LEXINGTON, Ky. – Taylor Trammell was nearly perfect while playing in her hometown as she led Penn State to a 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-21) sweep over Ball State on Saturday at Kentucky’s Memorial Coliseum. The senior middle blocker hit .917 with 11 kills and no errors on 12 attacks in the win, helping the Nittany Lions secure the title at the Kentucky Invitational.
Trammell was named the MVP of the invitational. Her big performance against Ball State came one night after she hit .435 with 12 kills and five blocks in a reverse sweep win over No. 9 Kentucky. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by teammates Camryn Hannah and Izzy Starck.
Jess Mruzik racked up 17 kills and was efficient in doing so with a .469 hitting percentage against Ball State. Maggie Mendelson joined Trammell to give Penn State a dynamic duo in the middle, hitting .474 with 10 kills and four blocks.
Penn State hit .369 as a team, doing so behind 43 assists from Starck. Hannah tallied nine kills, while Caroline Jurevicius chipped in with three.
Gillian Grimes was all over the place on defense for the Nittany Lions, totaling 15 digs for an average of 5.00 digs/set. She also added one of the team’s four aces. She was joined in both efforts by Ava Falduto with her seven digs and two aces.
Ball State put together a solid offensive effort with a .271 hitting night. The Cardinals are the first team to hit over .200 against Penn State this season. Aniya Kennedy led the way with 14 kills, while Carson Tyler was right behind her with 12.
Set 1
It was all Mruzik in set one with eight kills on .467 hitting in Penn State’s 25-22 win. Neither team led by more than two points until the Nittany Lions went on a 3-0 run to go up 24-21. Mruzik and Mendelson turned in back-to-back solo blocks to cap the run. It was Mruzik who came through with the kill for set point after receiving a set from Starck.
Set 2
Trammell was perfect on the attack with six kills on six swings to lead Penn State to a 25-21 win in set two. The Nittany Lions were unstoppable in the middle as Mendelson added three kills on her three attacks. It was again tied late as a block by Tyler for Ball State tied it at 21-all. Penn State closed with a 4-0 run that started with kills by Mruzik and Mendelson. Falduto followed with an ace, and the set ended on an attack error by the Cardinals.
Set 3
Trammell added four more kills on four swings, and Mendelson hit .625 with five kills as Penn State finished off the sweep with a 25-22 win. Starck tallied 16 assists in the final set. The Nittany Lions broke a 16-16 tie with a 3-0 run and led the rest of the way. The run included a block by Mruzik and Mendelson, another ace by Falduto, and a kill by Mendelson. Eventually it was Trammell who came through with the kill for match point in her hometown.
Career Highs
Maggie Mendelson – kills (10)
Up Next
Penn State hosts Duke, Princeton, and St. John’s for the Penn State Invitational at Rec Hall on Sept. 13-14. Friday’s match against Duke will air live on FS1 at 8:30 p.m.