No. 3 Penn State women’s volleyball (6-0) swept Duke (3-4) in Rec Hall on Friday night. This was their first game of three in the Penn State Invitational this weekend.

In front of a packed crowd in Rec Hall, the Nittany Lions dominated the Blue Devils from start to finish as they won all three sets by 10 points or more. Penn State’s 47 kills compared to Duke’s 26 kills played a huge factor in this total beatdown by the Nittany Lions to keep their undefeated season alive.

How It Happened

Penn State got off to a fast start as it won the first three points of the set. Duke got on the board for the first time this set with a kill by Ngozi Iloh. Both teams exchanged kills for the next four points before two straight kills by Maggie Mendelson and Izzy Starck increased the Nittany Lions’ lead to four. Duke responded back with a kill by Rachel Richardson to decrease their deficit to three.

After Richardson’s kill, the Nittany Lions won two straight points due to a kill by Camryn Hannah and a service ace by Mendelson to give Penn State a 9-4 lead. Then, Mendelson committed a service error to trim the Blue Devils’ deficit to four. However, Penn State responded with a 3-0 run which was highlighted with two straight kills by Hannah. This led to the Blue Devils to take their first timeout of the game.

Out of the timeout, the Blue Devils ended the Nittany Lions’ run with a kill by Jerry Keefe. After both teams exchanged points, the Nittany Lions kept riding their momentum by going on yet another 3-0 run to increase their lead to nine. This run ended with an attack error by Mendelson. However, Penn State would refuse to let the Blue Devils to have any sort of momentum and went on yet another 3-0 run. This led the Blue Devils to take another timeout hoping to end Penn State’s momentum.

After timeout, the Blue Devils could not stop the bleeding as the Nittany Lions increased their run to eight to give themselves a 24-8 lead and their first set point opportunity. This incredible run was highlighted with three service aces by Ava Falduto and kills by Jess Mzurik.

Oh my @voll_jess! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/bMpKsRLEzF

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) September 14, 2024

The Nittany Lions failed to convert their first opportunity due to an attack error by Mzurik but capitalized on their second opportunity on an attack error by Richardson to give Penn State the set victory 25-9.

The second set began with a service error by Duke’s Nikki Underwood which gave the Nittany Lions the first point of the set. The Blue Devils tied the set at one with a kill by Iloh. Penn State responded back by winning the next two points due to a kill by Mendelson and ace by Falduto to take a 3-1 lead in the set. After Richardson trimmed the Blue Devils’ deficit to one, the Nittany Lions kept building their momentum as they went on to win the next four points to increase their lead to five. Both teams exchanged kills, but Duke made back-to-back errors which increased Penn State’s lead to seven.

After both teams exchanged kills, the Blue Devils started to show signs of life and responded back by going on a 3-0 run to decrease their deficit to four. However, the Nittany Lions refused to let the Blue Devils get within close of their lead and went on to win the next two points to take a 13-7. Both teams exchanged kills before Penn State got sloppy and committed back-to-back errors to trim the Blue Devils’ deficit to four once again. A media timeout occurred right after the Nittany Lions won the next point to take a five-point lead.

Out of the timeout, both teams traded blows for the next four points as Penn State’s lead stayed intact. Its lead increased to seven as Hannah recorded a kill for the Nittany Lions and the Blue Devils committed an attack error. After exchanging kills, the Blue Devils responded back by winning two straight points to decrease their deficit to five once again. However, the energy from Rec Hall continued to play a factor in this game as Penn State used that energy to their advantage by going on a 3-0 run to increase their lead to eight. This run was highlighted with kills by Hannah, Taylor Trammell, and Caroline Jurevicius which forced Duke to take a timeout.

Kill by @CJurevicius forces a Duke timeout!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/K2acMN9bJG

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) September 14, 2024

After the timeout, the Nittany Lions kept riding their momentum and got their first set point opportunity on a kill by Trammell. Unlike the first set, Penn State took advantage of their first set opportunity with a kill by Jurevicius to take the set at 25-15 and a two-set lead.

The third set got underway, and the Nittany Lions got off a fast start in the set by recording four straight kills. The kills were recorded by Trammell, Jurevicius, Anjelina Starck, and Mruzik. This run ended when Iloh’s kill got the Blue Devils on the board for the first time in the set. After both teams exchanged points, Gillian Grimes recorded back-to-back service aces to give the Nittany Lions a 7-2 lead and forced Duke to take a timeout.

Grimes back-to-back ACES! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/fhhx4Er93P

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) September 14, 2024

Out of the timeout, the Blue Devils won the next point with a kill by Richardson. However, Penn State went on to win two straight points to increase their lead to six. Both teams went blow-for-blow for the next six points before a Penn State error and recorded kill by Keefe decreased Duke’s deficit to four. The Blue Devils’ momentum was short-lived as the Nittany Lions responded back by winning three straight points to increase their lead to seven. After Starck committed a service error, Hannah and Mzurik recorded back-to-back kills for the Nittany Lions to give themselves a 17-9 lead. This led Duke to take another timeout hoping to end Penn State’s momentum.

What a play by Grimes! And @voll_jess makes it count with a kill!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/ocrAcxIHmC

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) September 14, 2024

The Nittany Lions made it three straight kills after the timeout to increase their lead to nine. The Blue Devils refused to go away and won the next two points to trim their deficit to seven. The Nittany Lions restored their nine-point lead right after on a kill by Trammell and an attack error by the Blue Devils. The Blue Devils trimmed their deficit to seven once again by winning the next two points. However, Penn State refused to let Duke get back in the match and restored their nine-point lead once again after two points.

After both teams exchanged kills, a service ace by Mzurik gave the Nittany Lions a 24-14 lead and their first match point. However, Penn State failed to capitalize on this opportunity as Duke’s Rylie Kadel recorded a kill for the Blue Devils. On their second opportunity, the Nittany Lions ended the match thanks to a kill by Mendelson as it finished off the set 25-15.

Takeaways

• Penn State’s hitting percentage was a huge difference in determining the outcome of the match. It had a team-hitting percentage of .482 compared to Duke’s .132.
• Duke struggled to keep up with the hostile environment at Rec Hall. It got dominated in all aspects of the game and never had a lead at any point during the three sets.
• The duo of Hannah and Mzurik were the highlight of the game as they were the only players on the Nittany Lions to record double-digit kills with 10 kills each.

What’s Next?

Penn State will look to keep its undefeated season alive when they play their second game of the Penn State Invitational against Princeton at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, September 4. The game will be streamed on BTN+.