UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Camryn Hannah recorded her 1,000th career kill while helping No. 13 Penn State Women's Volleyball cruise to a 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-17) win over visiting UMBC in a non-conference match Friday night at Rec Hall. It was the opening match of the Penn State Classic.
The Nittany Lions improved to 5-3 on the season, while the Retrievers, the three-time defending champions in the America East Conference, dropped to 5-4.
Hannah entered Friday's match with 999 career kills. Fans didn't have to wait long to see her 1,000th kill as it came on Penn State's second point of the match. Hannah is the second Nittany Lion to reach the career milestone this season, joining Jess Mruzik. Zoe Weatherington is just 16 away from becoming the third on the team to accomplish the feat this season.
With 12 kills on .381 hitting, Hannah was one of three Penn State players to reach double-digit kills while hitting better than .300. Mruzik hit .333 with 12 kills, while Alexa Markley totaled 10 kills on .308 hitting. Allie Holland made the most of her nine swings, finishing with five kills on .333 hitting in addition to a team-high six blocks. Mac Podraza guided the team to .351 hitting with her 35 assists and added seven digs.
Penn State ranked second in the nation in blocks/set entering the weekend and racked up 10 more in three sets against UMBC. Leading the way alongside Holland were Taylor Trammell and Hannah with four blocks apiece. If the ball did get past the front line, Cassie Kuerschen was there with her 11 digs. Gillian Grimes and Anjelina Starck contributed six digs apiece.
Kamani Conteh, a first-team All-America East selection last season, led the Retrievers with 10 kills on .250 hitting.
Penn State improved to 5-0 in the all-time series with UMBC and has won all 14 sets between the teams.
Set 1
Six Penn State players combined for 16 kills in a 25-17 win in the opening set. Markley had four, while Hannah and Mruzik were right behind her with three apiece. Podraza's 12 assists helped the team hit .364. Kuerschen led the defensive effort with five digs. UMBC scored the first two points of the match, but the Nittany Lions later used a 5-0 run to go up 9-5 and never trailed again. Podraza fueled the run with two kills, a block, and an assist.
Set 2
Hannah took over in set two with six kills on .455 hitting in Penn State's 25-19 win. Mruzik hit .556 with five kills and a pair of aces. The second set was the most competitive of the night as the Nittany Lions didn't start to pull away until using a 3-0 run to go up 16-12. They led 24-16 before the Retrievers stopped the first three chances at set point. Trammell and Hannah eventually teamed up for a set-clinching block.
Set 3
Markley needed just six swings for her four kills in the final set while helping Penn State clinch the match with a 25-17 win. The Nittany Lions never trailed in the set and led by as much as seven after a Mruzik kill made it 17-10. Fittingly, the match was put away with a Penn State block. This time it was Holland and Hannah.
Up Next
The Nittany Lions wrap up play at the Penn State Classic with a match against Seton Hall on Saturday at 4 p.m.
