No. 4 Penn State women’s volleyball (28-2, 18-1 Big Ten) swept Rutgers (6-24, 1-18 Big Ten) in Jersey Mike’s Arena on Wednesday night. The Nittany Lions took care of business against Rutgers to keep their hopes alive of winning the Big Ten title ahead of a tough matchup against a ranked Nebraska team on Friday.

The Nittany Lions took down a poor Scarlet Knights team in three sets, something they have struggled to do this season against teams under .500 in the Big Ten. After dominating the first set, Rutgers put up a fight against Penn State in the last two sets, but the Nittany Lions’ attack proved to be the difference in the sweep.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions got off to a fast start by winning the first five points. This start was highlighted by kills by Jess Mzurik, Maggie Mendelson, and Caroline Jurevicius. The Scarlet Knights ended this run and got on the board for the first time in the match with a kill of their own. After that point, Alissa Kinkela recorded another kill for Rutgers to decrease its deficit to three.

Both teams exchanged points before Penn State went on a 3-0 run to take a 9-3 lead in the set. This run was highlighted with kills by Izzy Starck and Camryn Hannah. Mzurik committed a service error on the next point to end the Nittany Lions’ run at three. After both teams traded points, the Nittany Lions went on yet another 3-0 run to extend their lead to eight.

The Scarlet Knights responded by winning three straight points with two kills and an error by Taylor Trammell to get within five of Penn State’s lead. Both teams traded kills before a kill by Mzurik gave the Nittany Lions a 15-9 lead heading into the media timeout.

Out of the timeout, Penn State won back-to-back points to extend its lead to eight once again. However, Rutgers won back-to-back points to trim its deficit to six. Both teams traded points before Starck and Hannah recorded back-to-back kills to give Penn State a 20-12 lead. Mruzik recorded a service ace to extend the run to three for the Nittany Lions, which forced the Scarlet Knights to take a timeout.

Our back row is all over the floor right now!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/XLCVWYHQHj

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) November 28, 2024

Starck extended the Nittany Lions’ run to four with a kill to increase their lead to double digits. Then, an attack error by Rutgers’s Natalie Robinson and a kill by Hannah gave Penn State its first set point. The Nittany Lions capitalized on the opportunity to finish off the set at 25-12.

The second set started with Penn State being sloppy on the attack, which allowed Rutgers to win the first two points on the set on errors. After both teams exchanged points, Mzurik and Mendelson recorded back-to-back kills for the Nittany Lions to tie the set at three.

After Kinkela’s kill allowed Rutgers to regain the lead, Penn State responded by winning three consecutive points to take a two-point lead in the set. However, the Scarlet Knights refused to go away and won back-to-back points to tie the set at six. After Rutgers tied the set at six, the Nittany Lions showed resilience and went on yet another 3-0 run to take a 9-6 lead.

Lexi Visintine recorded a kill for the Scarlet Knights to end the run for the Nittany Lions right after. However, Penn State kept putting its foot on the gas and went on another 3-0 run to extend its lead to five, which forced Rutgers to take a timeout hoping to regain its footing. This run was highlighted by three straight kills by Trammell, Hannah, and Gillian Grimes.

LIBERO KILL!#WeAre | Gillian Grimes pic.twitter.com/sUe3bdkpho

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) November 28, 2024

After the timeout, the Scarlet Knights started to show signs of life and went on a 4-0 run to get within one point of the Nittany Lions’ lead. On the next point, Trammell recorded a huge kill to give Penn State some breathing room. Both teams exchanged errors before a kill by Zora Hardison and attack error by Jurevicius allowed Rutgers to tie the set at 14.

Both teams went blow-for-blow for the next six points as the deadlock stayed intact. However, Penn State showed its resilience and went on a 3-0 run to take a 20-17 lead. This run was highlighted by kills by Mendelson and Hannah along with a service ace by Quinn Menger and forced Rutgers to take another timeout hoping to end Penn State’s momentum.

Another @MengerQuinn ACE! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/C643bjw9Fu

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) November 28, 2024

Out of the timeout, both teams traded blows for the next four points as Penn State’s lead stayed intact. However, an attack error by Starck and a kill by Hardison got the Scarlet Knights within one point of tying the set. On the next point, Trammell recorded a huge kill for the Nittany Lions to get them within two points of taking the second set.

After Grimes’ service error decreased Rutgers’ deficit to one, Mzurik came up big for Penn State by recording a kill to give it the first set-point opportunity. Just like the first set, the Nittany Lions capitalized on the chance with a kill by Mendelson to cap off the set at 25-22.

The third set started with the Nittany Lions seizing on their momentum from the second set by winning the first three points of the set before Hardison’s kill got Rutgers on the board. Both teams went back and forth for the next four points before a kill by Avery Jesewitz got the Scarlet Knights within one point of tying the set at five.

The Nittany Lions refused to give any sort of momentum to the Scarlet Knights and responded with back-to-back kills by Hannah to restore their three-point lead. However, Rutgers refused to throw in the towel and took advantage of Penn State’s errors by going on a 4-0 run to take its first lead in the set.

Both teams exchanged points before Hannah came up huge for the Nittany Lions by recording a kill and service ace to reclaim the lead. After regaining the lead, the Scarlet Knights got very sloppy on the attack by recording back-to-back errors to allow the Nittany Lions to extend their lead to three. On the next point, Hannah once again showed its elite power by recording another service ace to take a 13-9 lead. This forced Rutgers to take a timeout as it hoped to get back in the set.

Second ACE for @CamrynHannah during a 5-0 Penn State run!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/nOpzCpQ6Xz

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) November 28, 2024

Anna Hartman recorded a kill for the Scarlet Knights out of the timeout to end Penn State’s run. After Trammell’s attack error decreased Rutgers’ deficit to two, the Nittany Lions responded by winning back-to-back points to increase their lead to four.

Jurevicius committed an attack error on the next point, but the errors started mounting for Rutgers as it committed back-to-back errors to increase its deficit to five. After Hardison recorded a kill, Mzurik and Hannah recorded back-to-back kills for the Nittany Lions to take a 19-13 lead in the set, which forced Rutgers to take a timeout.

Both teams went back and forth for the next six points out of the timeout as Penn State’s lead stayed intact. After Rutgers recorded a kill to trim its deficit to five, Jurevicius and Mendelson recorded back-to-back kills to give the Nittany Lions their first match-point opportunity.

Unlike the first two sets, Penn State couldn’t capitalize on its first opportunity as Hardison recorded a kill. This trend continued on the next two points as the Nittany Lions couldn’t take advantage of their opportunities.

However, Penn State refused to give Rutgers any sort of momentum and finally finished off the set at 25-20 on a kill by Jurevicius.

Takeaways

• For the third time this season, the Nittany Lions were able to sweep a team below .500 in the Big Ten. The last time they swept a team below .500 was against Michigan on October 30. Despite Rutgers having the worst record in the Big Ten, this tough sweep shows how deep the Big Ten is.
• Mzurik and Hannah’s footprints were all over the court in this match. They combined for 23 of the team’s 47 kills and recorded three of the team’s service aces. The duo will need to play at this high level if Penn State wants to beat Nebraska.
• Ahead of their matchup against Nebraska, it was important for the Nittany Lions to sweep a poor Rutgers to get useful rest. They were able to do that without exerting more energy than necessary and can now focus on their Big Ten title decider on Friday.

What’s Next?

Penn State will look to clinch at least a share of the Big Ten title in its regular-season finale on Friday when it takes on No. 2 Nebraska at 5 p.m. on Friday, November 29 at Rec Hall. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.