PHILADELPHIA, Pa – No. 12 Penn State women’s volleyball made the most of its first match at The Palestra in 41 years, sweeping No. 4 Stanford 3-0 (27-25, 25-20, 25-21) in a non-conference match Friday night. The Nittany Lions upped their record to 5-1, while the Cardinal dropped to 4-2.
Freshman outside hitter Haley Burgdorf had a breakout match in the win, hitting .450 with 10 kills, nine digs, and two aces, the second of which came on match point. Kennedy Martin recorded her first double-double of the season with 14 kills and a team-high 13 digs. Whitney Lauenstein gave the Nittany Lions a trio of players in double-digits with her 11 kills.
Alexis Stucky posted a double-double for the second time in five days, totaling 36 assists and 10 digs. Ava Falduto tallied 10 digs to reach double-digits in that category for the fifth-consecutive match.
Penn State had just four blocks for the match, but block touches helped the Nittany Lions finish with a 56-42 advantage in digs. Gabrielle Nichols had an efficient night in the middle, hitting .556 with five kills and two blocks.
Stanford was held to .206 hitting as a team. Julia Blyashov was the lone Cardinal player to reach double-digits with her 10 kills on .194 hitting.
Penn State’s win evened the all-time series with Stanford at 14-14, while Katie Schumacher-Cawley improved to 2-0 against the Cardinal during her time as head coach in Happy Valley. The programs rank first and second in the history of NCAA Division I women’s volleyball in national titles. Stanford has won nine, with the most recent coming in 2019, while Penn State has won eight, with the most recent coming in 2024.
The win was Penn State’s 10th over a top-10 team in the last three seasons. It was the highest-ranked opponent defeated by the Nittany Lions since they beat No. 4 Louisville in the 2024 National Championship match.
Set 1
Penn State erased a 23-19 deficit on its way to a 27-25 win in set one. The comeback started with a 4-0 run to tie the score. Falduto had an ace during the run, while it was capped with a kill by Martin. The Nittany Lions stopped two Cardinal chances at set point, the first with a kill by Martin and the second with a kill by Burgdorf. The kill by Burgdorf was the start of a 3-0 run to end the set. Jones followed with a kill, while a Stanford miscue ended the set. Martin hit .417 with six kills and six digs in the set.
Set 2
Martin added five more kills, while Lauenstein and Burgdorf tallied four apiece to lead Penn State to a 25-20 win in set two. The Nittany Lions scored the first two points on kills by Martin and Lauenstein and led the rest of the way. They led by as much as six numerous times, including as late as 22-16. Set point was later scored on a kill by Burgdorf.
Set 3
Burgdorf hit .571 with five kills and ended the match with an ace as Penn State took set three 25-21. The Nittany Lions trailed 17-16 before going on a 5-0 run to go up 21-17. Burgdorf had a pair of kills during that stretch. The Cardinal got back within two at 23-21, but the Nittany Lions finished the sweep with a kill and an ace, both by Burgdorf.
Career Highs
Haley Burgdorf – kills (10), aces (2), digs (9)
Up Next
Penn State welcomes Ohio University to Rec Hall on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Bobcats are 4-2 following a 3-0 loss to Butler in their most recent match.