No. 3 Penn State women’s volleyball (10-1) beat against Yale (5-3) 3-1 to finish the Penn State Classic.

The Nittany Lions handled the Bulldogs in four sets 25-18, 25-16, 23-25, and 25-13. The offense was led by Jess Mruzik and Camryn Hannah, with 15 and 18 kills, respectively. The win marked another undefeated weekend in Rec Hall.

How It Happened

Set one started with a back-and-forth battle 4-4, with a serving error and some miscommunication for the Nittany Lions giving the Bulldogs the 5-4 lead. An ace from Jess Mruzik brought the lead back for Penn State 7-5. The offense was rolling for Penn State as its lead was upped to 9-5.

That's a @Voll_Jess ACE! #WeAre #WeAre pic.twitter.com/fqbHo6mJBn

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) September 22, 2024

The Nittany Lions continued leading 12-7, forcing Yale to use its first timeout. Gillian Grimes held the defense down with eight digs, as Penn State led 16-10. A fantastic serve from Quinn Menger and a big kill from Hannah brought the Nittany Lions up 20-12, and another Yale timeout.

The Bulldogs came out of the timeout with a 5-0 scoring run to close the gap 20-17, but a Yale serving error turned it back to Penn State. Despite the run from Yale, Penn State came together and took set one 25-18.

The second set brought big swings from Mruzik and Caroline Jurevicius to lead 2-1. Another ace from Mruzik gave the Nittany Lions a 3-0 scoring run and a 7-4 lead. Taylor Trammel and Hannah dominated the front line for Penn State with multiple kills.

Penn State continued to put the pressure on, and Yale used another timeout down 13-7. Yale then earned the side out, making the score 13-9, but Jurevicius brought it back for Penn State to 14-9. A slide play from Maggie Mendelson was jammed to the other side as Penn State went up 18-11.

Yale cashed in its second timeout of the second set, and a video review was requested on a hit after the first play from the Bulldogs. The call stood in Penn State’s favor and the score was 21-13. The Nittany Lions kept the chains moving and took set two 25-15.

Set three had Yale with a quick 2-0 lead. Strong serves from Yale’s Cara Shultz put the Bulldogs up 4-1, but a kill from Hannah brought the ball back to Penn State. The Nittany Lions fought to regain the lead and did with a huge block from Anjelina Starck and Mendelson to go up 7-6.

The battle continued as the score was knotted 10-10 and again 12-12. Yale pulled away at 16-14 after an ace and a serving error from Penn State. The Bulldogs continued to the lead 19-17 after back-to-back kills from Chidera Chukwumerije.

The set was locked once again 20-20, but two more kills from Yale forced the first timeout of the day for Penn State. The Nittany Lions came back big with a block from Trammel and Izzy Starck. Then, a kill from Jurevicius evened the score 22-22. Yale elected for a timeout.

Yale finished off the set with an ace and took set three to make it 2-1.

Penn State came out for set four fired up, taking an immediate 3-0 lead. The addition of Mruzik back into the lineup and her two kills upped the score 6-1. Yale then took its fifth timeout. The Bulldogs kept going and came within three, 8-5.

Grimes also added to the kill column with a hit. The dominance continued with another kill from Hannah, as Penn State led 12-8.

Libero kill!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/gQ0TewnXfz

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) September 22, 2024

Another 3-0 scoring run for the Nittany Lions set off another Yale timeout. Mruzik registered another kill off of a Grimes assist, and Penn State upped the score to 16-10. The Nittany Lions kept going and charged back to a big lead at 20-13.

Izzy Starck smashed an ace, and Hannah had a solo block to bring on match point. Trammel scored the final kill to finish set four 25-13 on a 5-0 scoring run.

Takeaways

• The defense was huge for Penn State. Combined, the team had 75 digs and 10 blocks to pull through with the win. Grimes led the pack with 27 digs.
• Mruzik, who was recently named to the AVCA Player of the Year watchlist, finished Sunday off with 15 kills, 3 blocks, and 7 digs. The graduate student continues to be the center of this team.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will open Big Ten conference play against Purdue at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, September 25, in West Lafayette, Indiana.