Penn State beats Duke 3-1, Advances to the National Semifinals

(Photo: Tony Mancuso/GoPSUsports.com)

Duke reached up and flicked Penn State's ear, snatching Set 3 from their overconfident hosts. But that made the Nittany Lions very, very mad, so Penn State proceeded to pound the Blue Devils into the Rec Hall floor in the fourth and final set, winning 3-1 3-1 (25-19, 25-18, 23-25, 25-17) in the NCAA women's volleyball regional finals tonight.

Penn State got off to its typical start, winning the first two sets by decent margins. But then things got shaky, as Duke started to tighten up and play well, while Penn State played like its expected the Blue Devils to just roll over in the 3rd set.

Penn State sweeps Oklahoma, Regionals Live Tonight

Blair Brown
(Photo: centredaily.com)

It's not easy to win a national championship in any college sport. It's very tough to win two in a row. It's nearly impossible to win three straight. But Penn State is only three matches away from winning four consecutive women's volleyball national championships.

The Nittany Lions swept Oklahoma last night, 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-15), in the regional semifinals held at Rec Hall. While the win over the Sooners (23-11) was a sweep, we have to keep in mind that Oklahoma wasn't even one of the top 16 seeds in the tournament. Now with the regional finals up tonight (6:30 p.m. live on ESPNU), things will start to get tricky for No. 4 seed Penn State (29-5).