UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- No. 2 Penn State Women's Volleyball, the defending NCAA Division I champion, opens the 2025 season with a pair of matches at the AVCA First Serve. The Nittany Lions play No. 12 Creighton at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. They then make the trip to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to take on No. 14 Kansas on Monday at 6:30 p.m. ET at the Sanford Pentagon.
Saturday's match against Creighton, a rematch of last year's NCAA Regional Final at Rec Hall, will air on FS1, while Monday's match against Kansas is scheduled for B1G Network.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Saturday, Aug. 23 | 5 p.m. ET
#2 Penn State (0-0) vs. #12 Creighton (0-0) | Live Stats | FS1
Monday, Aug. 25 | 6:30 p.m. ET
#2 Penn State (0-0) vs. #14 Kansas (0-0) | Live Stats | B1G Network
OPENING NOTES
• Penn State, the defending NCAA Champion, is set to open the 50th season in program history with the AVCA First Serve event, in which it will play Creighton at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Kansas at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
• The Nittany Lions are 39-9-1 all-time in season openers. They are 2-1 in season openers under current head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, including a 3-1 win at No. 15 Tennessee last season.
• Saturday’s match against Creighton marks the 10th time Penn State has opened a season against a nationally-ranked opponent. It is the third season opener in a row against a nationally-ranked team after not playing one in the opener since taking down No. 12 Hawaii to start the 2008 season.
• The Nittany Lions open the regular season away from Rec Hall for the third-consecutive season.
AVCA FIRST SERVE
• Penn State will compete in the AVCA First Serve for the seventh time in program history. The Nittany Lions previously played in the event in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2005, and 2011.
• The AVCA First Serve was held every year from 1995 to 2011 and then for one year in 2014. The event relaunched last season.
• Penn State is 7-5 all-time in the AVCA First Serve.
• Head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley played in the AVCA First Serve in both 1999 and 2000.
DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPION
• Penn State is coming off a season in which it won the program’s eighth national title and 18th Big Ten title.
• The Nittany Lions went 35-2 overall and 19-1 in the Big Ten.
• Katie Schumacher-Cawley became the first female head coach to lead a team to an NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball title.
• Penn State beat Nebraska in the regular season to clinch a share of the Big Ten regular season title. The Nittany Lions then beat the Cornhuskers again in the National Semifinal after erasing a 2-0 deficit.
• Playing Louisville in its home arena, the Nittany Lions defeated the Cardinals in four sets to secure the National Championship.
• Penn State libero Gillian Grimes was named to the All-Championship Team, joining teammates Jess Mruzik (MVP) and Camryn Hannah.
SERIES HISTORY - CREIGHTON
• Penn State is 1-0 in the all-time series with Creighton.
• The teams played for the first time in program history in last season’s NCAA Regional Final. The Nittany Lions prevailed in five sets to advance to the semifinal round in Louisville.
• Gillian Grimes racked up 17 digs in last season’s win over the Bluejays and landed a spot on the All-Regional Team. Izzy Starck also made the All-Regional Team after finishing with 41 assists, 11 digs, six blocks, and three kills against the Bluejays. Caroline Jurevicius hit .292 with 11 kills, Ava Falduto had 10 digs, Jocelyn Nathan contributed nine digs, and Jordan Hopp chipped in with four blocks while playing in the final three sets.
SCOUTING CREIGHTON
• Creighton went 32-3 last season and advanced to the NCAA Regional Final before falling to eventual national champion Penn State in five sets.
• The Bluejays were a perfect 18-0 in the Big East in the regular season and went on to win the conference tournament for the fifth-consecutive season.
• Creighton is under new leadership after the retirement of Kirsten Bernthal Booth, who was the team’s head coach for 22 seasons. Brian Rosen takes over in 2025 after spending three seasons on Bernthal Booth’s staff, including last year as the associate head coach.
• The Bluejays return outside hitter Ava Martin, a third-team All-American last season, and middle blocker Kiara Reinhardt, an All-Big East honoree last season.
SERIES HISTORY - KANSAS
• Penn State is 2-0 in the all-time series with Kansas. The teams last met in 2023 when the Nittany Lions went on the road to win in five sets in the NCAA Second Round.
• Gillian Grimes is the only current Penn State player to play in the Nittany Lions’ last match against Kansas. She had 14 digs.
• Kennedy Martin, a junior right side hitter that joined Penn State as a transfer this season, has also played one match against Kansas. She hit .310 with 33 kills in Florida’s five-set win over the Jayhawks in the NCAA Second Round last season.
SCOUTING KANSAS
• Kansas went 25-5 last season and advanced to the NCAA Second Round before falling to Florida in five sets.
• The Jayhawks are under new leadership after the retirement of Ray Bechard, who was the team’s head coach for 25 seasons. Matt Ulmer takes over in 2025 after spending the past eight seasons as the head coach of Oregon.
• Kansas was picked second out of 15 teams in the Big 12 Preseason Poll. The Jayhawks had four players -- sophomore setter Cristin Cline, sophomore middle blocker Reese Ptacek, freshman pin Jovana Zelenovic, and redshirt junior outside hitter Aniya Clinton -- named to the Big 12 Preseason Team.
STREAKS TO WATCH
Ava Falduto
· 7 straight matches with at least one ace
Gillian Grimes
· 10 straight matches with double-digit digs
· 3 straight matches with at least one ace
Caroline Jurevicius
· 3 straight matches with double-digit kills
Kennedy Martin
· 53 straight matches with double-digit kills
Izzy Starck
· 4 straight matches with double-doubles
Team
· 12 straight wins
UP NEXT
• Penn State heads to Pittsburgh for the State Farm Women's Volleyball Showcase at PPG Paints Arena on Aug. 31-Sept. 1. The Nittany Lions play No. 13 Arizona State and No. 25 TCU at the event.