No. 14 Penn State women’s volleyball (2-2) swept the Colgate Raiders (2-4) Saturday afternoon in three sets.

Despite a rough 0-2 start to the 2023 season, the Nittany Lions have shown off at the Penn State Invitational this weekend. Camryn Hannah, a quiet but mighty force on the team, tallied 12 kills and a 0.611 hitting percentage. Jess Mruzik also finished the match with a total of six kills which contributed to her reaching 1,000 total career kills on Saturday afternoon.

How It Happened

Set one opened with back-to-back kills from transfer Mruzik, causing a massive explosion from the Nittany Lions that created an early 8-2 lead. A myriad of attack errors caught up with the Raiders quickly, leading to Colgate’s first time out as Penn State reigned with a score of 11-3.

The game belonged to the Nittany Lions for the remainder of the set as they climbed closer to set point leading 20-5. Despite a few errors that gave the Raiders a sense of false hope, Penn State was able to wrap up the set quickly with a score of 25-11.

A long volley ended by a joint block from Taylor Trammell and Mac Podraza gave the Nittany Lions an early advantage in set two, but Colgate managed to answer every point. The teams stayed even through six until a kill from Hannah put Penn State up 6-4.

The Raiders called a timeout as they trailed 11-6, but it only seemed to give coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley an extra opportunity to pump up her team. With help from Mruzik and Podraza, the Nittany Lions extended their lead to 15-8.

Zoe Weatherington and Hannah took control of the rest of the set, clocking four kills combined to claim the second set 25-12.

Hannah goes to the back corner for a kill!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/qAcW4k26gY

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) September 2, 2023

The third set opened up with the match’s first challenge on a play regarding a net touch. After careful review, the point stayed with Penn State. Losing the challenge lit a fire in the Raiders, as they secured their first lead of the set, 5-4.

Colgate and Penn State stayed within one for eight points until a kill from Anjelina Starck allowed the Nittany Lions to pull ahead 10-8. The Raiders reared back, though, briefly reclaiming the lead 13-12.

The Nittany Lions answered with a 4-0 scoring run, refusing to be kept out of the top spot for long. A slew of service and attack errors by Colgate made it easy for Schumacher-Cawley’s team to maintain a comfortable 19-15 lead.

Two consecutive kills by Hannah wrapped up the set and the match with a final score of 25-19.

Player of the Game

Jess Mruzik | Outside Hitter

The two kills that opened Saturday’s match were Mruzik’s 999th and 1000th career kills. She continued to play well throughout the game, racking up a total of 6 kills and a 0.417 hitting percentage. While still a newcomer to Schumacher-Cawley’s fierce lineup, Mruzik is sure to make her mark on this Penn State team quickly.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will return to Rec Hall to play the third and final game of the Penn State Invitational at 2 p.m. on Sunday, September 3 against James Madison. The match can be streamed on BTN+.