MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Kennedy Martin recorded her 2,000th career kill and matched her own Penn State rally-scoring record for kills in a match while leading the 11th-ranked Nittany Lions to a 3-1 (25-22, 25-20, 19-25, 25-21) win over No. 19 Minnesota in Big Ten women’s volleyball action Friday night at Maturi Pavilion.
Penn State upped its record to 18-5 overall and 10-3 in the Big Ten with its sixth-straight win, four of which came against nationally-ranked opponents. Minnesota saw its three-match winning streak come to an end as it dropped to 14-7 overall and 8-5 in the conference.
Martin, the reigning back-to-back Big Ten Player of the Week, stayed hot against the Gophers, hitting .500 with 34 kills, 12 digs, and two blocks. The 34 kills matched Penn State’s record for the most in a match during the 25-point rally scoring era. Each of the other two times that number was reached were also by Martin. She had 34 kills in a four-set match against UCLA and in a five-set win over Ohio State last season.
Martin now has 2,225 career kills, including 1,021 at Penn State. She is just the fourth player to ever wear a Penn State jersey that reached 2,000 career kills, joining Lori Barberich, Megan Hodge, and Jess Mruzik.
Penn State hit an efficient .394 for the match behind 55 assists from Alexis Stucky. Whitney Lauenstein hit .348 with 10 kills, while Emmi Sellman had nine kills on .320 hitting. Stucky added 15 digs and a pair of aces to her kill total, joining Martin to give the Nittany Lions two players with double-doubles.
McKenna Wucherer had a big match in a losing effort for Minnesota, hitting .353 with 22 kills, six digs, and one ace. Zeynep Palabiyik led all players with 18 digs.
Set 1
Martin needed nine kills to reach 2,000 and did it in the first set, totaling nine on .571 hitting in Penn State’s 25-22 win. Stucky tallied 15 assists to help the Nittany Lions hit .536. She also led the team in digs with six. Penn State used a 4-0 run to go up 12-9, getting kills from Martin, Gabrielle Nichols, and Lauenstein, and an ace from Stucky during that stretch. Penn State led the rest of the way, upping the lead to as much as five at 18-13 following a kill by Martin and ace by Sellman. The Gophers got back within one at 19-18, but the Nittany Lions responded with a kill by Martin and an ace by Stucky. They led by multiple points the rest of the way until Martin closed the set with her 2,000th career kill.
Set 2
Martin was even better in set two, hitting .769 with 10 kills to lead Penn State to a 25-20 win. The Nittany Lions hit .457 as a team behind 14 assists by Stucky. They never trailed in the set and took the lead for good after scoring on kills by Martin and Stucky to go up 17-15. The score was still close at 22-20 before Penn State finished the set with a 3-0 run, getting back-to-back kills from Martin and a kill by Sellman for set point.
Set 3
Martin racked up 10 more kills on .556 hitting, but Minnesota came through with a 25-19 win in set three. Wucherer led the way for the Gophers with seven kills and one ace. The teams posted identical .406 hitting percentages for the set.
Set 4
Minnesota held Martin to “just” five kills in set four, but numerous Penn State players stepped up down the stretch in a 25-21 win. Martin’s final kill of the night gave the Nittany Lions a 13-10 lead. The advantage later went to five at 15-10, but the Gophers caught fire and eventually took a late 21-19 lead. Penn State called timeout and came out of the break strong with a 6-0 run to clinch the match. It was Lauenstein with the hot hand this time as she came through with four kills during the closing run, including the final kill for match point.
Up Next
No. 11 Penn State heads to Madison to play No. 7 Wisconsin on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET. The Badgers are
The 2026 Penn State women’s volleyball season is presented by Musselman’s.