Oct. 30, 2009

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Behind a superb effort by senior Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) who recorded a match-high 19 kills, the No. 1 Penn State women's volleyball team secured a 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-17) victory against No. 7 Minnesota for its 88th consecutive match win. The Nittany Lions are now tied for fourth place for Division I NCAA winning streaks with the UCLA men's basketball team coached by John Wooden, which won 88 straight games from 1971-1974.

Penn State also extended two other streaks Friday night. The Nittany Lions have now won 68 straight matches in the confines of Rec Hall, as well as 57 straight Big Ten matches.

In addition to Hodge, who attacked a .429 clip for the night, freshman Darcy Dorton (Muncie, Ind.) tallied eight kills on .636 hitting. Junior Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) also posted eight kills against the Gophers. Senior setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) dished out 36 assists and guided the Nittany Lion offense to a .341 attack percentage. On defense, junior Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) registered a match-high six total blocks and junior Cathy Quilico (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) led the team in digs with 12.

Penn State posted 40 kills, three aces, 37 digs and 9.0 total team blocks. The Gophers were held to a meager .011 hitting percentage, 24 kills, two aces and 7.0 total team blocks.