UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Jess Mruzik led all players with 29 kills, and Maggie Mendelson tallied a career-high 14 kills to lead No. 4 Penn State to a 3-1 (23-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-23) win over Michigan State in Big Ten women’s volleyball action Sunday at Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions moved their record to 12-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten. They improved upon two winning streaks, posting their 11th-straight victory at Rec Hall and their eighth-consecutive win in Big Ten regular season matches. Both streaks date back to last season.
Mruzik’s 29 kills came with an impressive .356 hitting percentage. She tacked on 10 digs to record her first double-double of the season. Mendelson hit .480 while piling up her 14 kills. Taylor Trammell was also efficient, hitting .471 with 10 kills. Camryn Hannah joined the trio in double-digits with her 11 kills.
Penn State held Michigan State to .176 hitting thanks to nine blocks and three players reaching double-figures in digs. Trammell fueled the effort at the net with six blocks, while Gillian Grimes led all players with 21 digs, including 18 through the first three sets alone. Ava Falduto chipped in with 12 digs.
Izzy Starck put up huge numbers once again with 55 assists, giving her 13.75 assists/set for the match. She added eight digs and two blocks.
The Nittany Lions won the serve-receive battle with five aces compared to three by the Spartans. Quinn Menger was the main reason for that with her career-high three aces. Falduto and Grimes added one apiece.
Taylor Preston was solid in a losing effort for Michigan State, hitting .317 with 18 kills and seven digs. The Spartans saw their record dip to 7-6 overall and 0-2 in the conference.
Set 1
Penn State hit just .109 as Michigan State took the first set 25-23. Grimes did her best to give the Nittany Lions a chance, totaling 11 digs. Only one Michigan State player had more digs than that in the entire match. The Nittany Lions trailed 22-18 before getting within one with a 3-0 run that included a kill by Mendelson. They got within one again at 23-22 and 24-23 thanks to kills by Mruzik. Preston then came through with a kill to give Spartans the set.
Set 2
Mruzik hit .545 with seven kills to lead Penn State to a 25-17 win in set two. Trammell was perfect with four kills on four attacks, while Mendelson needed just five swings to get her four kills. The team hit .464 behind 15 assists from Starck. The Nittany Lions never trailed in the set.
Set 3
Mruzik went off for eight more kills on .538 hitting, and Starck added 15 more assists as Penn State won the third set 25-21. Mendelson had five kills on .375 hitting. The Nittany Lions again never trailed but found themselves up by just two at 23-21 before scoring the final two points. The first came on a kill by Mruzik, while set point was scored on a kill by Mendelson.
Set 4
Starck tacked on 17 more assists in the final set as Penn State closed the match with a 25-23 win. Mruzik had seven kills, while Hannah tallied five. Menger served for two aces at an important time, recording them back-to-back to tie the score at 8-8. The teams battled close the rest of the way with the score being tied at 22-22 and again at 23-23. Starck found Mruzik for a kill to make it 24-23 and then set Mendelson for match point.
Career Highs
Maggie Mendelson – kills (14)
Quinn Menger – aces (3)
Izzy Starck – assists (55)
Up Next
No. 4 Penn State hosts a pair of Big Ten opponents for B1G Network matches next week. The Nittany Lions welcome Maryland on Thursday at 6 p.m., and then host No. 11 Oregon on Friday at 7 p.m.