TAMPA, Fla. – No. 8 Penn State women's volleyball came out fast with a convincing win in the first set but came up short in the match in a 3-1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-17, 26-24) loss to No. 11 Florida in front of more than 6,000 fans Friday at the Tampa Bay Lightning's Amalie Arena.
The Nittany Lions' season opener was a part of the Road 2 Tampa Bay Invitational, which brought four teams to the city that will host this year's National Championship. Penn State continues play in the event with a match against No. 20 Georgia Tech on Saturday at USF's Yuengling Center.
Led by 10 blocks from Allie Holland, Penn State racked up 15 blocks in a losing effort. Zoe Weatherington added seven in addition to her eight kills. Holland tacked on six kills and a pair of aces.
Jess Mruzik recorded a double-double in her Penn State debut, finishing with a team-high 15 kills while matching Gillian Grimes with a team-high 14 digs. Anjelina Starck was next with nine kills, while Taylor Trammell had five kills on .500 hitting and chipped in with five blocks. Setter Mac Podraza also made her debut for the Nittany Lions and tallied 39 assists.
Florida was paced by Kennedy Martin with 18 kills, 11 digs, and five blocks. Alexis Stucky, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Year, piled up 55 assists in addition to seven digs and three aces.
Set 1
Weatherington started strong with five kills on .375 hitting to lead Penn State to a 25-18 win in the opening set. The Nittany Lions pulled away early with a 6-0 run to go up 10-4. Mruzik had three aces during that stretch, while Trammell and Weatherington each had a kill. Not long after, Penn State put together a 6-0 run to widen its lead to 16-7. That was fueled by Holland as she recorded a pair of solo blocks and teamed with Weatherington on another. It was Weatherington who eventually scored her team's final two points on kills to give them a 1-0 lead in the match.
Set 2
The second set was closely contested as Penn State battled back from a 15-10 deficit to tie the score at 20-20 with an ace by Holland. The Nittany Lions tied it at 22-22 with a block by Weatherington and Trammell and again at 23-23 with a kill by Weatherington. Kira Hutson helped Florida take the set and tie the match with a kill and then a block in which she teamed with Anna Dixon.
Set 3
The momentum from the end of the second set carried over to the third as Florida raced out to a 5-0 lead and forced an early Penn State timeout. The Nittany Lions only got as close as three the rest of the way before the Gators took the set with a 25-17 score. Mruzik had six kills on .364 hitting, but Florida countered with seven kills on .700 hitting from Martin.
Set 4
It looked like the season opener between two nationally-ranked teams was going five sets as Penn State held a 24-21 lead in the fourth set, but Florida closed with a 5-0 run to get the 26-24 set win and a 3-1 victory in the match. Sofia Victoria came through in the clutch for the Gators with the set-tying and go-ahead kills. The final point of the match came on a Penn State attack error.
Career Highs
Gillian Grimes – digs (14)
Allie Holland – blocks (10)
Up Next
Penn State plays No. 20 Georgia Tech on Saturday at 6 p.m. at USF's Yuengling Center. The Yellow Jackets opened the season with a 3-0 win over USF on Friday at Amalie Arena.