MADISON, Wis. – No. 11 Penn State women’s volleyball beat No. 7 Wisconsin in Madison for the first time since 2017 on Sunday, taking down the Badgers 3-2 (20-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-19, 15-11) in a key Big Ten match. The Nittany Lions moved into a tie for second place in the conference standings with their seventh-straight win, improving to 18-5 overall and 10-3 in the conference.
Kennedy Martin continued her red-hot stretch of play during Penn State’s winning streak, hitting .328 with 28 kills, 12 digs, and three aces. That came just two days after the back-to-back Big Ten Player of the Week totaled 34 kills on .500 hitting in a four-set win at No. 19 Minnesota. Whitney Lauenstein also reached double-figures with her 15 kills and added three blocks. Emmi Sellman contributed seven kills, including multiple clutch plays in big moments.
The Nittany Lions received a big night from their middles. Kendall Northern hit .429 with nine kills and five blocks, while Gabrielle Nichols hit .429 with eight kills and three blocks. Alexis Stucky guided the attack to .307 hitting with her 55 assists, the second-straight match she tallied that exact number, and made it a double-double with her 12 digs. The setter also had one of the team’s five aces.
Wisconsin freshman Decelise Champion finished with a team-high 19 kills, but Penn State did a solid job slowing her down as she was held to .220 hitting.
Set 1
Martin hit .538 with nine kills, but it wasn’t enough as Wisconsin came out on top 25-20 in set one. Jaela Auguste led the way for the Badgers with four kills on .800 hitting. They led by as much as six at 18-12 following a solo block by Lynney Tarnow.
Set 2
Northern was perfect on the attack with five kills on five swings to lead Penn State to a 25-18 win in set two. Martin added six more kills, while Stucky tallied 12 assists to help the team hit .364. The Nittany Lions started to pull away with a 5-0 run to make it 15-10 at the media timeout. Sellman started the run with a kill, while Martin contributed a kill and a block alongside Northern. They later upped the lead to 10 at 23-13 and eventually secured set point with a kill by Martin.
Set 3
Champion went off for 10 kills on .769 hitting as Wisconsin took the third set 25-20. Penn State used a 4-0 run to tie the score at 15-all, but the Badgers responded with a 3-0 run. The Nittany Lions still weren’t done, tying the score at 18-all with another 3-0 run with three straight kills by Lauenstein. Champion then stepped up with back-to-back kills and the Badgers led the rest of the way.
Set 4
Penn State hit .371 behind 14 kills from Stucky as it tied the match with a 25-19 win in set four. The Nittany Lions looked to be well on their way to an easy win with an 18-11 advantage, but the Badgers fought back to get within two at 20-18. A pair of freshmen, Haley Burgdorf and Northern, came through with back-to-back kills after that to help stave off the comeback. It was later Lauenstein that came through with the kill for set point.
Set 5
Martin finished the match with five more kills to lead Penn State to a 15-11 win in set five. Following a kill by Auguste, the Nittany Lions scored three straight points to go up 7-3, getting kills from Martin, Sellman, and Stucky. A service error ended the run, but Sellman and Northern then teamed up for a block to make it 8-4. Behind the support of a sold-out crowd, Wisconsin battled back to knot the score at 9-all before Lauenstein and Nichols teamed up for a block to put Penn State as the first to 10. Stucky followed with an ace to make it 11-9. It was a one-point difference at 12-11 before the Nittany Lions closed the match with a 3-0 run. It started with a service error that was followed by a Wisconsin timeout. Out of the break, Sellman came through with a kill off a set from Falduto, and Martin followed with a kill off a set from Stucky for match point.
Career Highs
Jocelyn Nathan – assists (4)
Kendall Northern – digs (3)
Up Next
Penn State travels to play Maryland on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
The 2026 Penn State women's volleyball season is presented by Musselman's.