Despite not having five players available, Penn State’s Russ Rose earned his 1,300th career win in the Nittany Lions’ season opener.
The successful debut of freshman outside hitter Annie Cate Fitzpatrick led the blue and white to a 3-1 win over Illinois at Rec Hall Friday night. Fitzpatrick had 13 kills, a .280 hitting percentage, and nine digs.
Penn State took an early lead, scoring five consecutive points which started with junior middle blocker Kaitlyn Hord.
Illinois took the lead at the beginning of the following set with Penn State’s players playing on their heels and the Fighting Illini hung on to win the second frame 25-17.