LAWRENCE, Kan. – Maddy Bilinovic came through in the clutch with an ace to lead No. 14 Penn State Women's Volleyball to a 3-2 (25-20, 22-25, 25-21, 13-25, 15-13) road win over No. 15 Kansas in the NCAA Second Round on Friday night at Horesji Family Arena.
Penn State, which improved to 23-8 overall, was the higher-ranked team in the AVCA Coaches Poll but played on the road as the fifth-seeded team compared to Kansas's four seed. The Nittany Lions now make the trip to Madison for the NCAA Regional Semifinal for the second-straight year. The Jayhawks closed the season at 24-6.
The Nittany Lions put together a solid defensive effort with 71 digs, including sixty through the first three sets alone. Bilinovic led a group of four players in double-digits with her 16 digs. Gillian Grimes was right behind her with 14, while Anjelina Starck and Jess Mruzik contributed 11 and 10, respectively. Middle blocker Allie Holland finished with a career-high seven.
The Penn State block was also strong as it finished with 11 in the match. Holland racked up eight blocks, while Camryn Hannah finished with four.
Mac Podraza had 52 assists and led Penn State to .292 hitting. Mruzik recorded her 10th double-double with a team-high 21 kills. Hannah tallied 17 and did it on an impressive .342 hitting. The two middles were also efficient as Taylor Trammell hit .471 with 10 kills and Holland hit .533 with eight kills. Zoe Weatherington reached double-digits with her 10 kills.
Bilinovic's ace on match point was her third of the night. Podraza and Hannah chipped in with two apiece.
Penn State needed the total team effort to overcome an outstanding performance from the Jayhawks' Reagan Cooper. She carried the team's attack with 29 kills on .464 hitting. The team hit .294 behind 54 assists from Camryn Turner.
Set 1
Mruzik, Weatherington, and Holland all had four kills and Penn State hit .394 as it started strong with a 25-20 win in the first set. Podraza quarterbacked the offense with her 13 assists. The Nittany Lions broke a 10-10 tie with a 6-0 run fueled by Mruzik and Hannah. Mruzik had three kills and a solo block, while Hannah had an ace and a kill during that stretch. Kansas fought back to get as close as two at 20-18, but a kill by Holland ended its 3-0 run. Set point was eventually scored on a kill by Mruzik.
Set 2
Hannah had four kills on four swings in the second set, but it wasn't enough as Kansas tied the match with a 25-22 win. The Jayhawks pulled away with a 4-0 run that put them up 18-13. Penn State got within two at 20-18 and 24-22. Mykayla Myers had the set-ending kill.
Set 3
Mruzik hit .368 with eight kills to lead Penn State to a 25-21 win in the third set. Podraza matched her first-set total with another 13 assists as the Nittany Lions hit .302. The Nittany Lions led 21-20 before closing the set with a 4-0 run. Holland started the run with a kill, while Podraza and Trammell followed with a block. Mruzik finished it off with back-to-back kills.
Set 4
The fourth set was all Kansas as it rolled to a 25-13 win. Cooper went off with seven kills on .500 hitting. The score was tied at 10-10 before the Jayhawks scored 15 of the final 18 points.
Set 5
Penn State won the fifth set 15-13 on Bilinovic's ace but not before the teams battled to 11 ties and four lead changes. Both teams were perfect on their first three swings while fighting to a 3-3 tie. The Nittany Lions turned to Trammell early as she scored the team's second, third and fourth points with kills to put them up one at 4-3. But it was Kansas that held an 8-7 lead when the teams switched sides. The Jayhawks upped that lead to two at 11-9 following a kill by Cooper. Penn State responded with a 3-0 run that included back-to-back kills by Weatherington and Hannah and a bad set by the Jayhawks. The teams were eventually knotted at 13-13. Hannah set the stage for Bilinovic with a kill. Bilinovic then did the rest with her ace.
Career Highs
Allie Holland – digs (7)
Up Next
Penn State travels to Madison to take on Wisconsin in the Regional Semifinal on Thursday. The Badgers, who are the one seed in the region, advanced with wins over Jackson State and Miami. The Nittany Lions beat the Badgers 3-1 at Rec Hall during the regular season.
