Sometimes in volleyball, it's good to be short, relatively speaking.

Saturday night, as she stood on the Rec Hall court at 6 feet tall, Wisconsin outside hitter Brittney Dolgner was on the smaller end of players on the floor, and used her height to her advantage.

Early in the match, the freshman was giving Penn State players fits as she hit balls underneath the arms of their high rising block attempts.

"We were jumping too high on the block," said 6-foot-2 sophomore co-captain Christa Harmotto. "I mean honestly, we weren't sealing low enough."

Dolgner, a two-time High School Player of the Year from Wisconsin, recorded nine kills for the Badgers by the time the score was tied 21-21 in game one.

The No. 2 Nittany Lions were forced to make an adjustment -- in the case of Harmotto, jump lower -- and they did.

When the match was over, Penn State had out-blocked Wisconsin, 17.5-6.0, and defeated the No. 13 Badgers, 3-0 (30-24, 30-22, 30-27).

Harmotto ended up tying the Penn State record for blocks in a three-game match with her 13. Four other players also had at least four blocks.

"We did a great job as far as executing that part of the game plan and it definitely helped us out," Harmotto said.

After her fast start, Dolgner recorded just six kills during the final two games for Wisconsin (12-4, 4-2 Big Ten) to finish with 15.

"Our blocking was obviously the difference," Penn State head coach Russ Rose said, adding that improved serving helped result in impressive blocking numbers.

Since last year's NCAA Round of 16 loss to Tennessee in State College, Rose has been intent on improving his team's serving numbers. In that match against the Volunteers, the Lions hit 17 errors versus six aces.

Against the Badgers, Penn State had nine aces, just six errors, and primarily directed the ball to the Wisconsin players they wanted.

"We served so well and it kind of limited their ability to get the ball to their middle attackers, so they needed to rely on the outsides," Rose said.

Penn State (17-0, 6-0) was able to key on Dolgner, one of those outside hitters, and sent multiple players in her direction when needed. Further contributing to the blocking attack was the absence of Wisconsin senior outside hitter, Maria Carlini, who was out with an injury.

"It was not the same team that we'll play in a few weeks and they're a team that really relies on [Carlini's] strengths. ... We're pleased to have won the match, but we know the next time we play it will be a different roster with a lot more people yelling against us then for us," Rose said, referring to the Lions' Oct. 27 match in Madison.

All 6 feet of Dolgner will be on the floor for that match, too. And while the Lions are now prepared for whatever shots may slide underneath their arms -- as evidenced by their blocking numbers -- that's not stopping them from recognizing a talented player when they see one.

"She's a terrific player and has a great feel for the game." Rose said of Dolgner. "I'm sure we're going to have a lot of matches where she gets nine kills in a game."