EAST LANSING, Mich. – No. 3 Penn State Women’s Volleyball remained unbeaten in the Big Ten with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-16) road sweep over Michigan State on Friday night at the Breslin Center. The Nittany Lions moved to 15-1 overall and 5-0 in the Big Ten with their seventh-straight win, while the Spartans dropped to 7-9 overall and 0-5 in the conference following their sixth-straight loss.
Jess Mruzik recorded her third double-double of the season as she led all players with 14 kills and added 10 digs. Camryn Hannah joined her in double-digits with 12 kills. Caroline Jurevicius and Taylor Trammell chipped in with seven and six kills, respectively. Izzy Starck tallied 32 assists as the Nittany Lions hit .289.
Gillian Grimes led all players with 14 digs as she helped hold Michigan State to .135 hitting. It was the 13th time this season that Penn State held its opponent under .200 hitting.
The Nittany Lions won the serving battle with seven aces compared to the Spartans’ four. Ava Falduto led the way with three, while Grimes was right behind her with two. It was Falduto’s fourth-straight match with an ace.
Michigan State finished with just 26 kills and two blocks. Akasha Anderson led the team with seven kills and contributed one solo block.
Set 1
Mruzik had five kills and one of the team’s two aces in Penn State’s 25-16 win in the opening set. Falduto led the defensive effort with five digs as Michigan State was held to .129 hitting. The score remained close for a large portion for the set as the Nittany Lions were up just two at 17-15. They then scored eight of the final nine points to get the set win. That included a 6-0 run to end the set. Hannah had two kills and a block during the run, including a kill for set point.
Set 2
Mruzik went off for seven kills on .500 hitting while leading Penn State to a 25-22 win in set two. Hannah tallied five kills, while Trammell had three kills on three attacks. Grimes was busy in the back row with seven digs. Michigan State led as late as 19-18 after a kill by Taylah Holdem. Penn State scored the next two points to take the lead, but the Spartans tied it up at 20-20. The Nittany Lions took control of the set with a 3-0 run to go up 23-20. The run was capped by a Falduto ace and a Mruzik kill. Set point was later scored on a kill by Hannah.
Set 3
Falduto had two of the team’s four aces in the third set to help Penn State close the match with a 25-16 win. The other two came from Grimes and Hannah. The Nittany Lions were able to side out at 87 percent in the final set, while the Spartans did so at 56 percent. Falduto’s second ace of the set put Penn State up 24-16. Match point came on a Michigan State attack error.
Up Next
Penn State makes the trip to Bloomington to take on Indiana on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Hoosiers are 9-6 overall and 2-3 in the Big Ten following a 3-0 loss to No. 14 Minnesota on Friday night.