MATCH DAY: Penn State Takes On Kentucky at Wrigley Field

VOLLEYBALL AT WRIGLEY
• Penn State is set to make volleyball history when it takes on No. 3 Kentucky at Wrigley Field on Sunday. It will be the first-ever volleyball match played at the historic baseball stadium.
• The match, which comes just 10 days after Penn State played an exhibition contest at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium, is part of the Big Ten/SEC Challenge. It is the first match of a doubleheader at the stadium, being played right before No. 1 Nebraska vs. Missouri.
• Three of the four teams playing at Wrigley Field have combined for 14 National Championships -— Penn State (8), Nebraska (5), and Kentucky (1).

CHICAGO CONNECTIONS
• Penn State women’s volleyball has long had a connection to the city of Chicago, including legendary head coach Russ Rose, who was born and raised there.
• Current head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley is in the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame. She excelled in both volleyball and basketball at Mother McAuley, where she led the Mighty Macs to state titles in volleyball.
• Penn State libero Ava Falduto is from Elmhurst, Illinois and played at IC Catholic Prep, just 25 minutes outside the city. Freshman Haley Burgdorf is from St. Charles, Illinois, which is less than an hour from the city.
• Other recent Penn State-Chicago connections include Camryn Hannah and Gillian Grimes, both of whom helped the Nittany Lions win the 2024 National Championship. Hannah went to Marist High School, while Grimes went to nearby Nazareth Academy. Both will be in attendance for Sunday’s match.

LAST TIME OUT
• Penn State opened the season 3-0 with wins over UConn (3-0), High Point (3-2), and Hofstra (3-0) at the Penn State Invitational.
• Kennedy Martin was named the MVP of the event. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Alexis Stucky and Gabrielle Nichols.

UP NEXT
• Penn State plays No. 4 Stanford at The Palestra in Philadelphia on Friday, Sept. 11.
• The Cardinal are 2-0 with wins over then-No. 6 Wisconsin (3-1) and then-No. 15 Kansas (3-1).
• Stanford and Penn State have won more National Championships than any other team in the nation. The Cardinal rank first with nine with their last title coming in 2019. The Nittany Lions rank second with eight with their last title coming in 2024.

SERIES HISTORY - KENTUCKY
• Penn State and Kentucky will play for the 10th time in program history. The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series 7-2.
• The teams have played each other in each of the past two seasons. The Nittany Lions won in five sets in Lexington in 2024, while the Wildcats won in three sets in Happy Valley in 2025.
• Ava Falduto and Caroline Jurevicius are the only players on the current roster to play in each of the past two matches against Kentucky. Falduto averaged 2.38 digs/set and tallied three aces over the two matches.
• Kennedy Martin has hit .362 while averaging 6.00 kills, 1.64 digs, and 0.71 blocks per set over four career matches against the Wildcats.

SCOUTING KENTUCKY
• Kentucky is ranked third in the nation and is 4-1 to start the season, posting wins over then-No. 6 Wisconsin (3-0), Utah State (3-0), South Florida (3-0), and UCLA (3-0), and a loss to then-No. 3 Pittsburgh (3-1).
• The Wildcats advanced to the NCAA Championship match last season before falling to Texas A&M. It was their second appearance in the championship match in the past six seasons. They won the SEC’s first-ever national title in 2020.
• Kentucky was voted first in the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll. The Wildcats are the three-time defending champions in the conference.
• Senior outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye, junior outside hitter Morgan Gaerte, sophomore setter Kassie O’Brien, and senior libero Molly Tuozzo, were all named to the Preseason All-SEC Team. All four players were also named to the AVCA Player of the Year Preseason Watch List. Kentucky’s four selections were the most of any school.

SERIES HISTORY - DEPAUL
• Penn State and DePaul will play for the third time in program history. The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series 2-0.
• The Nittany Lions won both previous meetings, sweeping the Blue Demons at UIC in 2012 and again in Happy Valley in 2014.
• No current Penn State player has ever played against DePaul.

SCOUTING DEPAUL
• DePaul is 4-0 to open the season, posting wins over Milwaukee (3-0), Drake (3-0), South Dakota (3-1), and Portland State (3-1).
• The Blue Demons were picked fifth in the 11-team Big East Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Sophomore outside hitter Kendall Timme was a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-Big East Team. She was an All-Big East honoree last season, as well as the Big East Co-Freshman of the Year.