No. 4 Penn State (9-2, 0-1) was without starting outside hitter Nia Reed Wednesday night but it’s hard to say how much of a difference she would have made as No. 7 Minnesota (7-2, 1-0) repeatedly forced Penn State to play out of system and defended spectacularly in the three set victory; 25-22, 25-21, 25-19.
Minnesota while not perfect by any means was the sharper team throughout, out-hitting Penn State .262-.168. The Gophers also did a nice job hitting around the block, besting the Nittany Lions in the category 9-5.5 which is well below their 3.4 blocks per seat average.