Undefeated Nittany Lions live up to their legacy

The Hoosiers were riding high after six straight wins, unprecedented individual statistics and two straight wins against ranked opponents. But, the No. 9 Penn State Nittany Lions were just too much, and the Hoosiers lost 3-0 and fell to 11-3 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten.\nPenn State was no easy task for the Hoosiers, as the nationally ranked Nittany Lions have only lost five home matches since 1995 and are only three years removed from a national title. Bolstered by 2,003-person strong Penn State crowd, the Nittany Lions always kept the Hoosiers playing catch-up. While PSU managed to keep the Hoosiers down, they maintained respect for IU's play.\n"Indiana is a very good team and I like how hard they play," Nittany Lions coach Russ Rose said in a statement.\nPenn State came out strong and found IU playing off balance in the first game of the match, coming out to an early 14-11 lead. PSU then extended their lead to 17-13 before the Hoosiers finally gained their footing and pulled within two points for a 22-20 score. The close score ignited the Nittany Lions who then went on a 8-2 run to clinch the game 30-22. 20 of PSU's 30 points were recorded on kills and the Hoosiers were outhit .366 - .152.\nThe Hoosiers recovered from their loss in game one and traded blows with PSU to a 14-14 tie. Junior outside hitter Nikki Hill and sophomore outside hitter Christina Archibald logged back-to-back kills followed by a service ace by sophomore setter Victoria Zimmerman gave the Hoosiers a 17-14 lead. This impressive stanza would be IU's last breath in the second game as the Nittany Lions again ignited and scored 16 of the next 20 points, winning the second game 30-21.\nEarly in the third game of the match, it looked as if it would be a lopsided PSU victory with the Nittany Lions pulling out to a 13-7 lead, only to have the Hoosiers regain their bearings and claw back to a 24-24 tie. IU then took a 27-26 lead off of back-to-back kills by true freshman outside hitter Ashley White. Penn State then retaliated with a kill by senior standout Mishka Levy and an IU attack error that gave PSU a 28-27 lead. The teams continued to trade blows to a tie at 29, until the Nittany Lions finally closed out the game 33-31. \n"Basically, we came out flat," coach Katie Weismiller said in a statement. "Penn State put pressure on us and we really didn't respond until midway through the third game."\nLevy led the PSU attack with 14 kills and a .300 hitting percentage, and junior Cara Smith continued her season-long over .400 hitting streak with 9 kills in 17 attempts logging a .529 percentage. Levy and Smith's offensive effort was flanked by the impressive defensive play of junior Robyn Guokas, daughter of former NBA player and coach Matt Guokas, who led the match with 6 blocks. \nThe Hoosiers were led by Archibald's 14 kills, followed by junior middle blocker Melissa Brewer's 11 kills. Hill led the team with 12 digs along with 10 kills of her own. Zimmerman again paced the Hoosiers' offensive attack with 34 assists.\nWhile the loss was hard, Weismiller said the team's work ethic and dedication is still there.\n"We have to fire on all six cylinders to be successful, which we've done," Weismiller said. "Tonight, however, was not one of those nights. We will just get back into the gym and continue to improve"