Penn State came into its invitational weekend at Rec Hall Sept. 13-14 undefeated and left the court the same way.
The talent on the Penn State women’s volleyball team, which is 8-0 on the season, is impressive. They swept both games – making it four in a row – and seventh overall. Penn State won the invitational, which included St. John’s, Duke, and Princeton.
From veteran graduate student Jess Mruzik, who has over 1,500 kills in her college career, to Izzy Starck, who has been named Big 10 freshman of the week for two consecutive weeks, everyone contributes. Not only do they exude teamwork during a match, but they have built friendships both on and off the court.
“We just mesh, and I think we’re there for each other on a different level, and it all kind of starts off the court,” Nittany Lion Caroline Jurevicius said about the team’s chemistry.
In its first match on Saturday, Penn State ran up the score 4-0 immediately making it 7-2 in set one. Princeton had to catch its breath, so the Tigers called a timeout.
Izzy Starck, Mruzik, and Maggie Mendelson remained focused and unrelenting after the brief break. Penn State continued to its climb and made the score 10-2.
Kamryn Chaney and Lucia Scalamandre worked in tandem to try to garner points for the Tigers. Their efforts were matched with a more organized Penn State defense.
Mendelson’s name was heard throughout the first set. She was key to Penn State’s offense when she slammed two kills in a row to make it 19-10. She ended the first set with five kills and three blocks.
Ava Falduto, great defensively, for the Nittany Lions had four digs and fantastic dives to keep the ball alive. Penn State took the 25-15 win in the first set after a kill from Taylor Trammell.
The Tigers upped their game in the second set; taking a temporary 6-4 lead. Penn State found itself on the wrong end of several errors until Mendelson’s experience showed. She notched a few points to make the score 7 apiece.
Penn State went on an 8-0 run near the end of set two and finished it with an ace served by Camryn Hannah and a ruthless block by Trammel to make it 25-16.
Trammell was a star in the second set with six kills and seven attacks. Izzy Starck was also producing plays in the first two sets. She had 20 assists.
There was no stopping State. The Nittany Lions were 17-10 in the third set following back-to-back kills from Markley, and a 4-0 run.
While trailing, the Tigers’ Chaney still showcased a kill and Ace that fired up her team. They went on a 3-0 scoring run and cut the deficit to 18-13. Jordan Hopp put an end to any mystery and finished the third set with a kill.
Despite the loss, Chaney led the match in kills with 12. Anjelina Starck, Izzy’s older sister, was dominant in the third set. She tallied seven kills and 19 attacks. Izzy ended the match with 31 assists.
Penn State’s second match tested them. St. John’s beat Duke 3-1 to end up in the championship match. The first set was tight until Mruzik got her fifth kill to make it 19-15 and forced St. John’s timeout to take a timeout.
Erin Jones tried to battle it out with Penn State as she got her fifth kill to make it 24-19. A service error by the Red Storm led to a 25-19 win in the first set for the Nittany Lions.
The second set was the closest that Penn State had all day. Trammell got two straight blocks to start the Nittany Lions off strong.
St. John’s took the lead a few times in the second with kills by Ana Franca Benjamim and Jones. The blue and white came back though with a 5-0 scoring run with big plays by Izzy Stark, Jurevicius, and Falduto.
The score ended up being tied at 20 but Izzy Starck served two aces in a row to put the Nittany Lions up. The blue and white won the second set 25-22 after a service error by the Red Storm.
Penn State kept its energy up going 5-0 at the start of the third set. With smiles all around, Mruzik got her thirteenth kill to make it 14-9. Hannah finished the night with eight kills, lifting the Nittany Lions to their fourth sweep in a row with a final score of 25-15.
Mruzik finished with 16 kills while St. John’s Jones finished with 14 kills. Penn State also finished with 11 blocks compared to St. John’s five.
“The focus is to continue to get better every set we play, and you know I think a lot of us are doing that,” Penn State Head Coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley said.
Penn State travels to Pittsburgh on Wednesday for an intense matchup. Pitt is at the top of the leader board at No. 1 and Penn State is currently No. 3.
“Who’d have thought Pennsylvania would be one and three right now? I think it’s great for the game,” Schumacher-Cawley said. “I’m excited for that matchup. I’m excited for the team to compete.”
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