UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- No. 4 Penn State Women's Volleyball opens Big Ten play when it travels to play No. 10 Purdue on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The top-10 matchup will air live on B1G Network with Connor Onion and former Nittany Lions setter Mac Podraza on the call.
Penn State, which went 10-1 in non-conference play, was picked third in the Big Ten Preseason Poll. Purdue went 9-2 against non-conference opponents and came in at fourth in the preseason poll.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Wednesday, Sept. 25 – 7 p.m.
#4 Penn State (10-1, 0-0 B1G) at #10 Purdue (9-2, 0-0 B1G) | Live Stats | B1G Network
SERIES HISTORY
• Penn State is 60-11 in the all-time series with Purdue. The teams first played in 1981.
• The Nittany Lions are 28-5 in road matches against the Boilermakers.
• Penn State is 2-2 against Purdue under head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, winning both matches in 2022 before dropping both matches in 2023.
• Jess Mruzik has averaged 4.59 kills/set and 2.03 digs/set in seven career matches against Purdue. She totaled 27 kills in each of her first two matches against the Boilermakers as a Nittany Lion.
SCOUTING PURDUE
• Purdue is ranked 10th in the nation and is 9-2 following a 3-0 win over Tulsa in its most recent match. The Boilermakers opened the season with eight straight wins before dropping back-to-back matches to No. 10 Kansas and No. 9 Creighton.
• The Boilermakers were picked fourth in the Big Ten Preseason Poll. Sophomore outside hitter Chloe Chicoine and junior outside hitter Eva Hudson were voted Preseason All-Big Ten.
• Hudson was a second-team All-America selection last season, while Chicoine made the third team.
LAST TIME OUT
• The Nittany Lions won the Penn State Classic with wins over James Madison (3-0) and Yale (3-1), both of which played in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
• Jess Mruzik was named the MVP of the event after hitting .333 while averaging 4.67 kills, 2.33 digs, and 1.17 blocks per set. She had 13 kills against the Dukes and 15 while playing just three of the four sets against the Bulldogs.
• Gillian Grimes made the All-Tournament Team after averaging 5.71 digs/set. She had 13 against James Madison before racking up an impressive 27 in four sets against Yale.
• Izzy Starck made the All-Tournament Team after averaging 11.71 assists/set and leading the team to .351 hitting. She added 1.29 kills and 2.43 digs per set.
STREAKS TO WATCH
Camryn Hannah
· 3 straight matches with double-digit kills
Team
· 6 straight Big Ten regular season wins
NATIONAL RANKING STREAK
• Penn State was ranked No. 4 in the most recent AVCA Coaches Poll.
• The Nittany Lions have been ranked in 539 consecutive AVCA Coaches Polls, which dates back to the final poll of the 1988 season.
• After not being ranked in the top five since 2019, Penn State has spent each of the past three weeks in the top five of the rankings.
AGAINST THE #10 TEAM
• Penn State is 11-10 all-time against opponents that were ranked No. 10 in the nation at the time of the match.
• Penn State has four top-10 wins within the last year, beating No. 9 Minnesota and No. 2 Wisconsin last season and No. 4 Louisville and No. 9 Kentucky this season. The wins over Minnesota and Kentucky were on the road.
RANKED WINS THIS SEASON
• As of Monday, Sept. 23, Penn State is one of just six teams in the country with at least three wins over ranked teams this season. The others are Creighton, Louisville, Nebraska, Pitt, and Standord.
MULTIPLE RANKED WINS
Creighton (3) - #20 USC, #6 Purdue, #10 Kansas
Louisville (3) - #3 Wisconsin, #15 Tennessee, #9 Creighton
Nebraska (5) - #9 Kentucky, #9 Creighton, #14 Arizona State, #2 Stanford, #4 Louisville
Penn State (3) - #15 Tennessee, #4 Louisville, #9 Kentucky
Pitt (3) - #10 Oregon, #23 USC, #3 Penn State
Stanford (5) - #18 Minnesota, #3 Wisconsin, #24 Marquette, #6 Texas, #11 Kentucky
UP NEXT
• Up next for the Nittany Lions is a Big Ten match against Michigan State on Sunday at Rec Hall.
• The Spartans went 7-4 in non-conference play, highlighted by wins over Colorado State and Western Kentucky.