No. 5 Women's Volleyball Hosts No. 4 Kentucky Friday, New Hampshire Sunday
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- No. 4 Penn State Women's Volleyball hosts No. 5 Kentucky and New Hampshire for the Penn State Invitational at Rec Hall on Friday-Sunday.
The Nittany Lions play Kentucky on Friday at 8 p.m. in a match that airs live on FOX. They take on New Hampshire on Sunday at 2 p.m. That match will stream on B1G+.
FAN INFO
• FAN INFO- Please see this link for important information that includes ticketing, parking, and bag policy for the venue.
THEME/EVENT
• The team will celebrate the 2024 National Championship prior to starting lineups being announced.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Friday, Sept. 5 | 8 p.m.
No. 4 Kentucky (1-1) at No. 5 Penn State (2-2) | Live Stats | FOX
Saturday, Sept. 6 | 2 p.m.
New Hampshire (4-0) vs. No. 4 Kentucky (1-1) | Live Stats | B1G+
Sunday, Sept. 7 | 2 p.m.
New Hampshire (4-0) at No. 5 Penn State (2-2) | Live Stats | B1G+
OPENING NOTES
• Penn State welcomes No. 4 Kentucky for its 2025 home opener at Rec Hall on Friday. The match will air live on FOX with Michelle McMahon on play-by-play and Emily Ehman on color commentary.
• The Nittany Lions are 46-3 all-time in home openers. They are 3-0 under head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley with wins over UConn (3-0), Western Kentucky (3-1), and Louisville (3-0).
• Penn State will play a nationally-ranked opponent in its home opener for the third-straight season, but just the sixth time in program history. The Nittany Lions lost to No. 12 UC Santa Barbara in 1986 and posted wins over No. 4 Texas in 2007, No. 9, Stanford in 2012, No. 22 Western Kentucky in 2023, and No. 4 Louisville in 2024.
• The Nittany Lions have won 13 straight home openers, with the last loss coming to Oregon in 2011.
PENN STATE HOME OPENER WIN STREAK
Year - Opponent, Score
2012 - #9 Stanford, 3-2
2013 - Syracuse, 3-0
2014 - TCU, 3-0
2015 - Buffalo, 3-0
2016 - West Virginia, 3-0
2017 - Yale, 3-0
2018 - Eastern Kentucky, 3-0
2019 - Hofstra, 3-0
2020 - Illinois, 3-1
2021 - Iowa State, 3-0
2022 - UConn, 3-0
2023 - #22 Western Kentucky, 3-1
2024 - #4 Louisville, 3-0
FIVE STRAIGHT RANKED OPPONENTS
• Penn State will play its fifth-consecutive nationally-ranked opponent to open the season, adding No. 4 Kentucky to a list that includes No. 12 Creighton, No. 14 Kansas, No. 13 Arizona State, and No. 24 TCU.
• It is the first time the Nittany Lions open a season with five ranked opponents since 2007 when they played No. 4 Texas, No. 4 Texas again, No. 18 Cal Poly, No. 1 Nebraska, and No. 24 St. John’s. That team started 4-1 and went on to win the national title.
SERIES HISTORY - KENTUCKY
• Penn State and Kentucky will play for the ninth time in program history. The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series 7-1.
• The teams played for the first time in 12 years last season. The Nittany Lions pulled off a 3-2 reverse sweep on the road. Izzy Starck recorded a double-double with 47 assists and 17 digs. Gillian Grimes tallied 14 digs, Ava Falduto had 12 digs and three aces, and Maggie Mendelson contributed eight blocks and six kills.
• Penn State and Kentucky will meet at Rec Hall for just the third time. The Nittany Lions won the previous two matchups in 1984 and 1986.
SCOUTING KENTUCKY
• Kentucky is ranked fourth in the nation and is 1-1 overall following a 3-0 win over Lipscomb and a 3-2 loss to No. 1 Nebraska in which it led 2-0.
• The Wildcats are the two-time defending champions in the SEC. They were picked first in the 2025 SEC Preseason Coaches Poll. Four Wildcats -- redshirt sophomore middle blocker Brooke Bultema, junior outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye, senior outside hitter Eva Hudson, and junior libero Molly Tuozzo -- were selected to the Preseason All-SEC Team.
• Brooklyn DeLeye was an AVCA Player of the Year finalist and a first-team All-American last season. Hudson was a second-team All-American last season at Purdue.
PENN STATE AGAINST THE SEC
• Penn State is 63-21 all-time against current members of the SEC.
• The Nittany Lions have played 14 of the 16 teams in the conference and have a winning record against 13 of those teams.
• Penn State is unbeaten against eight of the teams in the SEC, going a combined 19-0 against Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas A&M.
SERIES HISTORY - NEW HAMPSHIRE
• Penn State and New Hampshire will play for the fifth time in program history. The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series 4-0.
• The teams will play for the first time since 2011, which the Nittany Lions won 3-0 in Pittsburgh.
• Penn State has won all four matchups via sweep, including at Rec Hall in 1983 and 2008.
• No current Penn State player has ever played against New Hampshire.
SCOUTING NEW HAMPSHIRE
• New Hampshire is unbeaten at 4-0 with wins over Holy Cross (3-0), Saint Peter’s (3-2), Northeastern (3-2), and New Haven (3-1).
• The Wildcats are the defending champions in the America East and played in last year’s NCAA Tournament. They were picked first in this year’s preseason poll.
• Middle blocker Rachel Grier and right side Meredith Hohnbaum were named to the Preseason All-America East Team.
PENN STATE AGAINST THE AMERICA EAST
• Penn State is 15-0 all-time against current members of the America East.
• The Nittany Lions have played four of the six teams in the conference, going unbeaten against UAlbany (3-0), Binghamton (3-0), UMBC (5-0), and New Hampshire (4-0).
STREAKS TO WATCH
Gillian Grimes
· 14 straight matches with double-digit digs
Kennedy Martin
· 57 straight matches with double-digit kills
· 2 straight matches with double-doubles (kills, digs)
Izzy Starck
· 6 straight matches with at least one ace
REC HALL STREAK
• The Nittany Lions own a long winning streak at Rec Hall, winning 24 straight at home dating back to the 2023 season. The Nittany Lions’ last home loss came to Nebraska on Nov. 3, 2023.
REC HALL WIN STREAK (24)
Date Opponent Score
11/10/23 - Michigan, 3-0
11/11/23 - #2 Wisconsin, 3-1
11/17/23 - Michigan State, 3-1
11/18/23 - Northwestern, 3-0
9/3/24 - #4 Louisville, 3-0
9/13/24 - Duke, 3-0
9/14/24 - Princeton, 3-0
9/14/24 - St. John’s, 3-0
9/20/24 - James Madison, 3-0
9/22/24 - Yale, 3-1
9/29/24 - Michigan State, 3-1
10/3/24 - Maryland, 3-1
10/4/24 - #11 Oregon, 3-0
10/20/24 - #14 Minnesota, 3-0
10/30/24 - Michigan, 3-0
11/1/24 - Iowa, 3-1
11/15/24 - Illinois, 3-0
11/21/24 - #8 Purdue, 3-0
11/24/24 - Washington, 3-1
11/29/24 - #2 Nebraska, 3-1
12/6/24 - Delaware State, 3-0
12/7/24 - North Carolina, 3-1
12/13/24 - Marquette, 3-1
12/15/24 - #6 Creighton, 3-2
UP NEXT
• Penn State hosts Bucknell on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Bison are 0-3 with losses to Iowa State, Ohio, and Eastern Illinois.