UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- No. 3 Penn State Women's Volleyball goes on the road for a pair of Big Ten matches this week. The Nittany Lions play Michigan State for the second time this season when they travel to East Lansing for a match on Friday at 6 p.m. They then make the trip to Bloomington to play Indiana on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both matches will stream on B1G+.
The Nittany Lions enter at 14-1 overall and join Nebraska as one of two unbeaten teams in the Big Ten at 4-0 thanks to wins over Michigan State, No. 10 Purdue, Maryland, and No. 11 Oregon.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Friday, Oct. 11 – 6 p.m. ET
#3 Penn State (14-1, 4-0 B1G) at Michigan State (7-8, 0-4 B1G) | Live Stats | B1G+
Sunday, Oct. 13 – 1 p.m. ET
#3 Penn State (14-1, 4-0 B1G) at Indiana (9-5, 2-2 B1G) | Live Stats | B1G+
SERIES HISTORY - MICHIGAN STATE
• Penn State is 55-8 in the all-time series with Michigan State. The teams first played in 1985.
• The Nittany Lions have won 18 of the past 19 matches in the series, with the lone loss during that stretch coming in East Lansing last season.
• The Nittany Lions are 25-5 against the Spartans in East Lansing.
• Penn State is 3-1 against Michigan State under head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley.
• Jess Mruzik has averaged 4.07 kills/set and 2.07 digs/set in eight career matches against Michigan State. In three career matches against the Spartans as a Nittany Lion, she has hit .324 while averaging 5.15 kills/set and 1.62 digs/set.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
• Michigan State is 7-8 overall and 0-4 in the Big Ten following five straight losses to North Carolina, Michigan, Penn State, Indiana, and Purdue.
• Prior to those losses, the Spartans had a three-match winning streak, beating Eastern Michigan, Purdue Fort Wayne, and Duke.
• Michigan State was picked 12th in the Big Ten Preseason Poll.
SERIES HISTORY - INDIANA
• Penn State is 61-1 in the all-time series with Indiana. The teams first played in 1982.
• The Nittany Lions have won 21 straight matches in the series, with the last loss coming in Bloomington in 2010. They won the most recent matchup in five sets last season at Rec Hall.
• Penn State is 28-1 against Indiana in Bloomington.
• Jess Mruzik has averaged 3.69 kills/set and 2.13 digs/set in four career matches against the Hoosiers. Camryn Hannah hit .324 with 15 kills and five blocks in her first-ever match against them last season.
SCOUTING INDIANA
• Indiana is 9-5 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten following wins over Michigan State and Ohio State.
• The Hoosiers best win in non-conference play came via a 3-1 score over Notre Dame.
• Indiana was picked 10th in the Big Ten Preseason Poll. Senior setter Camryn Haworth was named Preseason All-Big Ten.
• Haworth was an AVCA honorable mention All-American last season.
LAST TIME OUT
• Penn State is coming off a pair of wins over Big Ten opponents at Rec Hall.
• Jess Mruzik recorded a double-double with 17 kills on .313 hitting, 14 digs and three aces in a 3-1 win over Maryland.
• Mruzik followed that with 16 kills on .353 hitting, eight digs, and three solo blocks in a sweep of No. 11 Oregon.
B!G WINNING STREAK
• The Nittany Lions take a 10-match Big Ten regular season winning streak into the weekend. Their last regular season loss in conference play came to Purdue on Nov. 5, 2023. It is the longest active streak of any Big Ten team.
STREAKS TO WATCH
Ava Falduto
· 3 straight matches with an ace
Gillian Grimes
· 3 straight matches with double-digit digs
Jess Mruzik
· 6 straight matches with double-digit kills
Team
· 13 straight wins at Rec Hall
· 10 straight Big Ten regular season wins
MILESTONES
• Jess Mruzik recorded her 1,000th career kill during the first set of a 3-0 home win over Colgate on Sept. 2, 2023. She enters the weekend with 1,671 career kills and 984 digs.
• Camryn Hannah recorded her 1,000th career kill during the first set of a 3-0 home win over UMBC on Sept. 15, 2023. She enters the weekend with 1,458 career kills.
• Taylor Trammell recorded her 500th career block in a home win over Maryland on Oct. 3, 2024. She enters the weekend with 504 career blocks.
HOLD THEM UNDER .200
• Penn State has held 12 of its 15 opponents under .200 hitting this season. That includes all five wins over nationally-ranked opponents.
• The Nittany Lions’ five wins over nationally-ranked opponents - No. 4 Louisville, No. 9 Kentucky, No. 10 Purdue, No. 11 Oregon, and No. 15 Tennessee - the teams combined to hit an average of .144.
UP NEXT
• No. 3 Penn State heads to Columbus next week to play Ohio State on Friday at 8 p.m. The Nittany Lions then return to Rec Hall to host No. 14 Minnesota on Sunday at 2 p.m.
• The Buckeyes are 7-7 overall and 0-4 in the Big Ten following four straight losses to No. 20 USC, UCLA, No. 11 Oregon, and Indiana.
• The Gophers are 9-5 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten following a 3-1 loss at No. 20 USC.