Penn State got here into its invitational weekend at Rec Corridor Sept. 13-14 undefeated and left the court docket the identical method.
The expertise on the Penn State ladies’s volleyball staff, which is 8-0 on the season, is spectacular. They swept each video games – making it 4 in a row – and seventh total. Penn State received the invitational, which included St. John’s, Duke, and Princeton.
From veteran graduate pupil Jess Mruzik, who has over 1,500 kills in her faculty profession, to Izzy Starck, who has been named Large 10 freshman of the week for 2 consecutive weeks, everybody contributes. Not solely do they exude teamwork throughout a match, however they’ve constructed friendships each on and off the court docket.
“We simply mesh, and I feel we’re there for one another on a special stage, and all of it sort of begins off the court docket,” Nittany Lion Caroline Jurevicius mentioned in regards to the staff’s chemistry.
In its first match on Saturday, Penn State ran up the rating 4-0 instantly making it 7-2 in set one. Princeton needed to catch its breath, so the Tigers referred to as a timeout.
Izzy Starck, Mruzik, and Maggie Mendelson remained centered and unrelenting after the transient break. Penn State continued to its climb and made the rating 10-2.
Kamryn Chaney and Lucia Scalamandre labored in tandem to attempt to garner factors for the Tigers. Their efforts have been matched with a extra organized Penn State protection.
Mendelson’s title was heard all through the primary 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 primary set with 5 kills and three blocks.
Ava Falduto, nice defensively, for the Nittany Lions had 4 digs and unbelievable dives to maintain the ball alive. Penn State took the 25-15 win within the first set after a kill from Taylor Trammell.
The Tigers upped their sport within the second set; taking a short lived 6-4 lead. Penn State discovered itself on the fallacious finish of a number of errors till Mendelson’s expertise confirmed. She notched a number of factors to make the rating 7 apiece.
Penn State went on an 8-0 run close to the tip of set two and completed it with an ace served by Camryn Hannah and a ruthless block by Trammel to make it 25-16.
Trammell was a star within the second set with six kills and 7 assaults. Izzy Starck was additionally producing performs within the first two units. She had 20 assists.
There was no stopping State. The Nittany Lions have been 17-10 within the third set following back-to-back kills from Markley, and a 4-0 run.
Whereas trailing, the Tigers’ Chaney nonetheless showcased a kill and Ace that fired up her staff. They went on a 3-0 scoring run and lower the deficit to 18-13. Jordan Hopp put an finish to any thriller and completed the third set with a kill.
Regardless of the loss, Chaney led the match in kills with 12. Anjelina Starck, Izzy’s older sister, was dominant within the third set. She tallied seven kills and 19 assaults. Izzy ended the match with 31 assists.
Penn State’s second match examined them. St. John’s beat Duke 3-1 to finish up within the championship match. The primary set was tight till Mruzik obtained her fifth kill to make it 19-15 and compelled St. John’s timeout to take a timeout.
Erin Jones tried to battle it out with Penn State as she obtained her fifth kill to make it 24-19. A service error by the Purple Storm led to a 25-19 win within the first set for the Nittany Lions.
The second set was the closest that Penn State had all day. Trammell obtained two straight blocks to begin the Nittany Lions off robust.
St. John’s took the lead a number of instances within the second with kills by Ana Franca Benjamim and Jones. The blue and white got here again although with a 5-0 scoring run with massive performs by Izzy Stark, Jurevicius, and Falduto.
The rating ended up being tied at 20 however Izzy Starck served two aces in a row to place the Nittany Lions up. The blue and white received the second set 25-22 after a service error by the Purple Storm.
Penn State saved its power up going 5-0 at first of the third set. With smiles throughout, Mruzik obtained her thirteenth kill to make it 14-9. Hannah completed the evening with eight kills, lifting the Nittany Lions to their fourth sweep in a row with a closing rating of 25-15.
Mruzik completed with 16 kills whereas St. John’s Jones completed with 14 kills. Penn State additionally completed with 11 blocks in comparison with St. John’s 5.
“The main focus is to proceed to get higher each set we play, and you understand I feel lots of us are doing that,” Penn State Head Coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley mentioned.
Penn State travels to Pittsburgh on Wednesday for an intense matchup. Pitt is on the prime of the chief board at No. 1 and Penn State is at present No. 3.
“Who’d have thought Pennsylvania can be one and three proper now? I feel it’s nice for the sport,” Schumacher-Cawley mentioned. “I’m excited for that matchup. I’m excited for the staff to compete.”
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