COLLEGE PARK, Md. – No. 14 Penn State Women's Volleyball racked up 14 aces and hit .365 as a team in a 3-0 (25-20, 25-9, 25-12) sweep over Maryland in a Big Ten match Wednesday night at the XFINITY Center Pavilion.
The Nittany Lions upped their winning streak to five matches while improving to 20-8 overall and 14-5 in the Big Ten. They have won at least 20 matches in all but two seasons in program history. The only seasons the team did not reach that win total was in the inaugural season in which it only played 20 matches total and the 2020-21 season in which only 16 matches were played.
Camryn Hannah paced Penn State on the attack and at the service line in the blowout win over the Terrapins. She hit .682 with 15 kills and no errors on her 22 swings and finished with a career-high five aces. Numerous players joined Hannah on the ace parade, including Maddy Bilinovic and Jess Mruzik with three apiece. Gillian Grimes had two, while Jocelyn Nathan chipped in with one.
Mac Podraza recorded her 10th double-double of the season with 29 assists and 12 digs. Zoe Weatherington helped with the efficient attack, hitting .467 with eight kills.
Gillian Grimes led the defensive effort with a match-high 13 digs, while Mruzik was next with eight. Allie Holland did her part in the middle with four blocks.
Samantha Schnitta and Erin Morrissey paced Maryland with seven kills apiece. The Terrapins dropped to 16-15 overall and 6-13 in the Big Ten.
Set 1
The opening set was by far the most competitive of the night as Penn State didn't pull away until going on a 5-0 run that put it up 15-10. Maryland got as close as three numerous times, but Weatherington eventually closed the set with a kill to give the Nittany Lions the five-point win. Weatherington hit .667 with six kills in the set, while Hannah had four kills on .571 hitting. Bilinovic and Grimes contributed four digs apiece.
Set 2
Penn State broke a 4-4 tie with a 6-0 run and cruised to a 25-9 win in set two. Hannah needed just six swings to get to five kills in the set. Taylor Trammell, Mruzik, Weatherington, and Holland had two kills apiece. The Nittany Lions hit .600 behind nine assists from Podraza. It was the third time this season Penn State allowed just nine points in a full set. The other two times came against Temple and Indiana.
Set 3
Hannah added six more kills on .667 hitting as Penn State rolled to a 25-12 win in the final set. Podraza had 10 assists while leading the Nittany Lions to .345 hitting. It was a blowout from the start as they opened with a 5-0 run and then added a 6-0 run to go up 11-1. Holland eventually recorded the final point of the match with a kill.
Career Highs
Camryn Hannah – aces (5)
Jocelyn Nathan – aces (1)
Up Next
Penn State travels to Columbus to take on Ohio State on Friday at 7 p.m.
