CHICAGO, Ill. – No. 13 Penn State made history while playing the first-ever volleyball match at Wrigley Field, but came up short in a 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 23-25, 25-15) loss to No. 3 Kentucky in a non-conference match Sunday night.
The Nittany Lions had three players reach double-digit kills, led by Kennedy Martin with 16 in addition to nine digs and two aces. Whitney Lauenstein tallied 13 kills and six digs, while Finley Krystkowiak contributed 10 kills.
Ava Falduto led Penn State’s defensive effort with 11 digs. Stucky and Jocelyn Nathan added seven apiece. Gabrielle Nichols finished with a team-high four blocks, while Ryla Jones was right behind her with three.
Brooklyn DeLeye fueled the win for Kentucky, hitting .319 with 21 kills and 10 digs. Morgan Gaerte totaled 15 kills, while hitting .344 and racked up six blocks.
Set 1
Penn State led late at 22-21, but Kentucky powered through down the stretch to take set one, 25-23. The Nittany Lions tied the score at 23-all on a kill by Krystkowiak. The Wildcats responded with back-to-back points to close the set, scoring on a pair of kills by DeLeye. Krystkowiak led all players with five kills in the set, while hitting .444.
Set 2
DeLeye took over in set two, hitting .467 with eight kills to lead Kentucky to a 25-21 win. The Wildcats pulled away with a 4-0 run to go up 24-18 and later scored set point on a kill by Gaerte.
Set 3
Lauenstein and Martin caught fire in set three as Penn State won 25-23. Lauenstein hit .462 with seven kills, while Martin tallied six kills on .500 hitting. The Nittany Lions trailed 19-15 before head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, a Chicago native, called timeout. The team responded with a 5-0 run to go up 20-19. Lauenstein had four kills during that stretch, including one for the go-ahead point. Following a Kentucky point, Penn State went on a 3-0 run to take a 23-20 advantage. Lauenstein started that run with another kill. The Wildcats would later stave off two Penn State chances at set point before the Nittany Lions finished the set with a kill by Jones.
Set 4
Kentucky hit .394 and added four blocks as it rolled to a 25-15 win in set four. Jones put together a strong set for Penn State with four kills on .571 hitting. Match point for the Wildcats came on a kill by Georgia Watson.
Career Highs
Ava Falduto – assists (6)
Ryla Jones – digs (5)
Finley Krystkowiak – kills (10), blocks (2)
Danielle Whitmire – digs (4)
Up Next
Penn State stays in Chicago to take on DePaul on Monday at 4 p.m. ET.