University Park, Pa., Dec. 7, 2002 The Penn State women¡¯s volleyball team was stunned by Temple in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, falling in four games (24-30, 26-30, 30-26, 23-30) to the Owls. The Nittany Lions end their season with a 25-8 record while Temple (28-6) advances to the Round of 16 for the first time in program history.

¡°I have to give credit to Temple,¡± said Penn State head coach Russ Rose. ¡°They were able to maintain their serve and their pass. We had some opportunities in the second game that slipped away. I hope our younger players will learn from this.¡±

Junior Cara Smith (Lafayette, Ind.) led the Lions with a career-high 19 kills on a career-high 41 attacks to hit .366 for the match. Senior Mishka Levy (Houston, Texas) added 13 kills in her final match as a Nittany Lion to end her career with 1,468 career kills, good for sixth on the career list.

¡°[Losing] is a shock right now,¡± said Levy after the match. ¡°But it won¡¯t hit me until Monday when we¡¯re supposed to have practice.¡±

Temple outhit Penn State .200 to .131 but the Lions dominated the blocking game, posting a season-high 20.5 blocks to Temple¡¯s 12.0. Levy posted a career-high-tying 10 blocks while freshman setter Sam Tortorello (Shorewood, Ill.) also set a career mark with seven blocks while Smith and junior Robyn Guokas (Burr Ridge, Ill.) each added six.

Tortorello directed the Nittany Lion offense with 47 assists and added 10 digs. Freshman Kaleena Walters (Mt. Lebanon, Pa.) led the Lions with 11 digs with sophomores Syndie Nadeau (St. Georges, Quebec) and Tabitha Eshleman (Greencastle, Pa.) each adding 10. Temple outdug Penn State 75 to 56.

Penn State took the early 2-0 lead in the first game with a kill and an ace from junior Erin Iceman (Wooster, Ohio), but Temple quickly tied the game at 2-2. The teams traded kills before the Lions took the 4-3 lead on a kill from Smith. The Lions held the lead until Temple tied the game at 7-7. The Owls took a 10-9 lead on a kill from Liu Shu, one of her match-high 20 kills, to spark a 4-0 run. Temple remained in control of the game, stretching its lead to 17-13, but the Lions fought back to tied the game at 21-21 on a kill from sophomore Ashley Pederson (Sioux Falls, S.D.). But Temple regained control with a kill and would only allow Penn State to score three more points, as the Owls took game one 30-24 on a service ace. Smith had five kills for the Lions while Levy posted three blocks in the game. Temple outhit Penn State .273 to .156 in the game.

The teams traded kills to begin the second game before Temple took the 3-2 lead on a Penn State attack error. Penn State pulled within one at 5-4 but Temple went on a 7-2 run to gain the 12-6 advantage. The Lions fought back to pull within 17-16 but an Owl kill gave Temple momentum to gain the 20-16 advantage. A kill from Iceman got Penn State back on the right track sparking the Lions to take the 21-20 lead. The teams traded points before a Temple block gave the visitors the 26-25 lead and went on to take the game 30-26 on a kill. Smith had five kills for the Lions while Levy and Tortorello both posted five blocks each. Temple outhit Penn State .192 to .106 but Penn State outblocked the Owls 8.0 to 3.0.

Temple jumped out to the 5-0 lead to begin game three before Penn State rebounded to tie the game at 9-9 on a Temple attack error. The Owls then rattled off five points to go ahead 14-9, but the Lions again fought back to tie the game at 19-19 on a Smith service ace. A solo block by Pederson gave Penn State its first lead of the game and a kill from Levy put the Lions ahead by two, 21-19, forcing a Temple timeout. Out of the break, Penn State went on a 5-1 run to take the 25-20 lead. Temple tried to mount a comeback but a Temple attack error ended the contest at 30-26 in Penn State¡¯s favor. Smith and Levy posted five kills for the Lions with Smith adding two of Penn State¡¯s five overall service aces. Penn State outhit Temple .098 to .053.

The fourth game remained close early before Temple took the 6-5 lead on a Penn State attack error, and the visitors never looked back. The Lions pulled to within one at 9-8 on a Temple attack error but an Owl kill widened the lead to two and gave Temple the momentum. A Penn State attack error forced a Nittany Lion timeout at 22-15 and the teams traded kills out of the break. Penn State tried to fight back, staving off two Temple game points, but the Owls proved to be too much, taking the fourth game 30-23. Smith and Levy both posted four kills in the game while Temple outhit Penn State .278 to .171.

For complete match statistics and more information on the Penn State women¡¯s volleyball team, visit www.GoPSUsports.com.