UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Jess Mruzik put the finishing touches on a dominant weekend with 26 kills on .339 hitting in a 3-1 (25-18, 20-25, 25-16, 25-16) win over James Madison on Sunday at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions upped their record to 3-2 with three wins at the Penn State Invitational, while the Dukes fell to 4-2.
For the weekend, Mruzik hit .345 with 53 kills, 14 digs (1.40/set), eight blocks and three aces in wins over Colgate, No. 22 Western Kentucky, and James Madison. She eclipsed 1,000 career kills in the opening set against Colgate on Saturday.
Allie Holland hit .500 with eight kills, five digs and two blocks in the win over James Madison. Zoe Weatherington also had eight kills, while Taylor Trammell tallied six in addition to five blocks. Mac Podraza racked up 39 assists.
Maddy Bilinovic continued her solid play in the back row with a team-high 13 digs. Cassie Kuerschen was next behind her with nine digs, while Podraza and Gillian Grimes had six apiece.
Miette Veldman led James Madison with 15 kills. The Dukes, the defending champions in the Sun Belt Conference, were coming off a 3-0 win over No. 22 Western Kentucky the previous night.
Set 1
James Madison started fast with a 14-11 lead before Penn State later used a 4-0 run to take an 18-16 advantage. An ace by Grimes tied it at 16-all. Holland followed with a pair of kills to give the Nittany Lions a two-point lead. Following a James Madison point, Penn State pulled away for good with a 6-0 run. The run was started with a kill by Mruzik. The next five points were scored on attack errors by the Dukes. Trammell went on to clinch the set with a kill off a set from Podraza. Holland finished the first set with four kills on six swings.
Set 2
A furious comeback attempt by Penn State came up short in a 25-22 loss in the second set. James Madison led by as much as 11 at 17-6. The Nittany Lions scored 13 of the next 15 points to tie the score at 19-19. Following a service error that pulled Penn State back within one at 21-20, the Dukes scored the final four points to tie the match.
Set 3
No comeback was needed for Penn State in the third set as it started with a 3-0 run and never trailed the rest of the way. Mruzik had six kills in the set. Holland had three on four swings.
Set 4
The fourth set was never in doubt as Penn State rolled to a 7-1 lead and again never trailed. Mruzik had four kills on the Nittany Lions' first seven points and finished with 10 while not recording an error on 16 attacks in the set. Weatherington had two kills on her only two swings.
Up Next
Penn State heads to Philadelphia to take on Temple on Friday at 7 p.m., before taking off for a match at No. 3 Louisville on Sunday at 1 p.m.
