UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Taylor Trammell had a big night, reaching 500 career blocks while helping No. 3 Penn State defeat visiting Maryland 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-16) in Big Ten Women’s Volleyball action Thursday night at Rec Hall.
Penn State improved to 13-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten, while Maryland fell to 9-5 overall and 0-3 in the conference. The Nittany Lions won their 12th-straight match at Rec Hall and their ninth-straight Big Ten regular season match.
Trammell hit .562 with 10 kills and eight blocks in the win. Her fifth block of the match came in the third set and gave her 500 for her career. It came on a night where she also notched her first career ace.
Jess Mruzik recorded her second double-double of the season, hitting .312 with 17 kills, 14 digs, and three aces. Izzy Starck turned in her fifth double-double of the season, finishing with 39 assists, 12 digs, and six blocks. Gillian Grimes came up just short of giving Penn State three players with double-doubles, totaling 16 digs, nine assists, and three aces.
Camryn Hannah joined Mruzik in double-digits with 15 kills. Maggie Mendelson added nine kills and four blocks.
Maryland was led by Samantha Schnitta with 19 kills on .318 hitting and three aces. The Terrapins entered the match as the Big Ten leader in aces/set but lost the battle to Penn State with six compared to the Nittany Lions’ nine.
Set 1
Penn State hit just .053 in the first set in a 25-22 loss. Despite a six-block performance for the Nittany Lions, seven kills by Schnitta were too much to overcome. Penn State trailed 22-18 but used a 3-0 run to get within one at 22-21. The Terrapins countered with a 3-0 run and later secured the set on a Penn State attack error.
Set 2
Penn State pulled off the 25-20 victory behind five kills from Mruzik and four from Hannah. Starck totaled 10 assists and sealed the set for the Nittany Lions with a solo block. There were six lead changes early before Penn State used a 4-0 run to go up 15-12 and never trailed again.
Set 3
Trammell totaled four kills on .667 hitting to lead Penn State to a 25-23 victory in set three. The Terrapins led 20-17 before Penn State went on a 5-0 run to go up 22-20. Hannah had two kills during the run, while Grimes had an ace. Trammell scored Penn State’s 22nd, 23rd and 24th points with kills. The set ended on a Maryland service error.
Set 4
Penn State won the fourth set 25-16, powered by three kills on three swings by Mendelson. Starck added another 12 assists, while Mruzik and Hannah combined for eight kills. Hannah ended the set with a kill for match point. The Nittany Lions never trailed in the set.
Career Highs
Gillian Grimes – assists (9)
Taylor Trammell – aces (1)
Up Next
No. 3 Penn State hosts No. 11 Oregon on Friday at 7 p.m. The Ducks have won 11 straight matches after opening the season with a loss to Pitt, including a sweep at Ohio State on Thursday.