UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 10 Penn State women’s volleyball opened the 2026 season with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-18) sweep over visiting UConn in a non-conference match Saturday at Rec Hall.
The match was the first for the Nittany Lions in the three-day Penn State Invitational. The Huskies are now 1-1 with the loss, including a 3-2 win over High Point in the opening match of the event Friday night.
Alexis Stucky didn’t disappoint in her Penn State debut, stuffing the stat sheet in multiple categories. The setter finished with 27 assists while guiding the team to .374 hitting. She added six blocks on eight attacks, nine digs, and one ace. Freshman Danielle Whitmire also saw time while making her collegiate debut and tallied five assists.
Stucky engineered a balanced attack with five players totaling at least six kills. Whitney Lauenstein led the way in her Penn State debut with 10 kills on .364 hitting in addition to her six digs and one ace. Kennedy Martin was next with seven kills, while Haley Burgdorf and Gabrielle Nichols contributed six apiece. Burgdorf, who picked up the start in her first collegiate match, added six digs and one ace.
Penn State held UConn to .112 hitting with the help of nine digs from libero Ava Falduto. Martin, Nichols, and Ryla Jones finished with three blocks apiece.
Maja Daca was the top performer for the Huskies as she hit .381 with eight kills and 13 digs.
Set 1
Stucky, Martin, and Lauenstein chipped in with three kills apiece to lead Penn State to a 25-14 blowout in the first set. The Nittany Lions pulled away early with a 6-0 run to go up 13-5. Lauenstein had a pair of kills during the run, while Burgdorf tallied a kill and an ace. Penn State easily controlled the rest of the set before finishing it off with a block by Jones and Martin to go up 1-0 in the match.
Set 2
Burgdorf’s four kills helped Penn State take a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-21 win in set two. The Nittany Lions were cruising early with a 13-7 lead after a kill by Lauenstein, but UConn battled back to knot the score at 14-all. The score was again tied at 16-all before Penn State took control with a 4-0 run to go up 20-16. Stucky and Burgdorf capped the run with back-to-back kills. The Huskies later got back within one at 22-21 thanks to back-to-back aces by Hazuna Akishige. The Nittany Lions responded with a 3-0 run to end the set, getting kills from Lauenstein and Martin and a block by Jones and Burgdorf for set point.
Set 3
Freshman Kendall Northern made her debut at middle blocker in set three and had three kills on three attacks to help Penn State finish the sweep with a 25-18 win. Freshman Finley Krystkowiak also made her debut in the set and finished with three kills. Falduto and Stucky contributed five digs apiece as the Nittany Lions held UConn to .086 hitting. Penn State found itself down 13-11 midway through the set before going on a 5-0 run to take a 16-13 lead. Nichols was in on each of the final four points of that run with two kills and two blocks. The Nittany Lions added a 3-0 run to go up 19-14 and led the rest of the set. Caroline Jurevicius ended the match with a kill off a set from Whitmire.
Career Highs
Haley Burgdorf – kills (6), assists (1), aces (1), digs (6), blocks (1)
Finley Krystkowiak – kills (3)
Kendall Northern – kills (3)
Danielle Whitmire – assists (5), digs (1)
Up Next
The Nittany Lions finish play in the Penn State Invitational with a pair of matches on Sunday, playing High Point at 10 a.m. and Hofstra at 6 p.m.
The 2026 Penn State women's volleyball season is presented by Musselman's.