No. 3 Penn State women’s volleyball (16-1, 6-0 Big Ten) survived a back-and-forth battle against Indiana (9-6, 2-3 Big Ten) 3-1 on Sunday in Bloomington.

After dropping the first set, the Nittany Lions rebounded with close finishes in each of the next three.

How It Happened

Penn State started strong in the first set, winning the first two points. An error by Gillian Grimes gave Indiana its first point of the set before Caroline Jurevicius, Mady Saris, and Maggie Mendelson traded kills to give Penn State a 4-2 lead.

The two sides traded attack errors on the next two points, and then Taylor Trammel and Saris traded kills. Penn State and Indiana went blow-for-blow until a service error from Avry Tatum gave the Nittany Lions a 9-7 lead.

Indiana took the game’s first run after that, scoring the next three points. After Penn State took four of the next seven points, the Hoosiers went on another three-point run, taking a 16-13 lead. After Carmyn Hannah recorded a kill and a service error, Penn State went on a three-point run of its own.

Indiana recorded two two-point spurts and Penn State recorded one to follow. Trailing 21-19, Jess Mruzik notched a block to bring Penn State’s deficit to one. However, Indiana took two points, Penn State took two points, and a kill from Saris and attack error from Trammell gave Indiana the first set, 25-22.

Penn State came out hot in the second set, taking a 5-2 lead behind good offense and defense from Mendelson. After Indiana notched two points, Penn State recorded three straight with Camryn Hannah and Mendelson recording kills.

Down 8-4, Saris notched a kill, but Penn State benefited from an Indiana attack error and a Hannah kill. Indiana began to find its footing, taking three of the next four points, but the two sides hung even with Penn State taking four of seven before it led 15-11 at the media timeout.

Ava Fadulto gave up a service error out of the timeout, but Hannah notched a kill and Saris gave up an error to give Penn State the next two points. Indiana went on a three-point run before Izzy Starck and Mruzik helped Penn State take three of the next four points. Going into another media timeout, Penn State led 22-17.

Indiana was the better team out of that timeout. The Hoosiers took the first two points, gave up one to Penn State, took one for themselves, and gave up another. While Indiana notched two more points while the Nittany Lions had set point, Mruzik closed out the set with a kill to win 25-22.

An error from Hannah gave Indiana the first point of the third set, but Penn State took the next two points behind Hannah’s kill and an Indiana error. Errors by Starck and Trammell gave Indiana two points, and the two teams traded blows for the next four points.

Trailing 5-4, Penn State went on a three-point run, gave up a kill from Candela Alonso-Corcelles, and went on another three-point run. Indiana then took control, winning six of the next eight points. Penn State tried to hang with the Hoosiers, but twice only scored once and gave up two points. As Indiana’s lead grew to 19-16, Penn State called timeout.

The Nittany Lions immediately flipped a switch out of the timeout, tying the set in the next three points. The two teams each recorded two points at a time for the next eight points before Indiana called timeout with the score 23-23.

Indiana earned set point out of the timeout, but Hannah’s kill avoided dropping the set. Three points later, Penn State had set point, but dropped the opportunity to a Mady Sell kill. Indiana then had set point, but a service error killed that chance.

The back-and-forth went back until a Grimes error made the score 30-30 and gave Indiana its last point of the set. Two kills from Trammell gave Penn State a 32-30 victory in the third set.

Indiana started strong in the fourth set, taking the first two points and then a 3-1 lead. Mruzik tried to stop the bleeding with a kill, but Indiana took the next two points. Down 5-3, Penn State pushed to but the score to 6-5. The Hoosiers then went on a three-point run, followed by a three-point run from Penn State, and then another from Indiana to give itself a 12-8 lead.

Penn State took a time out down by four, and the two sides alternated celebrations on the next eight points. Just as Indiana took a 17-12 lead, Penn State went on a three-point run and forced the Hoosiers to call timeout.

Penn State still closed the gap out of the timeout and made the score 17-17. Penn State and Indiana split then next eight points before the Nittany Lions took a 20-18 lead with a three-point run. Down 23-21, Indiana called timeout.

A kill from Mruzik brought up set point, and while a service error from Fadulto gave Indiana one point back, Mendelson sealed the set, and the match, 25-22.

What’s Next?

Penn State will stay on the road for a matchup against Ohio State on 8 p.m. on Friday, October 18.