UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- No. 4 Penn State Women's Volleyball hosts No. 8 Purdue on Thursday in a top-10 matchup with potentially huge Big Ten and NCAA Tournament implications. The contest is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will air live on B1G Network.
The Nittany Lions enter at 25-2 overall and 15-1 in the Big Ten. They sit just one loss behind first-place Nebraska with a head-to-head matchup between the teams looming just over a week away. The Nittany Lions also currently sit in a great spot in their quest to get a top-four seed and potential hosting rights for an NCAA Regional.
The Boilermakers are winners of six straight and come to Rec Hall at 22-5 overall and 13-3 in the Big Ten.
PROMOS/THEME
• Free Penn State trucker hat to first 500 Penn State students in attendance
• Buy one, get one free tickets
HOW TO FOLLOW
Thursday, Nov. 21 – 6 p.m. ET
#8 Purdue (22-5, 13-3 B1G) at #4 Penn State (25-1, 15-1 B1G) | Live Stats | B1G Network
SERIES HISTORY
• Penn State is 61-11 in the all-time series with Purdue. The teams first played in 1981.
• The Nittany Lions are 30-5 against Purdue at Rec Hall.
• Penn State swept Purdue (25-14, 25-21, 25-20) in West Lafayette earlier this season. Camryn Hannah hit .393 with 14 kills, while Jess Mruzik tallied 13 kills and nine digs. The Nittany Lions hit .369 behind 38 assists by Izzy Starck.
• The Nittany Lions are 3-2 against Purdue under head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley.
• Jess Mruzik has averaged 4.42 kills/set and 2.06 digs/set in eight career matches against Purdue. She has averaged 5.58 kills/set in her three matches against the Boilermakers as a Nittany Lion.
SCOUTING PURDUE
• Purdue is ranked eighth in the nation and is 22-5 overall and 13-3 in the Big Ten following six straight wins over Maryland (3-0), Rutgers (3-0), Indiana (3-1), Michigan (3-0), Rutgers (3-0) again, and Illinois (3-0).
• Raven Colvin ranks first in the Big Ten and fourth nationally in blocks/set (1.57), while Eva Hudson ranks first in the Big Ten and 11th nationally in kills/set (4.68).
• The Boilermakers have two wins over teams that were nationally-ranked at the time of the match, beating No. 10 Kentucky 3-1 and No. 16 Minnesota 3-2.
STREAKS TO WATCH
Camryn Hannah
· 9 straight matches with double-digit kills
Jess Mruzik
· 3 straight matches with multiple aces
Quinn Menger
· 2 straight matches with 3+ aces
Team
· 17 straight wins at Rec Hall
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 recorded her 1,000th career dig in the second set of a 3-1 win at Indiana on Oct. 13, 2024. She recorded her 100th career ace in the first set of a 3-0 win over Illinois on Nov. 15, 2024. She enters the weekend with 1,861 career kills, 1,091 digs, 240 blocks, and 102 aces.
• 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 1,616 career kills.
• Taylor Trammell recorded her 500th career block in a home win over Maryland on Oct. 3, 2024. She enters the weekend with 549 career blocks.
• Gillian Grimes recorded her 1,000th career dig in a 3-1 win at Northwestern on Nov. 8, 2024. She enters the weekend with 1,030 career digs and 88 career aces.
REC HALL SUCCESS
• Penn State is 722-55 (.929) all-time at Rec Hall.
• The Nittany Lions are 344-38 (.901) against current Big Ten opponents at Rec Hall and 378-17 (.957) against non-conference opponents.
• Penn State is 13-0 at Rec Hall this season.
REC HALL STREAK
• The Nittany Lions take a lengthy Rec Hall winning streak into the week, winning 17 straight home matches. The Nittany Lions’ last home loss came to Purdue on Nov. 5, 2023.
UP NEXT
• Penn State hosts Washington for Senior Day on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Huskies are 19-7 overall and 9-7 in the Big Ten following a sweep over Northwestern in their most recent match.