UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — No. 12 Penn State swept Bucknell (25-19, 25-10, 25-20) in non-conference women’s volleyball action Tuesday at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions moved their record to 4-3 overall with their second-straight sweep. The Bison fell to 1-5.
Penn State had three players with at least seven kills. Emmi Sellman led the way with 10 kills to go along with her five digs and one ace. Alexis Ewing and Maggie Mendelson were right behind her with nine kills each. Caroline Jurevicius seven, marking her sixth match this season with at least seven kills.
Ewing had just eight kills on the season before topping that with the nine in one match. The freshman had only played five sets coming into the match but received her first start in the win.
The Nittany Lions had a strong showing at the service line against Bucknell, collecting five aces compared to Bucknell’s two. Addie Lyon fueled that effort with three aces to go along with her 35 assists and four digs. She guided the team to .375 hitting.
Defensively, Penn State had a strong performance at the net with nine blocks compared to the two forced by Bucknell. Ewing also led the team in blocks with five. Gillian Grimes sparked the defense in the back row with 14 digs.
Tijana Kostick paces Bucknell, hitting .333 with nine kills.
Set 1
Three Penn State players – Alexis Ewing, Caroline Jurevicius, and Maggie Mendleson –recorded four kills each in the first set to secure a 25-19 win. In the early action, the Nittany Lions generated two separate 4-0 scoring runs to force an 11-7 score midway through the set. The four-point lead would hold strong throughout most of the set and grow to five at one point. The set was closed out by Penn State with an ace by Grimes.
Set 2
Penn State hit .500 behind 12 assists from Lyon to capture the second set by a score of 25-10. The Nittany Lions had an early 4-0 run to push the team's lead to seven at 10-3. The Nittany Lions later ripped off seven straight points to close out the set. Ewing had two kills and a block during that stretch, while Hopp contributed a pair of blocks.
Set 3
Penn State survived a late rally by Bucknell to capture the third set 25-20. The Nittany Lions controlled most of the early action and held a five-point lead at 15-10. The Bison rallied and continued to claw away at the Penn State lead until the match was tied at 18-18. The momentum switch was fueled by Kostic with two kills. The teams then traded points late until it was the Nittany Lions who generated a 3-0 scoring run to close the set. An attack error by Bucknell was the final blow to finish the sweep for Penn State. Mendelson hit .400 with five kills in the set.
Career Highs
Alexis Ewing – kills (8), blocks (5)
Ava Jurevicius – digs (1)
Up Next
No. 12 Penn State hosts No. 7 Pitt on Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 7 p.m, on B1G Network. The Panthers are 4-2 following four straight wins over No. 25 TCU, No. 7 Arizona State, Pepperdine, and Jacksonville.