UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 16 Penn State women’s volleyball posted a win over a top-10 team at Rec Hall for the sixth-straight season as it took down No. 10 Oregon 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-19, 25-20) in a Big Ten match Friday night in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions improved to 14-5 overall and 6-3 in the conference as they ended the Ducks seven-match winning streak. The Ducks, whose streak included four wins over nationally-ranked opponents, dropped to 16-3, 7-2.
Kennedy Martin had a huge night for Penn State, hitting .431 with 25 kills, seven digs, and four blocks. Whitney Lauenstein joined her in double-digits, hitting .364 with 15 kills, nine digs, and five blocks. Emmi Sellman contributed seven kills, while Whitney Lauenstein guided the team’s attack to .346 hitting with her 45 assists.
Penn State held Oregon to .156 hitting. Gabrielle Nichols took care of the defensive effort at the net with nine blocks, while Jocelyn Nathan anchored the back row with her match-high 11 digs.
Alaina Pollard had the most efficient performance for Oregon, hitting .500 with eight kills.
Penn State improved to 7-3 in the all-time series with Oregon, including a perfect 4-0 record under head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley.
Set 1
Penn State hit .545 behind 10 assists from Stucky on its way to a 25-17 win in the opening set. Martin tallied four kills, while Kendall Northern was perfect on her three swings with three kills. The Nittany Lions scored the first two points on Oregon attack errors and kept the lead for the remainder of the set. They went on to lead by as much as eight numerous times, including the final score following a kill by Martin for set point.
Set 2
Martin and Lauenstein tallied five kills apiece, but Sjakkie Donkers racked up seven for Oregon to help the Ducks take set two 25-23. Oregon broke a 22-22 tie with back-to-back points, scoring on a kill by Valentina Vaulet and a block by Vaulet and Dalia Virlan. The Nittany Lions stopped the first chance at set point with a kill by Martin, but the Ducks followed with a kill by Donkers.
Set 3
Martin hit .571 with eight kills to lead Penn State to a 25-19 win in set three. Oregon jumped out to a 4-2 lead before Penn State responded with a 5-0 run that included three kills by Martin. The Nittany Lions later used a 3-0 run to go up 13-8. They led by at least three the rest of the way before scoring set point on a block by Nichols and Martin.
Set 4
Martin tacked on eight more kills as Penn State closed the match with a 25-20 win in set four. This time the Nittany Lions trailed later in the set, falling behind 17-16 after back-to-back aces by Maila Ribeiro. They countered with a 3-0 run to go back up 19-17 scoring on a pair of Oregon attack errors and a kill by Martin. Just minutes later, Penn State used a 4-0 run to take control with a 23-18 lead. Nichols had a kill and two blocks during that stretch. Set point was later scored on Martin’s 25th kill of the night.
Career Highs
Whitney Lauenstein – digs (9)
Up Next
No. 16 Penn State travels to Bloomington to take on No. 18 Indiana on Sunday at 3 p.m. The Hoosiers are 12-6 overall and 5-4 in the Big Ten after back-to-back sweeps over then-No. 20 Washington and Ohio State.
The 2026 Penn State women's volleyball season is presented by Musselman's.