LINCOLN, Neb. – The defending national champion Penn State women’s volleyball team opened the 50th season in program history with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 27-25) sweep over No. 12 Creighton on Saturday at Nebraska’s Pinnacle Bank Arena. It was the first match of the AVCA First Serve for the second-ranked Nittany Lions. They conclude the event Monday against No. 14 Kansas at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Senior middle blocker Jordan Hopp, playing in her home state, had a big match while making her first start in a Penn State jersey. The middle blocker hit .562 with 10 kills, three blocks and one ace. Hopp picked up right where she left off last season when she came off the bench for clutch performances against Creighton in the NCAA Regional Final and then again against Nebraska in the NCAA National Semifinal.
Kennedy Martin lived up to the hype in her Penn State debut. The junior was named the match MVP by the AVCA after hitting .344 with 14 kills, nine digs, two blocks, and one ace. She has now recorded double-digit kills in all 54 matches of her career, which included two All-American seasons at Florida.
Penn State showed off a balanced attack behind 38 assists from sophomore setter Izzy Starck, who helped five players total at least six kills. Redshirt sophomore Caroline Jurevicius tallied eight kills, sophomore Emmi Sellman had seven in addition to seven digs and two aces, and senior Maggie Mendelson contributed six kills to go along with her five blocks.
The Nittany Lions hit .294 as a team while holding Creighton to a .167 clip. Senior Gillian Grimes led the defensive effort with 15 digs, while sophomore Ava Falduto joined her in double-digits with 10.
Returning All-American Ava Martin paced Creighton with 19 kills on .357 hitting and added nine digs.
Set 1
Starck racked up 14 assists as Penn State hit .382 on its way to a 25-18 win in the opening set. Martin made her presence felt early with six kills on .417 hitting, while Hopp was right behind her with four kills on .800 hitting. Sellman, Jurevicius, and Mendelson tallied two kills apiece. Grimes had a great start to the season with six digs. Penn State started to pull away with a 3-0 run to go up 21-16. The run started with a pair of kills by Martin before Creighton called timeout. Mendelson and Sellman then teamed for a block out of the break. After a pair of points by the Bluejays, the Nittany Lions closed the set with a 4-0 run. Sellman played a role in the first two points of the final run, joining Mendelson on a block before coming through with an ace. The final two points were scored on Creighton attack errors.
Set 2
Five Penn State players had three or more kills, led by Hopp with four, as Penn State held on for a 25-22 win in the second set. The Nittany Lions had a huge lead after going up 20-12 on a kill by Mendelson. But Creighton showed its grit, tying the score at 20-all with an 8-0 run. Penn State finally stopped the run with a kill by Martin. She followed that with an ace to put her team up 22-20. The Bluejays got back within one at 22-21, but the Nittany Lions responded with the next two points, scoring on a Creighton attack error and a kill by Hopp. Set point was later scored on a kill by Sellman.
Set 3
Penn State rallied late for a 27-25 win in set three to get the sweep. The Nittany Lions trailed by as much as four as late as 22-18 before going on a 4-0 run to knot the score at 22-all. Hopp and Kennedy had kills during the run, while Mendelson and Starck teamed up for a block. Creighton scored the next two points to give itself two shots at set point. The first attempt was stopped with a kill by Starck, while the second was foiled by an attack error. The Bluejays had one more chance at set point at 25-24, but Penn State tied it up with a block by Mendelson and Martin. Mendelson then teamed with Jurevicius for a block before Jurevicius finished off the sweep with her eighth kill of the match.
Up Next
No. 2 Penn State wraps up play in the AVCA First Serve with a match against No. 14 Kansas at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The match is schedule for 6:30 p.m. ET and will air on B1G Network.