UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Women’s Volleyball graduate student Jess Mruzik was a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team, as announced by the conference office on Thursday. Additionally, the Nittany Lions were picked to finish third in the 18-team conference.
Both the Preseason All-Big Ten Team and the Preseason Poll were determined by a vote of the league’s 18 head coaches.
Mruzik landed a spot on the Preseason All-Big Ten Team for the third-consecutive year. She is one of just three unanimous selections this season, joining Nebraska’s Merritt Beason and Lexi Rodriguez.
The outside hitter made the most of her first year in Happy Valley last season, etching her name in the program's record books in multiple categories related to the 25-point rally scoring era (2008-present). Her numbers put her second in kills/set (4.40), second in points/set (4.94), third in kills (519), and third in points (583.5). She was one of the most active players in the country as a six-rotation player, breaking the program record for attacks during the modern scoring era with 1,360 while adding 270 digs, 61 blocks, and 24 aces.
Mruzik finished with double-digit kills in 28 of the team's 32 matches, including a season-high 27 in both matches against Purdue. She totaled 20 or more kills nine times. Five of those matches went just four sets. Mruzik recorded 11 double-doubles in kills and digs, including 16 kills and 16 digs in a four-set win over No. 2 Wisconsin at Rec Hall. Following the regular season, she was voted first-team All-Big Ten for the third time in her career.
Only Nebraska and Wisconsin were picked ahead of Penn State in the Preseason Coaches Poll. Rounding out the top five behind the Nittany Lions were Purdue and Minnesota. Three of the conference’s four newcomers this year – Oregon, USC, and UCLA – were picked sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively. The other, Washington, came in at 13th.
Penn State opens the season against Tennessee on Friday, Aug. 30, before heading to play Temple on Sunday, Sept. 1. The Nittany Lions’ home opener is against Louisville on Tuesday, Sept. 3.