No. 7 Penn State women’s volleyball (2-0) made quick work of Temple (3-1) in its second match of the year on Sunday afternoon.

Penn State controlled the game from start to finish with Caroline Jurevicius leading the way with nine kills on 17 attacks. The freshman setter Izzy Stark ended the day with 27 assists and five digs of her own.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions come out of the gate swinging as Jess Mruzik notched an ace to start the day off, but committed a service error on the very next play. Back-to-back kills from Mruzik and Taylor Trammell with a Temple attack error put Penn State up 4-1 early on in the set.

The kills continued to roll in for the Nittany Lions, as Camryn Hannah got in on the action. Mruzik continued her hot start, sending over another couple of kills to put Penn State up 13-8. However, Temple dug its heels in, winning three straight points to cut the lead down to 14-11. Temple brought the game within two points after an attack error from Hannah, but Penn State responded with a kill from Mruzik and a big block at the net by Trammell.

Trailing 18-14, Temple called a timeout to go back to the drawing board, but that was no use as Hannah notched an ace fresh out of the timeout to extend the lead. The Nittany Lions smelled blood in the water, closing out the set with a 6-2 run that included three straight kills.

Alexa Markley gave Penn State its first points of the second set with a high-flying kill at the net. Despite the Nittany Lions taking a quick 4-1 lead, Temple returned some punches, going on a 5-2 run to tie the game at 6-6. The trend of runs continued, however, this time it was in favor of the Nittany Lions, as they won four straight points, prompting the Owls to burn an early timeout with the score sitting at 10-6.

The 4-0 run quickly snowballed into a vicious 9-0 run after the timeout, with Penn State leading 15-6. Jordan Hopp, who saw limited action in the season opener against Tennessee, made her presence known defensively, as her third block of the second set extended Penn State’s 17-9 lead. However, Temple was not ready to give up, building an 8-2 run that brought the set within four points for the Owls. Penn State regained some footing thanks to back-to-back kills from Maggie Mendelson and Jurevicius, making it a 23-17 game. An attack error from Temple’s Chelci Banks brought it to set point where Mendelson rejected a hit from Davenport, clinching the second set for the Nittany Lions 25-17.

During the third set, Temple opened up the scoring of the set thanks to a kill from Davenport. However, Penn State did not waiver, taking seven of the next nine points en route to an early 7-3 lead. The Owls scratched back with a 5-2 run to tie the game up, but a kill from Karis Willow handed the lead right back to Penn State.

Yet another impressive scoring run was manufactured by the Nittany Lions, giving them an 18-12 lead and forcing Temple to take a timeout to kill some momentum. The Temple offense seemed disgruntled and really began to fall apart, which the Nittany Lions took full advantage of, controlling the tempo at the net. They coasted through the rest of the third set, taking it 25-15.

Takeaways

• A major key to Penn State’s success was its dominance at the service line throughout the day. By targeting Taylor Davenport, Temple’s star outside hitter, they limited her opportunities at the net which kept the Owls out of rhythm on offense. Additionally, the Nittany Lions recorded 12 service aces.
• Despite the two best outside hitters for the Nittany Lions, Mruzik and Hannah, remaining on the bench for most of the second set and the entirety of the third set, the Penn State offense did not regress at all. Contributions from Jurevicius, Hopp, and Markley all ensured there was no drop-off offensively.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions come back home to play Louisville at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 3. The game will be broadcast on BTN+.