UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 4 Penn State Women’s Volleyball celebrated Senior Day with a 3-1 win over Big Ten foe Washington Sunday afternoon at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions upped their record to 27-2 overall and 17-1 in the conference while remaining unbeaten with a 15-0 mark at home.
Camryn Hannah had a huge match on a day where all five seniors were in the starting lineup. She hit .405 with 19 kills and had one of the team’s seven aces. She was joined in double-digits by fellow senior Jess Mruzik with 12 kills. Mruzik added a pair of aces, sharing the team lead on the day with senior Quinn Menger. Over the past four matches, Menger has tallied 12 aces. Rounding out the senior contingent were Taylor Trammell with five kills and three blocks, and Anjelina Starck with four digs and a block.
Freshman Izzy Starck, who joined her sister Anjelina for the Senior Day ceremony following the match, tallied 41 assists and just missed a double-double while adding nine digs, six kills, and four blocks. Caroline Jurevicius had eight kills, while Maggie Mendelson finished with seven in addition to her team-high six blocks that helped hold Washington to .124 hitting.
Gillian Grimes also contributed to the Huskies’ low hitting percentage as she led all players with 17 digs and had one ace. Ava Falduto tallied five digs and one ace, while Jocelyn Nathan did her part with three digs.
Washington, which dropped to 19-9 overall and 9-9 in the Big Ten, had a trio of players with double-digit kills. Kierstyn Barton led the way with 11, while Emoni Bush and Kiune Fletcher finished with 10 apiece.
Penn State improved to 4-2 in the all-times series with Washington. It was the first-ever Big Ten meeting between the teams and the first time they met at Rec Hall since 1995.
Set 1
Seven different Washington players combined for its 14 kills as it took the opening set 29-27. The Huskies controlled nearly the entire set and led 24-21 before Penn State went on a 3-0 run to tie it up. The Nittany Lions later took their first lead of the set at 27-26 following a block by Trammell and Anjelina Starck. Washington responded with a 3-0 run that was capped by a kill from Audra Wilmes to close the set.
Set 2
It was all Penn State in set two as it held Washington to -.094 hitting and cruised to a 25-9 win. Hannah and Mruzik led the way with four kills apiece, while Menger had a pair of aces during a 6-0 run to close the set.
Set 3
Penn State battled back from a nine-point deficit to get a 25-22 win in the third set. Washington jumped out to a 5-0 lead and got it as high as nine at 12-3. The Nittany Lions started their comeback with a 4-0 run to make it 12-7. Hannah and Izzy Starck traded kills during that stretch. They later used a 5-0 run to get within one at 16-15. Hannah had the first three kills of that run, while Mruzik had the final two. Penn State tied the match at 17-all with an ace by Grimes and took its first lead of the set at 19-18 on an attack error by Washington. Errors hurt the Huskies late in the set as one on a serve was followed by one on an attack to put the Nittany Lions up 24-21. Following a Washington kill, Hannah came through with her eighth kill to clinch the set. Those eight kills came on .667 hitting.
Set 4
Six Penn State players combined for 12 kills as it took set four 25-19. Mendelson led the way with three kills on .750 hitting and was in on both of the team’s blocks. Hannah and Mruzik each had an ace. The score was tied as late as 15-15, and Penn State led by just two at 21-19 before scoring the final four points. Starck and Mendelson started the final run with a block, which was followed by a Mruzik ace. Washington called a timeout only to see Hannah come out of the break with her 19th kill of the night. The match ended on an attack error by the Huskies.
Up Next
Penn State goes on the road to play Rutgers on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Scarlet Knights are 6-23 overall and 1-17 in the Big Ten following a 3-1 win over Northwestern on Saturday.