No. 1-seeded Penn State women’s volleyball (30-2, 19-1 Big Ten) swept Delaware State (17-14, 11-4 MEAC) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night at Rec Hall.

The Nittany Lions dominated the Hornets from start to finish. Penn State gave up just four points in the first set, and while Delaware State stayed competitive in the next two sets, Penn State’s elite attack proved to be too much.

How It Happened

Delaware State got on the board first with a kill by Alondra Maldonado before Caroline Jurevicius’s kill tied the set at one. After both teams exchanged kills, Jess Mzurik recorded a kill for Penn State to take a 3-2 lead. This kill gave a lot of momentum to the Nittany Lions as they won the next four points to take a five-point lead. This run was highlighted with service aces by Ava Falduto and a block assist by Maggie Mendelson and Izzy Starck and forced the Hornets to take their first timeout.

Out of the timeout, the momentum kept on rolling for the Nittany Lions as they extended their run to seven with back-to-back kills. After that, Delaware State couldn’t stop the bleeding and committed three consecutive attack errors. This allowed Penn State to extend its run to 10 and take commanding double-digit lead. The run ended at 10 as Falduto committed a service error on the next point. However, the Nittany Lions continued to dominate the Hornets after Falduto’s error as they responded with back-to-back kills by Camryn Hannah and Mzurik. Penn State’s lead extended to 13 right after as Mzurik recorded a service ace and forced Delaware State to take another timeout as they looked to find a way to get back into the set.

The Nittany Lions kept their foot on the gas out of the timeout as they won the next five points to take a commanding 20-3 lead. Things kept getting worse for the Hornets as Penn State won the next three points on kills by Mruzik and Hannah along with a service ace by Mzurik. This extended the run to 11 and gave the Nittany Lions a 20-point lead in the set. Delaware State finally got its fourth point of the set on the next point on a kill by Aaliyah Mitchell. Hannah recorded a kill right after to give the Nittany Lions their first set-point opportunity. Penn State capitalized on its first opportunity as Quinn Menger recorded a service ace to end a dominating first set at 25-4.

Just like the first set, Delaware State got on the board first in the second set before Jurevicius’s kill tied the set at one. However, the Hornets started to show signs of life as they went on to win back-to-back to take a two-point lead. Both teams traded kills before a kill by Mzurik and an attack error by Gerren Tomlin tied the set at four. Mzurik recorded a service ace right after to give the Nittany Lions their first lead of the set.

Both teams went back and forth for the next six points as Penn State’s lead stayed intact. However, the Hornets refused to go away, and Paige Ahakuelo recorded back-to-back aces to regain the lead at 9-8. This lead was short-lived as the Nittany Lions went on a 3-0 run to take a two-point lead. This run was highlighted with a block assist by Jurevicius and Taylor Trammell along with a kill by Mzurik.

Hannah’s service error ended Penn State’s run at three on the next point. However, the Nittany Lions responded with back-to-back kills by Mzurik and Jurevicius to extend their lead to three. After both teams traded points, Delaware State showed its resilience and recorded back-to-back kills to trim its deficit to one. Jordan Hopp recorded a huge kill for Penn State on the next point to give it some breathing room heading into the media timeout.

Hopp’s kill gave a lot of momentum to the Nittany Lions after the timeout as they went on a 3-0 run to increase their lead to five. This forced the Hornets to take a timeout hoping to regain their momentum.

This timeout paid off as Delaware State won back-to-back points after the timeout to get within three points of Penn State’s lead. However, the Nittany Lions refused to let the Hornets gain any sort of momentum and responded with a 4-0 run to extend their lead to seven. This run was highlighted with kills by Trammell, Hannah, and Izzy Starck. On the next point, Mzurik committed an attack error to end Penn State’s run. Both teams exchanged points before Delaware State refused to throw in the towel and responded with a 3-0 run to trim their deficit to three.

However, Trammell and Jurevicius came up huge for the Nittany Lions as they recorded a block assist to give themselves their first set point. This forced the Hornets to take a timeout. After the timeout, Trammell’s kill allowed Penn State to convert on its opportunity and cap off the set at 25-20.

Trammell with a kill for set point!

Watch: @ESPNPlus #WeAre pic.twitter.com/qQZBreHlxl

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) December 7, 2024

Unlike the first two sets, the Nittany Lions got off to a fast start in the third set by winning the first three points. However, Delaware State refused to give up and responded with a 3-0 run to tie the set. Both teams went blow-for-blow for the next four points as the deadlock stayed. Then, Penn State won back-to-back points on an attack error and kill by Hannah to take a two-point lead.

This lead was short-lived as the Hornets responded with back-to-back kills to tie the set at seven. Both teams traded kills before Hannah’s kill and Mitchell’s attack error restored the Nittany Lions’ two-point lead. This gave confidence to Penn State as it extended its lead to four right after with a kill by Jurevicius and a service ace by Starck. This forced Delaware State to take a timeout hoping to end Penn State’s momentum.

Hopp committed an attack error after the timeout to end the Nittany Lions’ run. Then, Jurevicius recorded back-to-back kills to extend Penn State’s lead to five. Both teams went back and forth for the next four points before a service ace by Falduto and a kill by Anjelina Starck gave the Nittany Lions an 18-11 lead. However, Delaware State demonstrated its resilience and went on a 4-0 run to decrease its deficit to three. Tomlin committed a costly attack error for the Hornets that allowed the Nittany Lions to end their point drought. On the next point, Anjelina Starck recorded a service ace to extend Penn State’s lead to five and force Delaware State to take a timeout.

Anj ACE!

Watch: @ESPNPlus #WeAre pic.twitter.com/ZkiRZvwair

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) December 7, 2024

Anjelina Starck seized her momentum out of the timeout as she recorded another service ace. After both teams traded kills, the Hornets won back-to-back points to decrease their deficit to five. Alexa Markley recorded a kill for Penn State to get its first match-point opportunity. The Nittany Lions capitalized on this opportunity with a kill by Jurevicius to end the set at 25-18.

Takeaways

• The Nittany Lions dominated the Hornets in a lopsided sweep. They had 19 more kills and 18 more digs than Delaware State. Also, they had a hitting percentage of .456 compared to Delaware State’s .080. The Hornets never stood a chance.
• The trio of Hannah, Mzurik, and Jurevicius had their footprints all over this match. They combined for 29 of the team’s 42 kills and head into their match tomorrow with a lot of confidence.
• It was important for the Nittany Lions to get this sweep. After having the narrative of struggling to put away inferior teams in three sets, this team has been able to put away their last two unranked opponents in three sets. Also, they put some bench players in the game, which was huge in allowing the starters to get some rest ahead of Saturday’s second round affair.

What’s Next?

Penn State advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament to face North Carolina at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 7, at Rec Hall. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.