University Park, Pa., Dec. 6, 2002 - The Penn State women¡¯s volleyball team downed Penn in three games (30-23, 30-10, 30-26) Friday night in Rec Hall in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Nittany Lions improve to 25-7 while the Quakers end their season at 22-5. Penn State will face Temple in the second round matchup on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. The contest can be heard on the radio on WMAJ 1450 AM or on the web at www.GoPSUsports.com.

¡°I thought it was a good match for the outside hitters,¡± said head coach Russ Rose. ¡°I thought our second game we played real well. Overall we controlled our emotions and controlled the ball, and it was a good effort by our group.¡±

Sophomore Ashley Pederson (Sioux Falls, S.D.) led all players with 16 kills with sophomore Syndie Nadeau (St. Georges, Quebec) posting 12 kills on a .458 hitting percentage, and junior Cara Smith (Lafayette, Ind.) adding nine kills. Junior Erin Iceman (Wooster, Ohio) posted career numbers in three different categories, tying a career-high in kills with seven, setting a career-high in attacks and digs with 15 and 16, respectively.

Freshman libero Kaleena Walters (Mt. Lebanon, Pa.) also had a career night for the Lions, tallying 18 digs. The mark is also an individual high for a three-game match this season. Overall, the Lions outdug Penn 64 to 50 while limiting the Quakers to hitting .145. Penn State hit .352 in the match, with 57 kills to Penn¡¯s 31.

Freshman setter Sam Tortorello (Shorewood, Ill.) dished out 48 assists and also had five kills, nine digs and two aces while hitting .571.

Both teams recorded four blocks in the match, with Smith leading the way for the Lions with two.

Game one began with a Nadeau kill, but three straight Quaker kills put the visitors up 3-1. A kill from Pederson evened the score at 5-5 and the teams three times traded points until a Penn kill and three Nittany Lion errors gave the Quakers the 12-9 lead. Penn would extend the margin to 16-12 before a Smith kill got the Lions back on the right track. Another Nadeau kill tied the game at 18-18 and forced a Penn timeout. After the break, Penn State took the lead with a Nadeau kill but Penn quickly answered with a kill of its own to tie the game at 19-19. A Quaker service error allowed the Lions to gain the 20-19 advantage and the momentum. Penn State allowed Penn to score only four more points in the game, taking game one 30-23 on a Quaker ball-handling error. Smith and Pederson led the Lions with four kills each while Walters posted six digs. Penn State outhit Penn .300 to .206 in the game.

The second set began much like the first, with Penn taking the early lead, but the Lions tied the score on a Smith kill and took control of the momentum. Penn State went on an 8-3 run to begin the set, and Penn could not regroup. A Quaker timeout at 18-8 was quickly followed by two Penn State kills. Strong serving by Tortorello allowed the Lions to go on a 7-0 run and make the score 28-9 before junior Jess Hayden (South Laguna Beach, Calif.) ended the game with an ace, 30-10. Pederson posted eight kills on 10 attempts in the set while the Lions allowed Penn to record only six kills as a team. Penn State outhit the Quakers .576 to .029.

The teams traded points to begin the third stanza before the Lions took the 12-10 lead on two Nadeau kills. Penn hovered within three points of the Lions before a Smith kill made the score 22-18. Penn State slowly increased its lead, going up 25-20 on a kill from Iceman. A Pederson kill ended the game, 30-26. Nadeau posted six kills on 10 attempts for Penn State while Iceman added five kills on eight attempts. Both Iceman and Walters posted nine digs in the stanza as Penn State outhit Penn .250 to .184.

Penn State will face Temple on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7:00 p.m. in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Owls defeated Manhattan College in four games, (30-32, 30-21, 30-15, 33-31) to advance. Junior outside hitter Xu Yun tallied a match-high 24 kills for Temple as junior Liu Shu added 19. Sophomore Alison Runk dished out 67 assists and junior Yamit Haba led the defense with 17 digs. The victory marks Temple¡¯s first-ever NCAA Tournament win in four appearances.

Penn State has the potential to host NCAA Regionals next weekend if it defeats Temple and South Florida defeats Florida. Both matches are on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7:00 p.m. ET. Please visit www.GoPSUsports.com for the most up-to-date information.