UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 13 Penn State women’s volleyball hit .357 behind 32 assists from Addie Lyon as it closed non-conference play with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-22) sweep over Central Michigan on Sunday at Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions enter Big Ten play next week with an overall record of 6-4. The Chippewas dropped to 3-9.
Lyon guided a balanced attack that was led by Kennedy Martin with 16 kills on .394 hitting. Caroline Jurevicius joined Martin in double-figures, hitting .368 with 10 kills. Maggie Mendelson had zero errors on her 13 attacks as she hit .692 with nine kills. Jordan Hopp also put together an errorless match with five kills on eight swings.
Penn State held Central Michigan to .216 hitting. Martin played a pivotal role in that with her five blocks and eight digs. Mendelson tallied five blocks, while Gillian Grimes and Ava Falduto led the back-row defense with 10 and seven digs, respectively.
Central Michigan is led by first-year head coach Arielle Wilson, who won four national titles and was a three-time All-American for Penn State from 2007-10. The Chippewas were led by Natalia Rejment, who hit .368 with nine kills and eight digs.
Penn State improved to 5-0 in the all-time series with Central Michigan. It was the first matchup between the teams since 1994.
Set 1
Martin hit .385 with six kills to lead Penn State to a 25-21 win in the opening set. The Nittany Lions trailed 9-7 before going on a 5-0 run. Mendelson had a kill and a block during that stretch, while Lyon served for an ace. Penn State later broke a 12-12 tie and took the lead for good with a 3-0 run. Central Michigan got as close as one at 17-16 before Hopp came through with a kill, and again at 18-17 before Martin responded with a kill. Set point was later scored on a block by Hopp and Martin.
Set 2
Jurevicius and Martin had five kills apiece as Penn State hit .370 in a 25-20 win in the second set. The teams battled fairly close for the entire set as Central Michigan trailed by just two at 22-20. The Nittany Lions scored the final three points in succession to take control of the match. Mendelson started the run with a kill, Hopp and Martin followed with a block, and Alexis Ewing finished it off with a kill.
Set 3
Penn State hit .400 behind 11 assists from Lyon as it finished the sweep with a 25-22 win. Martin led the way with five kills, while Jurevicius and Mendelson were right behind her with four apiece. Martin added four digs and two aces in the set. Central Michigan again fought hard, this time taking a late lead at 22-21 with a kill by Rejment. Penn State called timeout to regroup and came out of the break with four straight points to close the match. Jurevicius, Ewing, and Mendelson had kills before the match ended on an attack error by the Chippewas.
Career Highs
Alexis Ewing – digs (3)
Jordan Hopp – assists (2)
Kennedy Martin – assists (4)
Up Next
No. 13 Penn State opens Big Ten play when it hosts No. 19 USC on Friday at 8 p.m. The match will stream on B1G+.