No. 3 Penn State women’s volleyball (14-1, 4-0 Big Ten) controlled No. 11 Oregon (11-2, 3-1 Big Ten) in a 3-0 sweep Friday night in the annual “Wear White” match.

With an announced attendance of 4,606 fans inside Rec Hall, the Nittany Lions dominated the Ducks at the net with 42 kills on their way to a fourth conference victory.

How It Happened

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

Anjelina Starck served for Penn State to begin the match, but a quick kill off a free ball by Mimi Colyer gave Oregon a 1-0 lead. Trammell responded before Noemie Glover found a gap on a soft kill to put the Ducks up 2-1.

Oregon extended its run to 3-0, but a hard-hit Mruzik kill energized the crowd and cut the deficit to 4-2. Setter Izzy Starck followed it up with a kill before assisting Mruzik on another one to tie it up at 4-4.

An attack error by Michelle Ohwobete ended a long rally and gave the Nittany Lions their first lead of the set at 5-4. With it even at 7-7, Ohwobete had another kill to give Oregon a lead, but Cristin Cline’s service error tied it once again.

Ohwobete also served it over the baseline, and Colby Neal and Colyer each had an attack error, making it 12-9 in favor of the blue and white. Then, Mruzik’s third kill of the opening set forced Matt Ulmer to call an Oregon timeout.

A free ball sent over by Izzy Starck led to an easy kill for Neal out of the break, but a midair adjustment and dig by Anjelina Starck set up a Trammell kill to make it 14-10. However, Grimes had a service error seconds later to give Oregon a point.

Mruzik had three consecutive kills to give the Nittany Lions a 17-11 advantage, force a second Oregon timeout, and send the crowd into a “We Are Penn State” chant. Immediately following the timeout, the Ducks made two attack errors in a row to put Penn State up by eight.

That's six kills on .417 hitting for @voll_jess! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/ngD0JmDf9N

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

Mruzik’s solo block answered a Colyer kill before Onye Ofoegbu had a kill and Ohwobete had a block to trim the Oregon deficit to 20-14. Then, Camryn Hannah spiked it out of bounds and Penn State’s lead dwindled to five.

In hopes of the momentum back, Mruzik had her seventh kill of the night, while Trammell also had two more of her own, making it 23-17. After a net violation by Mruzik, Jurevicius made it set point with a kill. Ofoegbu had a kill off the assist from Cline, making it 24-19.

Mruzik ended the first set with a kill, her eighth of the frame, in the middle of the court to give Penn State a 25-19 set one victory and 1-0 match lead.

The second set got underway with a service error by Cline, but Grimes did the same on the ensuing serve. Then, Ohwobete returned the favor again, making it 2-1 Penn State. Ava Falduto had the first clean serve of the set, which ultimately turned into a loud Mruzik kill off the Izzy Starck assist.

The ninth and 10th attack errors of the match by Oregon were made by Glover and Colyer to put Penn State up 5-1, and Ulmer wanted to talk things over with the Ducks. After the timeout, Falduto put down a service ace, but Oregon responded with a couple of straight points.

Another service error, made by Mackenzie Morris, gave Penn State a 7-3 advantage, but Oregon then strung together two in a row. However, a review overturned that, as Sophie Gregoire made an attack error, and the score was switched to 8-4. Trammell and Izzy Starck then combined for a block, making it a five-point advantage.

Gregoire had a quick kill, and after a couple of Ducks dove on the floor to keep the next play alive, Trammell spiked it out of bounds, bringing Oregon back within three. Grimes then assisted Hannah for a kill, making it 10-6 Penn State.

Maya De Los Reyes entered the game for Oregon and immediately contributed a service ace, but it didn’t take long for Penn State to respond, as Hannah got her second kill of the set along the sideline. After Ohwobete had a kill, Mruzik reached double figures with a kill off a free ball, making it 12-9.

An Ohwobete kill, along with a kill and block by Glover, tied it at 12-12, and the Ducks extended their run to 4-0 via a Gregoire kill assisted by Morris. Mendelson tied it back up at 13-13 with a kill in the center of the floor, before getting a second straight on the ensuing possession as the ball trickled over the net.

Mendelson and Izzy Starck then teamed up for a block on the sideline, while Mendelson also had a solo block on the next play, making it a 4-0 Penn State run and causing an Oregon timeout with the Nittany Lions’ lead at 16-13.

Mendelson puts up THE WALL!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/oooKxcd8pq

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

Following the break, Gregoire and Ohwobete silenced the crowd by each getting a kill, but Gregoire then made an error on the attack, putting the blue and white up 17-15.

The set continued to go back and forth, but Mruzik elevated for a solo block to give Penn State a 21-18 advantage. Jurevicius then had a kill while Cline made an attack error to put Penn State up by four. Mruzik then had a kill off a free ball to make it set point.

With fans on their feet, Ohwobete’s attack error gave the Nittany Lions a 25-19 win in the second set, as they extended their match lead to 2-0.

The third set started off tight as the two teams split the first four points, but a pair of offensive errors by the Ducks made it 4-2 Penn State in the early going, forcing Oregon to call a timeout. After breaking the huddle, Grimes made a service error, while after the next long rally, Mruzik had a diving dig that led to a Mendelson kill.

Anjelina Starck led a long kill to float out of bounds, and it worked out in her favor, going just past the end line, and Mendelson got her fourth block, causing the Ducks to use their second timeout of the set with Penn State’s lead at 8-3.

During the break, a “We Are Penn State” call and response broke out between the cheerleaders and fans, but Ofoegbu quieted them quickly with a lightly-tapped kill. Moving left to right, Mendelson had another kill to answer. Hannah followed it with another Penn State kill, and after a failed challenge attempt by Oregon, it was 10-4 blue and white.

Killa Cam #WeAre | @CamrynHannah pic.twitter.com/RrPzBT7maZ

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) October 5, 2024

The Nittany Lions claimed four of the next five points as they went up 14-5, but the last point was reversed as the score was set to 13-6. It didn’t take long for Penn State to get its 14th point, though, as Mruzik put down her 14th kill with authority.

Oregon took a couple of points, but Penn State extended its advantage to 17-11 from a Jurevicius kill, which Neal responded to, but Mendelson followed it with another kill for the blue and white. Mruzik then spiked the ball into an Oregon blocker, but it hit the floor to make it 19-12.

Hannah put down her fifth kill of the night to give the Nittany Lions a 21-14 advantage, but after a Quinn Menger dig that popped up over the net, Ofoegbu had her seventh kill. Hannah then answered with another kill to make the lead seven again.

Izzy Starck and Roberta Pusharaj then went back and forth with service errors, making it a 23-16 score. An attack error by Glover then made it set and match point at 24-16.

After Oregon took one point off an Ohwobete kill, Starck set up Mruzik for the match-winning kill. The kill was Mruzik’s 16th of the night, and after winning the third set 25-17, Penn State handed Oregon its first conference loss. of the year with a 3-0 victory.

Takeaways

• After averaging 23 kills through the team’s previous two matches, Mruzik didn’t slow down on Friday, having eight kills on a .375 hitting percentage in the first set.
• Mendelson’s stretch in the second set where she had either a kill or block on four straight points proved to be crucial for Penn State. The spurt not only stopped a 4-0 Oregon run but gave the Nittany Lions one of their own as Mendelson brought the energy back into Rec Hall.
• Penn State’s hitters were very efficient throughout the match, hitting .284 as a team, compared to Oregon’s .075 hitting percentage.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions are off for a week until they travel to East Lansing to face Michigan State at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 11.