UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 15 Penn State Women's Volleyball hits the road for a pair of Big Ten matches this weekend. The Nittany Lions head to Champaign to take on Illinois on Friday at 9 p.m. ET, and then make the trip to Minneapolis to play No. 13 Minnesota on Saturday at 9 p.m. ET. Both matches will air on B1G Network.
Friday, Sept. 29
9 p.m. ET | #15 Penn State (8-3, 2-0 B1G) at Illinois (6-6, 1-1 B1G) | Live Stats | B1G Network
Saturday, Sept. 30
9 p.m. ET | #15 Penn State (8-3, 2-0 B1G) at #13 Minnesota (5-5, 1-1 B1G) | Live Stats | B1G Network
B1G NOTES
• Penn State is 626-135-1 all-time against current members of the Big Ten. The team's record in actual Big Ten regular season play is 541-95.
• The Nittany Lions are 326-35 all-time at Rec Hall against current members of the Big Ten.
• Penn State has won 17 Big Ten titles. Wisconsin has the second most Big Ten championships with nine.
• The Nittany Lions' 94 All-Big Ten selections are the most of any team in the conference. Minnesota is second with 74.
SERIES HISTORY - ILLINOIS
• Penn State is 50-13 in the all-time series with Illinois. The teams first played in 1981.
• The Nittany Lions have won five of the past seven matches in the series since 2019. The teams split last season's series, with the Nittany Lions winning 3-0 at Rec Hall and the Illini winning 3-1 at Huff Hall.
• Penn State is 20-9 in road matches against Illinois.
• Numerous current Nittany Lions have had success against Illinois. Jess Mruzik averaged 4.42 kills/set and 2.58 digs/set while hitting .268 in three career matches against the Illini. Alexa Markley has averaged 3.43 kills/set while hitting .340 in two matches. Allie Holland has hit .363 while averaging 1.91 kills/set and 1.09 blocks/set in three matches. Maddy Bilinovic has averaged 3.22 digs/set in five matches.
SERIES HISTORY - MINNESOTA
• Penn State is 50-15 in the all-time series with Minnesota. The teams first played in 1983.
• The Nittany Lions have won two of the past three matches in the series, including a 3-1 win against the ninth-ranked Golden Gophers last season at Rec Hall. Alexa Markley hit .321 with 11 kills in that match.
• Penn State is 21-10 in road matches against Minnesota.
• Allie Holland has hit .358 while averaging 2.18 kills/set and 1.55 blocks/set in three career matches against Minnesota. Jess Mruzik has averaged 3.56 kills/set and 2.69 digs/set in four matches.
LAST TIME OUT
• Penn State is coming off a 3-0 sweep over Northwestern on Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Nittany Lions improved to 8-3 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten with their fourth-straight win.
• The Nittany Lions hit .453 thanks to 16 kills on .750 hitting by Camryn Hannah and 18 kills on .517 hitting from Jess Mruzik. Mac Podraza guided the offense with 36 assists just one match after racking up 45 in a three-set win over Rutgers.
CAREER HIGHS SET LAST WEEK
Camryn Hannah - hitting % (.750) at Northwestern
STREAKS TO WATCH
Penn State
· 4 straight wins
Gillian Grimes
· 3 straight matches with double-digit digs
Jess Mruzik
· 5 straight matches with double-digit kills
Mac Podraza
· 3 straight matches with 10.0 assists/set or better
SUCCESS AT MATURI PAVILION
• Penn State has seen success recently at Maturi Pavilion with three-straight wins, all of which came against nationally-ranked opponents. The Nittany Lions took down No. 12 Minnesota with a 3-0 sweep in 2021. They added 3-2 wins over No. 11 Stanford and No. 18 Oregon at last year's B1G/Pac-12 Challenge.
Penn State's Last Three Matches at Maturi Pavilion
2021 - #14 Penn State 3, #12 Minnesota 0
2022 - #20 Penn State 3, #11 Stanford 2
2022 - #20 Penn State 3, #18 Oregon 2
AGAINST THE #13 TEAM
• Penn State is 4-6 all-time against opponents that are ranked No. 13 in the nation at the time of the match.
UP NEXT
• Penn State hosts Indiana and Ohio State for Alumni Weekend on Oct. 6-7. The match against the Hoosiers is scheduled for 7 p.m., while the contest with the Buckeyes is set for 6:30 p.m.
