No. 14 Penn State women’s volleyball (22-8, 15-5 Big Ten) beat Yale (21-4, 14-0 Ivy League) 3-1 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday night. 

The Nittany Lion attackers had their way as the match progressed, ultimately leading their team to a victory and berth to the second round.

How It Happened

Penn State opened the game with a strong presence in front of the net, getting several blocks on its way to a 7-3 lead. Allie Holland led the way in the early going with a pair of blocks.

Yale then went on a short run to cut its deficit to just one, but the blue and white responded well, extending the lead back to 13-8 before the Bulldogs called their first timeout.

It was a slow-paced, back-and-forth set from that point on, and neither team could get a streak of points started. A Mac Podraza ace put Penn State up 20-15, and Yale called its second timeout.

A Gillian Grimes dig set Camryn Hannah up for a kill for back-to-back Penn State points, making it 22-16.

Those two points at the net were part of a Nittany Lions’ 5-1 run to close the first set, and they won it 25-17 while hitting an impressive .550.

After the opening frame, Hannah could be seen dancing in the middle of the Penn State huddle, clearly happy with her team’s 1-0 lead.

The second set began with Penn State quickly getting on top 3-1, but the Bulldogs responded. A 4-0 run put them up 8-4, and kept their momentum going to make it 12-6, which is when head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley called the Nittany Lions’ first timeout.

Coming out of the timeout, the Nittany Lions went on a 6-2 run to cut the Yale lead to 14-12 and force a Bulldogs timeout.

Penn State then tied it at 15-15, but after a couple long points with several blocks, Yale went back up 20-17.

A Mila Yarich service error for Yale and a Taylor Trammell kill gave two straight points in favor of the Nittany Lions to cut the deficit to one. However, Yale went on a 2-0 run of its own to force a Penn State timeout at 23-20.

Despite a 3-0 run, Yale won the second set 25-23. In 11 matchups between the two teams since 1978, it was the first set the Bulldogs had ever won against Penn State.

Penn State was out of sync to start the third set, having trouble connecting on passes. Yale opened the frame with a 7-0 lead, and Schumacher-Cawley had to call a timeout before her team even got on the board.

Immediately following the timeout, Zoe Weatherington had three kills and a block to narrow Yale’s lead down to 8-5.

The Nittany Lions’ deficit hovered around three points until they made it 18-16, and despite still holding onto a lead, Yale called a timeout.

Two Jess Mruzik kills and a Yarich attack error tied the set at 19-19 before Mac Podraza served an ace to give Penn State its first lead of the set, and Yale head coach Erin Appleman called a timeout.

Neither team gained a lead of more than a point until the blue and white went up 24-22 and made it set point.

A soft kill by Holland assisted by Podraza hit the floor to give the Nittany Lions a comeback 25-22 third set victory, making their match lead 2-1.

Trammell and Mruzik each had two kills to begin set four, and Penn State jumped out to an 8-4 lead. It then made the score 10-5 before the Bulldogs called a timeout.

That lead held after the break, as Penn State increased its advantage to 17-11 before a second timeout was called by the Bulldogs.

The Nittany Lions went on to take the set 25-16 and win the match 3-1.

It wasn’t the dominance that some expected, but Penn State took the victory and will move on in the tournament.

Takeaways

• Penn State entered the match fourth in the nation in blocks per set with 2.93, and the story was no different in this game. The team had four blocks in the first set.
• The third set put the Nittany Lions’ determination on display. Winning a frame after going down 7-0 early is no easy task, but Penn State never lost hope.
• Penn State served above standards in this match. Entering tonight, the squad averaged just 1.17 aces per set but had eight against Yale.

What’s Next? 

The Nittany Lions will face the winner No. 15 Kansas and Omaha in the second round at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, December 1. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.