UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 3 Penn State Women’s Volleyball stayed unbeaten at 7-0 on the season with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-21) win over Princeton in non-conference action Saturday morning at Rec Hall.
The match was the second for the Nittany Lions at the Penn State Invitational. They opened the event with a 3-0 sweep over Duke on Friday night and close it with a match against St. John’s tonight at 6:30 p.m.
Ten different Penn State players combined for the team’s 44 kills on .327 hitting. Maggie Mendelson was tops on the team with nine. Anjelina Starck was next with seven, while Taylor Trammell and Alexa Markley were both highly efficient, putting up identical numbers with six kills and no errors on seven attacks.
Izzy Starck totaled 31 assists, while Quinn Menger saw time in the third set and contributed five. The duo led the team to .327 hitting. Jocelyn Nathan also came in for the third set and recorded her fifth ace of the season.
Penn State racked up 10 blocks while holding Princeton to .092 hitting. Mendelson and Izzy Starck were in on six blocks apiece.
Kamryn Chaney put together a solid effort for Princeton as she led all players with 12 kills. She also led all players with three aces.
Set 1
Mendelson had five kills and three blocks, and Trammell had three kills on three swings as Penn State opened the match with a 25-15 win in set one. The Nittany Lions wasted little time, taking a 10-2 lead with a 7-0 run. They had three blocks during the run, the first of which was a solo stuff by Jess Mruzik. The next two were both by Mendelson and Izzy Starck. The Nittany Lions went on to lead by as much as 11 at 21-10 following a kill by Mendelson.
Set 2
Trammell and Anjelina Starck each had three kills to lead Penn State to a 25-16 win in the second set. The Nittany Lions trailed 7-5 before going on a 5-0 run that was fueled by Mendelson. She had a kill and two blocks during that stretch. The score was still close at 17-16, but Penn State closed with a fury, ending the set on an 8-0 run. Trammell and Jurevicius each had two kills during the run, while Camryn Hannah chipped in with an ace. Trammell capped the run with a block alongside Anjelina Starck.
Set 3
Markley was on fire in set three with six kills on seven swings, leading Penn State to a 25-21 win. The Nittany Lions jumped out to a 5-1 advantage and never relinquished the lead.
Career Highs
Quinn Menger – assists (5)
Izzy Starck – blocks (6)