The No. 13 Arizona State women's volleyball team upset the No. 2 Penn State team in a 3-1 win and a gritty 31-29 fourth set victory. The Nittany Lions (2-1) fostered more momentum with right side hitter Kennedy Martin in the fourth set more than other time time during the match, but fending off Sun Devil (2-0) Noemie Glover was nearly impossible.
It was a pattern in the match that once Penn State had some momentum brewing, Arizona State immediately shut it down and swung it back in its favor. This kept the Nittany Lions from rolling with multiple scoring runs that surpassed two consecutive points. In the last set effort to halt an upset, though Martin found a way to respond time and time again.
The junior transfer tallied 11 kills in the fourth set, many of which were clear, un-defendable attacks. Martin expertly found and hit the seams flawlessly while she was in the front and back row alike.
Glover targeted Martin on her kills, but the Nittany Lion got her revenge in the fourth set. Her six-foot-six-inch frame makes it difficult for her to defend quickly. On the flip side, it's perfect for her to read the court, get up over the ball, and get a narrow angle that drives into the court. The ball slammed right in front of Glover's foundation and the former Oregon Duck barely even got her knuckles there quick enough to respond.
If Penn State found a way to defend Glover's attack, the offense was sure to find Martin, fighting fire with fire. The velocity at which both of them hit was enough for the commentators to jokingly request a radar gun.
It made determining the match based on which team defended the star right side attacker better, ultimately landing in Arizona State's favor. Glover also outshined Martin on defense, particularly up at the net blocking. Martin also helped out the Sun Devils a bit with eight attack errors on Sunday compared to Glover's six.
Glover had a double-double against Penn State with 22 kills and 10 blocks. She hit a .372 in the evening, taking the edge on the Florida transfer who had 23 kills and hit .312. This was especially critical to take the five-point lead in the 25-20 ASU third set grab.
Knowing Martin was the main target, especially as the Nittany Lions' dug deep to try and push the match to five sets, setter Izzy Starck could shift the pace of the game either targeting middle blocker Maggie Mendelson with a quick middle or slide set or taking a chance to get the ball over in two touches. Mendelson had just five kills, but showed up when the blue and white needed a boost the most. Jordan Hopp was the other reliable spark, but her four blocks were what shut down Arizona State.
It wasn't enough to ward the Sun Devils off entirely, though, and they pulled off the upset over Penn State.