TAMPA, Fla. – Playing a second nationally-ranked opponent in as many nights, No. 8 Penn State women's volleyball finished off a tough weekend with a 3-1 (25-21, 20-25, 25-19, 25-16) loss to No. 20 Georgia Tech at USF's Yuengling Center.
The Nittany Lions dropped to 0-2 on the season as they wrapped up play in the Road 2 Tampa Bay Invitational. The Yellow Jackets improved to 2-0, adding to their win over USF on Friday night.
Taylor Trammell was named to the All-Tournament Team at the event after hitting .406 with 14 kills (1.75/set) and 12 blocks (1.50/set) over the two matches. The middle blocker was strong Saturday against Georgia Tech, hitting .464 with nine kills and seven blocks.
Penn State piled up blocks for the second-straight match, finishing with 17 just one night after totaling 15 in four sets against Florida. Allie Holland led the way with eight, including two solo blocks, while Mac Podraza matched Trammell with seven.
Jess Mruzik paced the Nittany Lions in kills with 16, giving her 31 on the weekend. Gillian Grimes was tops in digs with 13 to give her a total of 27 in the tournament. Maddy Bilinovic also reached double-digits with 12 digs.
Two Georgia Tech players recorded double-doubles in the win. Tamara Otene finished with 17 kills and 15 digs, while Bianca Bertolino had 10 kills and 14 digs.
Set 1
Larissa Mendes came out on fire with eight kills on .400 hitting to lead Georgia Tech to a 25-20 win in the opening set. Penn State led as late as 18-17 following a block by Holland and Podraza before the Yellow Jackets went on a 5-0 run to take a 22-18 lead. They later closed the set with a kill by Mendes.
Set 2
Seven blocks helped Penn State bounce back with 25-20 win in set two. Trammell, Podraza, Holland, and Alexa Markley chipped in with three block assists apiece. Mruzik hit .400 with four kills. This time it was the Nittany Lions that started to pull away with a late run, scoring five straight points to take a 19-16 lead. Mruzik had two kills during that stretch. The Nittany Lions later used a 4-0 run to go up 24-18 and eventually tied the match on a kill by Trammell.
Set 3
Mruzik went off for eight kills on .375 hitting in the third set, but it was Georgia Tech that took the 25-19 win. The Yellow Jackets never looked back after a 5-0 run gave them an 18-11 lead.
Set 4
Set four was Otene's time to shine. She helped Georgia Tech roll to a 25-16 win with her nine kills on .583 hitting. Otene had a kill to give the Yellow Jackets 4-3 lead and they never trailed again. Camryn Hannah entered late for Penn State and recorded her first kill as a Nittany Lion.
Career Highs
Mac Podraza – blocks (7)
Up Next
Penn State plays its home opener against No. 24 Western Kentucky on Friday at 7 p.m. as part of the Penn State Invitational. The Nittany Lions also play Colgate on Saturday at 2 p.m., and James Madison on Sunday at 2 p.m.
