University Park, Pa., Nov. 29, 2002 The sixteenth-ranked Penn State women’s volleyball team did not let history repeat itself, as it defeated ninth-ranked Minnesota in three games (30-28, 30-25, 30-20) Friday night in Rec Hall in front of 2,051 fans. The Nittany Lions avenge a three-game loss to the Gophers, which came earlier this year in Minneapolis. Penn State improves to 23-7 overall and 13-6 in the Big Ten while Minnesota falls to 30-5, 17-3 in conference action.

“This is a nice win for our team,” said head coach Russ Rose. “Minnesota didn’t play its best match, but they still are the Big Ten champs.”

Junior Cara Smith (Lafayette, Ind.) posted a match-high 16 kills en route to hitting .519 while senior Mishka Levy (Houston, Texas) added 14 kills and a .435 hitting percentage for the Lions. Both Penn State and Minnesota tallied 49 kills in the contest but the Lions outhit the Gophers .244 to .205.

Levy, Smith and junior Robyn Guokas (Burr Ridge, Ill.) all tallied four blocks but Minnesota won the blocking battle, 11.0 to 9.0, including a seven block performance in the first game.

Freshman setter Sam Tortorello (Shorewood, Ill.) directed the Penn State offense with 47 assists and sophomore Syndie Nadeau (St. Georges, Quebec) led the Lion defense with 12 digs with freshman libero Kaleena Walters (Mt. Lebanon, Pa.) adding 11.

Junior Erin Iceman (Wooster, Ohio) remained strong from behind the service line, notching three of Penn State’s five service aces to go along with her nine digs. Precision passing from the Lions allowed only one Gopher ace in the match, several shy of their 1.97 aces per game average.

Minnesota was led by junior Cassie Busse with 12 kills while sophomores Trisha Bratford and Erin Martin added 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Sophomore setter Lindsey Vander Well led the Gopher offense with 39 assists and freshman libero Paula Gentil posed a match-high 19 digs to lead the defense. Junior Bethany Brafford tallied a match-high six blocks with Busse adding four.

The first point of the match may have been an omen, as a Gopher miscommunication caused the ball to fall harmlessly to the ground between Bratford and Busse. Penn State then jumped out to a 5-2 lead on a Minnesota service error before the Gophers fought back to tie the game at 7-7. The game remained even as the teams traded points. Penn State took the 21-18 lead on a block by Guokas and Levy, but four straight Minnesota blocks, including two solo efforts by Martin, swung the momentum to the Gophers and gave them the 22-21 lead. Minnesota remained in control but two kills from Iceman and a block by Levy and Iceman gave Penn State game point at 29-27. A Gopher kill pulled the visitors to within one at 29-28 but a Levy kill cemented the game at 30-28. Smith led the Lions with seven kills on 11 attempts while Nadeau posted five digs. Minnesota outhit the Lions .256 to .209 while recording 7.0 blocks to Penn State’s 3.0.

Game two began with a Nadeau kill, sparking Penn State. Minnesota pulled to within one at 9-8 but another Nadeau kill coupled by a solo block by the sophomore gave the Lions the three-point advantage. From there, Penn State pulled away, never allowing Minnesota to come closer than three points. A Gopher kill from Busse made the score 23-20 in favor of Penn State, but it was closely followed by a Minnesota service error, one of its eight in the match. A Levy kill ended the game at 30-25. The senior posted five kills on seven attempts to lead the Lions while Smith recorded three blocks. Penn State outhit Minnesota .244 to .229 while outblocking them 5.0 to 1.0.

The teams traded points to start the third game, with the Lions taking the 3-2 advantage on a Smith kill. Two Iceman service aces increased the margin to 6-2 and the Lions never looked back, forcing a Minnesota timeout at 18-8. Penn State continued to roll, taking the third stanza 30-20 on a kill from Levy. Smith led the Lions with six kills on 12 attempts and Levy added five kills. Iceman racked up three aces and Walters led the defense with six digs. Penn State outhit the Gophers .279 to .133 in the game.

Penn State’s final regular-season Big Ten match is on Saturday, Nov. 30 against Iowa beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Rec Hall. The match, which can be heard on the web at www.GoPSUsports.com and on the radio on WMAJ 1450 AM, also marks Senior Night, with Penn State’s two seniors, Mishka Levy and Tina Huisenga, being honored before the match. Faculty and staff of Penn State showing their ID will be admitted to the game for $1.00 and the first 500 fans will receive a 2002 Penn State women’s volleyball team photo.

The 2002 NCAA Tournament selection show will be aired on Sunday, Dec. 1 beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPNEWS. The first and second rounds of the tournament will be held the weekend of Dec. 6-7 at campus sites with regionals taking place the following weekend, Dec. 13-14. The semifinals of the NCAA Tournament will be Dec. 19 in New Orleans with the national title game taking place on Dec. 21.

For complete match and season statistics and updates, please visit the women’s volleyball homepage on Penn State’s official athletic website, www.GoPSUsports.com.