UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Freshman Hayley Hodson and senior Brittany Howard combined for 31 kills, but No. 2 Stanford lost to No. 1 Penn State, 25-21, 25-22, 25-18, at the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge.
The teams have met in the NCAA tournament the past two years and hold a strong rivalry. Penn State leads the series, 10-8.
Stanford led most of the first set, but the Nittany Lions (5-0) scored four consecutive points to break a tie and close it out. Other than Stanford's brief lead early in the third set, Penn State led throughout the final two sets.
Hodson and Howard carried the Cardinal offense. They combined for a .467 hitting percentage, compared to .000 for the rest of the team.
Hodson had a collegiate career high and match high 16 kills with seven digs, two blocks, an ace and an assist. She had only two hitting errors on 31 swings for a .452 hitting percentage.
Howard had 15 kills – two off her career high – and had only one hitting error in 29 attacks for .483. She also earned a double-double with 10 digs.
This was Stanford's first defeat by sweep since Oct. 4, 2013, at USC. Stanford had played 58 contests since.
Howard was especially effective in the first set, with seven kills. The Cardinal jumped to a 2-0 lead and was up 9-5 after a Madi Bugg dump for a point. The set was tied six times until Penn State went ahead for good on a Stanford service error.
Stanford had trouble with its serve-receive at times, forcing the Cardinnal to play out of system. Penn State took advantage and often set Haleigh Washington on the slide. Washington had 12 kills and a .526 hitting percentage, and was among four Nittany Lions with 11-13 kills apiece. Penn State hit .327 as a team, with some of its most efficient hitting late in the match.
Stanford continues a four-match road trip at North Carolina on Thursday at Duke on Friday before returning home to play Pacific on Sept. 18.
All-Tournament team: Haleigh Washington, Penn State (MVP); Hayley Hodson (Stanford), Brittany Howard (Stanford), Aiyana Whitney (Penn State), Megan Courtney (Penn State), Jordyn Poulter (Illinois), Jocelynn Birks (Illinois).
