topped their season average of nine blocks per match. Friday night, they registered 14 blocks. Freshman Melissa Walbridge and junior Sam Tortorello led all Lions with five and four blocks, respectively. On Saturday night, the Lions recorded 18 blocks, led once again by the Walbridge-Tortorello connection (seven and six, respectively).

"I think Melissa is a very fine blocker and I think Sam is a very good blocker for her position as well," Penn State coach Russ Rose said.

Blocking played a large part in building momentum for the Lions, especially in the third game of Saturday's matchup against Purdue. Four blocks, including three consecutive by Walbridge, sparked an 8-0 run for Penn State and put it in the lead 11-3. The Lions never looked back.

Rose said anticipation has a lot to do with the high number of blocks. This is the second time this year that the two teams played each other in the Big Ten, so they have had experience against each other.

The Lions were well prepared for the game plans of Indiana and Purdue.

"Typically in a pregame routine we go over who is going to get the ball," sophomore middle hitter Cassy Salyer said.

"It is our job to know what their tendencies are."

Purdue coach Dave Shondell agreed with the idea that knowing the other team's tendencies aids the number of blocks, but said blocking also has a lot to do with, "dumb luck."

"I think both teams scout each other pretty well," he said. "We try to do the best we can at figuring out where the ball is going to go. Sometimes you can do everything you think you are supposed to do to block the ball and other times you just throw your hands up and get the block. It is the combination of a lot of factors."

This year Penn State is 15-0 when leading or equaling its opponent in blocks. If the Lions continue to block the way they did this weekend, the rest of the season looks bright for team.