In its home opener, No. 7 Penn State women’s volleyball (3-0) swept No. 4 Louisville (2-1) 3-0 in front of a Rec Hall crowd of nearly 4,000 fans.

A raucous student section set the stage for Penn State’s first home game of the year, and the Nittany Lions used the energy to get out to a fiery start. In a match filled with runs, the Nittany Lions used 45 kills to come out on top.

How It Happened

Head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley sent out a starting lineup of Taylor Trammell, Gillian Grimes, Jess Mruzik, Anjelina Starck, Caroline Jurevicius, Izzy Starck, and Maggie Mendelson.

Anna DeBeer opened the first set with a kill, but Jess Mruzik lit up the crowd with one of her own to even the score at 1-1 early. A dig by Grimes then set up a Jurevicius kill assisted by Izzy Starck to give Penn State its first lead of the match.

A couple of errors by the Nittany Lions put the Cardinals back on top before Mendelson lightly tapped one over the net to tie it back up. The back-and-forth first set continued, but a 3-0 run headlined by a block at the net by Jurevicius and Trammell had Penn State up 11-7.

Denied by Trammell and @CJurevicius!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/B5EDA0diNp

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) September 3, 2024

After a long rally, Charitie Luper committed a Louisville net violation, giving the blue and white a 14-10 lead. Izzy Starck then set up Camryn Hannah for a kill, putting fans on their feet and sending the game to its first media timeout with Penn State up five.

The Nittany Lions came out of the break energetic, and Cardinal head coach Dani Busboom Kelly wanted to talk things over with her team facing a 17-11 deficit. A free ball gave Trammell an easy kill and Izzy Starck, the team’s setter, followed it up with a kill to force another Louisville timeout with the score at 19-11.

The Cardinals stopped the 4-0 spurt out of the break, but it didn’t take long for Penn State to continue its onslaught at the net, extending the lead to 22-13. A Cara Cresse kill was quickly answered with a crosscourt spike by Mruzik that just stayed off the back corner end line.

Jurevicius launched a kill to make it set point, and she did the same to put down the set-winning kill, giving Penn State a runaway 25-15 first-set victory.

Set 1 of the top-10 matchup goes to @PennStateVBALL #B1GVolleyball on @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/jbnmkqIXuK

— Big Ten Volleyball (@B1GVolleyball) September 4, 2024

Louisville got out to a 4-2 start in the second set, and despite a Mruzik kill and DeBeer error, went up 7-4. However, Izzy Starck responded with an ace and the Cardinals made two attacking errors, quickly giving Penn State an 8-7 advantage.

With the score even at 10-10, Anjelina Starck’s hustle kept the play alive, eventually leading to her younger sister Izzy setting up Mendelson for a kill and sending Rec Hall into a roar. Izzy Starck had another assist on the following play to Jurevicius to make it 13-10 and force a Cardinal timeout.

The hustle by Anj
The set by Izzy
And the swing by Jurevicius!

Wow!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/6RgKiVLugB

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) September 4, 2024

Immediately after the timeout, Mendelson put down an emphatic kill, and Penn State extended its run to 7-0, forcing Louisville to call another timeout down 16-10. The Cardinals finally had an answer after the stoppage with a Cresse kill and block on back-to-back plays. Schumacher-Cawley then called a timeout after Jurevicius made an attack error, trimming the lead to three.

Louisville used three straight Luper kills, all assisted by Elle Glock, to make the run 6-0 and tie the score at 16-16, forcing Penn State into calling their second timeout. Mendelson finally responded with a block to give the Nittany Lions the momentum back.

The trend of runs continued, this time favoring Penn State, as a 4-0 spurt had the home team out to a 20-16 lead. The Nittany Lions never looked back, making it a 24-18 lead and set point. Despite a miraculous hustle play, Louisville kept the set alive with a block by Luper and PK Kong.

However, Penn State took the next point as freshmen Ava Falduto and Izzy Starck connected for the assist and kill to put Penn State up 2-0.

Freshman to freshman to end set two!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/DKS0k5nJCv

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) September 4, 2024

Anjelina Starck opened set three with an ace that DeBeer thought was going out of bounds, but Louisville quickly responded with a Cresse kill. A play later, though, Jurevicius climbed the ladder on the right side of the floor for a crosscourt kill.

Neither team had a lead of more than one point until Hannah and Mruzik had a kill each to put Penn State on top 9-7. Louisville couldn’t stop the Nittany Lion attack at the net, and three straight kills made it a 12-8 lead.

The blue and white continued to pour it on to make it 18-12 behind a couple of Hannah and Mruzik kills. Jurevicius also got in on the action with a high-speed kill to extend the lead to seven and force a Cardinal timeout.

Mruzik LASER!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/bteTA5KHnO

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) September 4, 2024

Out of the break, Penn State didn’t slow down. Trammell had a block and kill before a lengthy rally ended with another Mruzik kill to make the score 22-13. Hannah followed the kills with a service ace and a Louisville attack error made it match point at 24-13.

Mruzik ended the match with her 13th kill to give Penn State a 3-0 win and drive the fans to a “We Are Penn State” chant. The team lined up for the alma mater to a standing ovation after knocking off the No. 4 team in the nation.

Takeaways

• The group of newcomers that Schumacher-Cawley was excited about didn’t disappoint in its home opener. Freshmen Falduto and Izzy Starck, along with transfers Mendelson and Jurevicius, had a big impact for Penn State in this match.
• Rec Hall was loud for its first home women’s volleyball match since November 18, 2023. Led by a student section wearing white, the crowd fueled the Nittany Lions’ energy throughout the match.
• Penn State made hustle play after hustle play. With impressive communication and an early-season willingness to put their bodies on the line, the Nittany Lions were flying all over the court, especially the libero Grimes.
• Mendelson was a force at the net in her first game in Rec Hall, especially in the opening set, having five kills on six attacks.

What’s Next?

Penn State will head to Lexington for another top-10 non-conference match against No. 9 Kentucky at 7 p.m. on Friday, September 6. The game will be televised on SEC Network.