UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.-- Maggie Mendelson led a quartet of Penn State players in double-digits with her 12 kills on .429 hitting as the 24th-ranked Nittany Lions posted a 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-23) sweep over Michigan State in a Big Ten match Friday night at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions moved to 16-11 overall and 10-7 in the conference, while the Spartans dropped to 18-9, 8-9.
Penn State was strong in the middle as Gabrielle Nichols went errorless on the night, hitting .526 with 10 kills and six blocks. On the outside, Emmi Sellman recorded a double-double with 10 kills on .364 hitting and 10 digs. On the right side, Kennedy Martin posted a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs and had two of the team’s four aces.
Addie Lyon guided Penn State’s attack with her 38 assists and added three blocks and three digs to go with one ace.
Penn State had a great showing defensively with 56 digs in the sweep. Gillian Grimes tallied 19 to lead a trio of Penn State players in double-digits.
Karoli Staniszewska paced Michigan State with 12 kills and 10 digs while Lia Schneider contributed 16 digs.
Set 1
Penn State controlled the first set from start to finish, collecting a 25-15 win. The Nittany Lions jumped out to a quick 9-1 lead thanks to an early 3-0 run followed later by a 6-0 run. Martin had a pair of kills during the 6-0 run. The Nittany Lions started fast with a 3-0 run followed by a 5-0 run to grab a seven-point advantage early, 8-1. The 5-0 scoring run was fueled by Martin and Sellman who combined for three kills. Michigan State only got as close as five the rest of the way. Penn State eventually closed the set with a kill by Nichols.
Set 2
Mendelson hit .444 with five kills to lead Penn State to a 25-19 win in set two. The Nittany Lions jumped out to a 7-3 lead behind three blocks from Nichols. The Spartans then flipped the momentum with a 5-0 scoring run to take a 9-8 edge. The teams battled close with Penn State eventually taking an 18-17 lead. The Nittany Lions then used two separate 3-0 scoring runs to gain a six-point advantage at 24-18 following an ace by Lyon. After the first attempt at set point was unsuccessful, Mendelson capitalized with her fifth kill to give Penn State the 25-19 win.
Set 3
Nichols hit .750 with six kills and Mendelson was perfect with four kills on four swings to lead Penn State to a 25-23 win in the third set. The Nittany Lions went up 12-7 after Martin capped a 4-0 run with back-to-back aces. But just as quickly, Michigan State fought back with a 4-0 scoring run to tie the set up at 14-14. Neither team could find the advantage heading into the end of set three with the score knotted at 19-all. That was until the Spartans rallied with a late 3-0 scoring run to gain the advantage 22-21. Penn State immediately fought back with a 3-1 scoring run to retake the lead before a block by Mendelson and Martin gave them the set win and finished the sweep.
Up Next
Penn State hosts Maryland for its Senior Day on Sunday at 2 p.m.