UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 4 Penn State added another top-10 win to its resume with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-16) win over No. 8 Purdue in a Big Ten women’s volleyball match Thursday night at Rec Hall. It was the Nittany Lions’ fourth win this season over an opponent ranked in the top 10 at the time of the match.
The Nittany Lions improved to 26-2 overall and 16-1 in the Big Ten while upping their Rec Hall winning streak to 18 straight matches. They are a perfect 14-0 at home this season. The Boilermakers saw their six-match winning streak come to an end as they dropped to 22-6 overall and 13-4 in the conference
Head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley picked up her 200th career win with the sweep. Seventy-five of those victories have come as the coach of Penn State, where she holds a .798 winning percentage.
Penn State held Purdue to .142 hitting, marking the fourth time this season the Nittany Lions held a nationally-ranked opponent under .200 hitting at Rec Hall. The back-row defense played a huge role in that, led by libero Gillian Grimes with 20 digs. Jess Mruzik and Izzy Starck added 10 digs apiece as each recorded a double-double. Mruzik had 11 kills to finish of her ninth double-double of the season, while Starck tallied 38 assists for her 12th double-double.
Maggie Mendelson had a huge match with 10 kills on .529 hitting, while Penn State executed on the slide possibly the best it has all season. Camryn Hannah continued her late-season tear with 14 kills and a pair of aces. It was her 10th-straight match with double-digit kills. Taylor Trammell contributed six kills and had five blocks to share the team lead with Starck.
And speaking of late-season tears, Quinn Menger continued to be a menace at the service line. She had three aces against Purdue to give her 10 over the team’s past three matches.
Eva Hudson paced Purdue with 12 kills, but Penn State limited the Boilermakers’ two All-American pin hitters to a combined 17 kills on .111 hitting.
Penn State improved to 4-2 against Purdue under Schumacher-Cawley.
Set 1
Mruzik and Hannah each tallied five kills to help Penn State open the match with a 25-20 victory in the first set. Despite Purdue leading 16-13, Penn State went on a 12-4 run thanks to three kills each by Mruzik and Mendelson. Mendelson put up four kills on .800 hitting in the set, while Starck dished out 13 assists and added a kill for set point.
Set 2
Hannah excelled with six kills, while Mendelson continued to dominate, tallying three in a 25-23 win in set two. After trailing late again at 18-15, Penn State tied the score at 23-23 behind three kills and an ace from Hannah. Mruzik and Mendelson then each added a kill to win the set 25-23. Menger served an ace for the second-straight set, and Starck did her part with 14 assists.
Set 3
Menger added another yet another ace as Penn State rolled to a 25-16 win, completing the sweep. The Nittany Lions ended the match on a 5-0 run, powered by a Mruzik kill and two block assists. Match point came on a block by Mruzik and Trammell.
Up Next
Penn State welcomes Washington to Rec Hall on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Nittany Lions will honor their seniors following the match.