Volleyball: Women's

The Penn State women's volleyball team won its third straight match after
dropping its season opener by defeating Pitt in straight sets Friday night.

That victory, along with a straight sets victory earlier in the day against
Miami (Ohio), improved the Nittany Lions record to 3-1.

The team wasn't entirely satisfied with its performance in the day's first
match, despite the sweep. The Lions hit .250 and started the first and third
sets with a point deficit to the Redhawks.

Coach Russ Rose was disappointed with his team's performance in the Miami
(Ohio) match and wanted to see better play in the later match.

"I thought we were really sloppy [Friday] morning," Rose said. "We looked
disorganized and we didn't play with an urgency to get better."

Rose did get some of the improvement he was looking for in the match against Pitt later
in the day. He identified the team's passing as something the Lions did well
against the Panthers, and improved play from junior Kristin Carpenter and
freshman setter Micha Hancock was a positive as well.

The Lions also hit an improved .348 and held the Panthers to .090 hitting,
behind the strength of Hancock and Carpenter's 11 digs each.

Sophomore Deja McClendon said the Lions played more as a team in the night
match, which resulted in the team's improved play.

Carpenter also thought the team stepped up in the second match.
"Tonight we played very well," Carpenter said. "It was a very good win."

Rose played a similar lineup to the one he played against USC last weekend,
again playing many players in an attempt to figure out what lineup works for
the team. Rose said he did learn more about his team — not all of it
positive.

"The back row people are along for the ride and they need to pick it up," Rose
said.

The lineup continued to work well for the team, however.

"I think it's a really good lineup," Carpenter said. "It shows our strengths."

Learning about the team's strengths and what works is the most important thing
for the team at this early point in the season, and the two wins today went
some way towards doing that.

"The games early in the season are really important as a learning tool,"
McClendon said.