UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State placed three women’s volleyball players on the Preseason All-Big Ten Team, as announced by the conference office on Thursday. Additionally, the Nittany Lions were picked to finish second in the 18-team conference by a vote of the league’s head coaches.
Gillian Grimes, Kennedy Martin, and Izzy Starck all earned Preseason All-Big Ten honors for the first time. Grimes enters her senior season as the team’s libero, Martin is set to begin her junior season on the right side after putting together two All-America seasons at Florida, and Starck is ready for her sophomore campaign at setter after winning AVCA National Freshman of the Year recognition last season.
Penn State, the defending National Champion and the co-Big Ten champion alongside Nebraska last year, was picked second behind only the Cornhuskers. Rounding out the top 10 in order were Wisconsin, Minnesota, UCLA, USC, Purdue, Washington, Illinois, and Michigan.
Grimes established herself as one of the top liberos in the country last season, which was capped by her making the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team after Penn State secured its eighth national title. That honor came just one week after she made the All-Regional Team following the Nittany Lions’ wins over Marquette and Creighton at Rec Hall. Grimes was a second-team All-Big Ten honoree last season.
Martin was a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team. She comes to Penn State for her third season of collegiate volleyball after two outstanding seasons starring at Florida, where she was a first-team All-American in 2024 and a second-team All-American in 2023. Martin led the Gators to a spot in an NCAA Regional last year while leading the nation in points/set (6.28) and finishing second in kills/set (5.57).
Starck burst on to the scene in her first season last year, earning AVCA National Freshman of the Year, AVCA East Coast Region Freshman of the Year, and Big Ten Freshman of the Year accolades. She started all 37 matches at setter for a team that went 35-2 on the way to Big Ten and national titles. Starck, a second-team All-American and a first-team All-Big Ten selection in her debut campaign, was the recipient of six Big Ten Freshman of the Week and five Big Ten Setter of the Week awards.
Penn State is less than a month away from its season opener. The Nittany Lions open against Creighton in a rematch of a five-set thriller that Penn State won in the NCAA Regional Final at Rec Hall last season. That match is scheduled for August 23 and will take place in Lincoln, Nebraska as part of the AVCA First Serve event.