No. 3 Penn State Women’s Volleyball Outlasts UCLA In 3-2 Victory
No. 3 Penn State women’s volleyball (19-1, 9-0 Big Ten) went all five sets against UCLA (9-9, 3-6 Big Ten) in its 3-2 victory in Los Angeles Thursday night.
It was a statement win for the Nittany Lions. This was the first matchup between the two programs in 10 years, and it was the first time the match was played in Los Angeles. Jess Mruzik, Camryn Hannah, and Taylor Trammell led the way for Penn State with 16 kills, 15 kills, and 10 kills respectively.
How It Happened
Taylor Trammell got the scoring started with a kill off the first serve. Penn State then scored three of the next four with a kill by Maggie Mendelson and two combined blocks. The first block was by Mendelson and Alexa Markley and the other was by Mendelson and Izzy Starck.
UCLA got back-to-back scores before Mruzik’s kill, a Bruin error, and Mendelson and Starck’s block extended the lead to 7-3. Both teams split the next six scores until Hannah’s service error and a UCLA kill cut the Nittany Lions’ lead to 10-8.
The Nittany Lions maintained their two-point cushion until two kills from UCLA’s Cheridyn Leverette and two Penn State errors led to the Bruins taking a 13-12 lead as head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley called her first timeout of the set.
Mruzik came out and tied the set with a kill after the timeout, but UCLA gained a two-score lead with back-to-back kills. Penn State then regained the lead after a 3-0 run that consisted of kills by Hannah and Starck and the match’s first ace by Quinn Menger.
. @MengerQuinn ACE!
— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) October 25, 2024#WeAre pic.twitter.com/zpIHo3iS1Z
Both teams wrestled for the lead with each team not having more than a one-point lead for the next eight scores. Mruzik then notched a kill to make it 21-19 Penn State as UCLA used its first timeout. The Nittany Lions went on a 3-1 run after the break with the help of two Bruin errors and a block by Mendelson and Anjelina Starck.
UCLA recorded a kill, but Hannah closed out the set with a kill to make it 25-21 in Penn State’s favor.
The second set got underway with an ace by Gillian Grimes, then the back-and-forth play started again. Both squads exchanged the next eight scores until UCLA’s 4-0 run made it 8-5 Bruins. Hannah got a kill to end the run, but the Bruins found their rhythm again. Two kills, a block, and a Penn State error made it 12-7 UCLA.
Mendelson recorded consecutive scores with a kill and a block with Izzy Starck, but the Bruins jumped on another 3-0 run to make it 15-10. A Mruzik kill, a Hannah error, and a Bruin kill extended the lead to six, but the Nittany Lions’ 3-0 run, consisting of kills by Izzy Starck and Hannah, and a UCLA error, forced the Bruins to call a timeout at 17-14.
The Bruins, yet again, found another 3-0 run until Mruzik ended it with a kill, but it was too little too late for Penn State. UCLA’s runs were too much to handle in the second set and the Bruins took the set 25-19.
The Nittany Lions played their best volleyball of the match to start the third set. Penn State started with a 4-0 run that consisted of a UCLA service error, a Trammell kill, a Hannah kill, and a Mendelson ace.
The Bruins tallied two scores, but Penn State then went on a 5-1 run to make it 9-3 and force UCLA to use its first timeout of the set. This run featured kills by Hannah and Trammell, a block by Trammell, and two Bruin errors.
Penn State kept the momentum going with five more scores to force the Bruins to use their second and final timeout of the set. This time, it was kills by Izzy Starck and Caroline Jurevicius, solo blocks by Mendelson and Mruzik, and an assisted block by Mendelson and Jurevicius that forced the timeout.
After the break, Penn State found another 3-0 run with kills from Hannah and Mruzik and a UCLA error to make it 17-8 Nittany Lions. From there, Penn State didn’t let up. Izzy Starck, Trammell, and Jurevicius all recorded kills to extend the lead to 21-11.
Jurevicius’s kill and Mruzik’s two kills closed the dominant set at 25-13.
Penn State started the fourth set down 2-1 but fought to tie the set at 3-3 with kills from Izzy Starck and Trammell. UCLA then went on a 3-0 run to force a Penn State timeout. Two Hannah kills, a Mruzik kill, an Izzy Starck kill, and a Mendelson closed the Bruin’s lead to one at 9-8 until an attack error tied the set as UCLA used a timeout.
The two sides split the next several scores until UCLA scored a kill and a block to make it 16-14 Bruins and forced a Penn State timeout. The Nittany Lions then tied the set after the pause with a kill by Mendelson and Bruin error.
However, the set slipped away from Penn State. UCLA went on a huge 6-1 run to make it 22-17 and the Bruins quickly forced a fifth set after taking set No. 4 25-19.
UCLA started the fifth and final set of the match with a kill, and both teams went back and forth until Hannah’s kill gave the Nittany Lions a 4-3 lead. Hannah then recorded another kill, along with a block with Trammell to make it 6-4.
The Bruins tied the set two scores later, but Schumacher-Cawley challenged UCLA’s kill and overturned it to a net violation to make it 7-5 Nittany Lions. UCLA tied the set two scores later again at 7-7. The teams switched sides after Mruzik’s kill a point later.
The Nittany Lions then scored three straight off of two UCLA errors and a block by Mendelson and Jurevicius. Jurevivius then got a kill, followed by another Bruin error to make it 13-8 Penn State. The Nittany Lions escaped with a narrow victory after capturing the final set 15-9 off of kills by Mruzik and Izzy Starck.
Takeaways
- Trammell had another impressive match hitting percentage-wise. The senior has the seventh-best hitting percentage in the nation and against UCLA, she hit .474 with 10 kills.
- Although Penn State and UCLA haven’t played each other in 10 years, the Nittany Lions have tied the all-time series, which dates back to 1983, 7-7.
- Izzy Starck was all over the court. The freshman had 6 kills and 14 digs, to go along with her 43 assists.
- The Bruins have been so close to some big upset wins. UCLA has lost to Minnesota, Michigan, USC, Purdue, and now Penn State, all in five sets.
What’s Next?
Penn State will stay in Los Angeles to face No. 16 USC at 11 p.m. on Saturday, October 26. The match will air on the Big Ten Network.
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