No. 4 Penn State women’s volleyball (26-2, 16-1 Big Ten) swept No. 8 Purdue (22-6, 13-4 Big Ten) 3-0 on Thursday night in Rec Hall.

Camryn Hannah led the offense with 14 kills as Penn State battled in three back-and-forth sets before ultimately picking up the sweep.

How It Happened

Taylor Trammell opened up the match with a kill on the first point. Eva Hudson grabbed the next point before Ali Hornung delivered an ace to put the Boilermakers up 2-1. The Nittany Lions took the next point on an attacking error and the teams proceeded to trade points.

Hannah registered her first kill of the match to bring Penn State to within one, and Quinn Menger had a service ace on the next point to tie the match at 5-5.

Raven Colvin put Penn State back on top, but three points in a row from the Nittany Lions gave them the lead as Hannah went back-to-back with two kills that pushed the lead to 8-6.

A Purdue service error pushed the Penn State lead to 9-7 before Penn State returned the favor and gave serve back to Purdue. Hudson put another ball on the deck, and the game was tied at 9-9. After a few back-and-forth points, Purdue strung together two points in a row and went up 15-13 as the game headed into a media timeout.

Hannah couldn’t find the court on a kill attempt as Purdue took the first point out of the timeout, but Maggie Mendelson delivered a kill on the next point as Penn State got back within two. An attack error followed by a Hannah kill tied the game at 16-16 before the teams traded service errors and were tied at 17-17.

Trammell and Hannah combined on back-to-back kills that put Penn State up 19-18 and Purdue called its first timeout of the match. Jess Mruzik nabbed a kill out of the timeout before a service error put the score at 20-19. Mruzik came alive and delivered another kill and Mendelson followed suit as the lead grew to 22-19 and forced another Purdue timeout.

The Nittany Lions took the point after the timeout, and Mendelson got the Nittany Lions to set point at 24-20. Izzy Starck put the set away with a kill as Penn State took the opener 25-20.

Trammell missed a kill attempt at the beginning of the second set, but Mruzik recorded another kill on the next point. A service error followed by a bad set gave Purdue a 3-1 lead which turned into a 4-1 lead before Penn State could manage another point.

The Nittany Lions pulled back to even at 5-5 before an attack error put Purdue back on top. A kill, an ace, and a Purdue attack error spurred a 4-0 run from the Nittany Lions that gave them a 9-6 lead as Purdue called a timeout.

The run continued, though, and Purdue finally broke the streak with a point as Penn State led 11-7. The lead stayed at four until Penn State reached 13 as Purdue went on a 5-0 run to tie the game up and force a Penn State timeout.

The Nittany Lions took the point after the timeout but Purdue tied the game again on the next rally. Hudson recorded another kill on the next point and Purdue took the lead at 15-14. Mruzik tied the game again but Purdue went on a 3-0 run and Penn State called a timeout trailing 18-15.

After trading points, a Hannah kill was followed by a block as Penn State got to within one point at 19-18. Purdue took the next point, but Trammell put away a long rally and an attack error from the Boilermakers tied the game at 20-20.

A Hanna ace gave Penn State a 22-21 lead and Purdue called a timeout. The Boilermakers tied the game at 22-22 and again at 23-23 before Mruzik gave the Nittany Lions set point. Mendelson put the set away with a kill on the next point as Penn State took the second frame 25-23.

Purdue took the first point of the third set but Caroline Jurevicius responded for the Nittany Lions. After trading points for a lengthy part of the first set, Purdue went on a 4-1 run and took a 10-8 lead in the third set. Mruzik responded with a kill and Mendelson followed with two of her own as Penn State took an 11-10 lead. An error extended the Nittany Lions’ lead to two and forced a Purdue timeout.

Hudson scored out of the timeout to begin another period of trading points. After a service error, the Nittany Lions went on a 3-0 run and pushed the score to 17-14 in favor of the blue and white before Purdue called its final timeout.

The Nittany Lions continued the momentum out of the timeout and quickly went up 21-16. Purdue didn’t manage another point, and Mruzik and Trammell closed out the game with a block assist as Penn State took the third set 25-16.

Takeaways

• Mruzik and Hannah led the offense, delivering when the team needed it most. Mruzik finished the night with 11 kills while Hannah registered 14 in the win.
• The Nittany Lions had to overcome Purdue leads in the first two sets and recovered from a 5-0 Purdue run in the second that tied the set. Regardless, the Nittany Lions won both sets and showed they can come together when the team needs it.
• Menger continued her streak of strong service, as she had her third straight game with at least three service aces, finishing with three on the night.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will take on Washington at 2 p.m. on Sunday, November 24, inside Rec Hall.