No. 3 Penn State women’s volleyball (8-0) controlled St. John’s (7-3) on its way to a 3-0 win at Rec Hall Saturday night.

In the final game of the Penn State Invitational, the Nittany Lions hit .389 in the first set and never looked back for its fourth straight sweep.

How It Happened

Giorgia Walther started the game with a crosscourt kill for St. John’s, but Jess Mruzik responded quickly for Penn State. A pair of Camryn Hannah kills had the Nittany Lions out to a 7-5 lead, but St. John’s answered to tie it at 8-8.

The first set remained close before Penn State went on a 3-0 run to make it 12-9 and force a Red Storm timeout. Mruzik and Hannah each had a kill following the break while the lead remained three for Penn State.

Ana Franca Benjamin had a kill while Taylor Trammell had an attack error to make it a one-point lead, but Penn State went on a 4-1 run with two St John’s errors and kills by Hannah and Mruzik, forcing another timeout.

Grimes' pass makes the perfect KILL for Hannah!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/me5oFhuqwt

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) September 14, 2024

After the timeout, Penn State continued its run, making the score 23-17. Freshmen Ava Falduto and Izzy Starck then connected for a kill to make it set point. Erin Jones made a service error for the Johnnies to end the first frame, and Penn State took a 1-0 lead after winning the opening set 25-19.

Caroline Jurevicius and Trammell combined for two blocks to open the second set. Jurevicius also had a kill, but a Mruzik error and kills by Walther and Jones had it tied at 3-3.

Jones and Magda Stambrowska then met Mruzik at the net to put St. John’s on top. Jurevicius put an end to a 4-0 run with a kill, and Walther spiked it out of bounds, making it 5-5.

The set continued to go back and forth until St John’s had a kill, block, and ace to go on a 3-0 spurt to take an 11-8 lead. Jurevicius ended Penn State’s scoring drought with a kill before a free ball set up Mruzik for a hard-hit spike. With the Rec Hall crowd electrified, St John’s called a timeout despite having a 13-11 lead.

Penn State went on a 5-0 run out of the huddle to take a 16-14 lead, but St. John’s came storming back to force the Nittany Lions to call a timeout after reclaiming a 19-17 advantage.

Wiktoria Kowalczyk made an error on the attack while Trammell had a block and kill, putting Penn State back up 21-20. Izzy Starck then had back-to-back aces to make it a three-point lead before she assisted Trammell for a kill, making it set point.

After St. John’s strung together two points in a row, Franca Benjamin made a service error, giving Penn State a 25-22 set two victory to make it a 2-0 lead.

The Nittany Lions opened the second set on a 5-0 run behind a Gillian Grimes ace and emphatic Jurevicius kill. St. John’s called a timeout after the blue and white made the lead 10-5 with Izzy Starck and Trammell combining for a block.

Grimes ACE makes it a 5-0 run!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/w0f5l4d8dw

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) September 14, 2024

The five-point lead remained steady, as Penn State went up 16-11 before extending that lead to 18-11. A Jones kill stopped the 4-0 Penn State run, but the Nittany Lions responded within seconds, going up 23-13.

Trammell had a kill to get the fans on their feet for match point, and after a Kowalczyk kill and block, Izzy Starck assisted Hannah for the game-winning kill.

The Nittany Lions won the third set 25-15 to take down St. John’s 3-0, ending the Penn State Invitational with another sweep.

Hannah ends it with a KILL!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/885ICM5fqR

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) September 15, 2024

Takeaways

• After transferring from Nebraska, Jurevicius continued to be a key piece for the Nittany Lions, as she hit .909 in this match.
• While Mruzik had just one kill earlier in the day against Princeton, she lit it up at the net with 16 kills in this match.
• Penn State was full of smiles after going 3-0 with three sweeps in the Penn State Invitational to stay undefeated on the season. The team will try to carry the positive energy and momentum into a tough test next week.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will look to stay undefeated when they travel to No. 1 Pitt at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, September 18, at Petersen Events Center. The game will be televised on the ACC Network.