No. 5 Penn State women’s volleyball (2-2, 0-0 Big Ten) was upset by No. 24 TCU (1-1, 0-0 Big 12) in five sets in its final match of the State Farm Women’s College Volleyball Showcase at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

After being upset by Arizona State in its first match of the tournament, the Nittany Lions’ struggles continued as they got dominated in the first two sets by the Horned Frogs. TCU took a three-point lead halfway through the third set before an injury to its captain, Jalyn Gibson, changed the momentum of the third set as Penn State went on to win the third and fourth set to send this match into a deciding set. However, the Horned Frogs showed their resilience and won the fifth set to avoid the reverse sweep.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions got on the board first with a kill by Emmi Sellman before TCU won consecutive points to take the early advantage. After both teams exchanged points, Sellman recorded a kill on the next point that allowed Penn State to tie the first set at three.

However, the Horned Frogs went into lockdown mode as they went on a 6-0 run to take a 9-3 lead. This forced Penn State head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley to take an early timeout. After the timeout, TCU’s run came to an end due to a kill by Izzy Starck.

Both teams traded blows for the next six points before a 3-0 run by the Horned Frogs allowed them to extend their lead to eight. Their run ended on the next point due to service error by Lauren Murphy. However, TCU continued to make life difficult for Penn State as it went on another 3-0 run to increase its lead to double-digits.

After Kennedy Martin’s kill ended TCU’s run, the bleeding continued for the Nittany Lions as the Horned Frogs won three consecutive points to take a commanding 21-9 lead. However, Penn State started to show signs of life as it won six of the next seven points to trim its deficit to seven. This led to a timeout by TCU in hopes of cooling Penn State’s momentum.

Out of the timeout, the Nittany Lions continued to seize their momentum as they won three consecutive points to get within four of the Horned Frogs’ lead. However, the Horned Frogs refused to let a collapse happen and responded with back-to-back points to give themselves six set points. Penn State saved the first set point on a kill by Jordan Hopp, but TCU converted on its second chance on a block assist by Evan Hendrix and Sarah Sylvester as it won the first set 25-19.

TCU got off to a fast start in the second set as it won three of the first four points of the set. However, the Nittany Lions responded with a 3-0 run to take their first lead of the set. On the next point, Hendrix recorded a kill for the Horned Frogs to end the Nittany Lions’ run and tied the set at four.

Both teams traded blows for the next four points before a kill by Sylvester and service ace by Hendrix gave TCU a two-point lead. The back-and-forth affair wagered on for the next four points but a kill by Martin and attack error by Jalyn Gibson allowed the Nittany Lions to tie the set once again at 10.

However, the deadlock was short-lived as TCU started to put its foot on the gas as it went on a 5-0 run to take a 15-10 lead. This led to a media timeout as the set started to slip away for Penn State. The Horned Frogs increased their run to six before a kill by Sellman on the next point ended it.

After Hendrix recorded a kill on the next point, the Nittany Lions responded with back-to-back points to decrease their deficit to four. However, TCU continued to be aggressive as it won three consecutive points to take a commanding 20-13 which forced Schumacher-Cawley to take a timeout as things started to get ugly for her team.

The momentum for the Horned Frogs after the timeout as they won four of the next five points to take a double-digit lead and give themselves set point. Alexis Ewing saved the first set point for the Nittany Lions with her kill, but TCU capitalized on the next point with a block assist by Sylvester and Gibson to win a dominating second set 25-15 and bury Penn State into a two-set deficit heading into the third set.

After being dominated in the first two sets, Schumacher-Cawley made an adjustment to her starting lineup by taking out Maggie Mendelson and inserting Gabrielle Nichols in hopes of revitalizing her team. Both teams exchanged the first eight points of the third set before the Horned Frogs won four of the next five points to take an 8-5 lead.

On the next point, Gibson recorded an attack error, but she suffered an injury on the play which forced the match to go into a media timeout as TCU’s captain went into the locker room. This injury changed the momentum of the set as the Nittany Lions went on to win five of the next seven points to take the lead.

However, the Horned Frogs refused to be deterred as they went on a 4-0 run to restore their three-point lead. Penn State won two of the next three points before a media timeout occurred with TCU holding a 15-13 lead. This media timeout paid huge dividends for the Nittany Lions as they went on a 3-0 run to retake the lead before a kill by Hendrix tied the set at 16.

Both teams exchanged blows for the next eight points as the deadlock stayed intact. Nichols started to make her impact in this match as her kill and block assist with Martin gave Penn State two-point lead which forced the Horned Frogs to take a timeout.

MONSTER BLOCK!

Kennedy Martin forces a TCU timeout with the roof

: @FOXTV#WeAre pic.twitter.com/BWlLUMWFMs

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) September 1, 2025

Out of the timeout, the Nittany Lions extended their run to four which gave them four set points and led TCU to take another timeout. Penn State capitalized on this opportunity due to a bad set by Rosemary Archer as it won the third set 25-20 to send this match into a fourth set.

The Nittany Lions extended their run to 10 dating back to the third set as they won the first four points of the fourth set. This led to a timeout by TCU head coach Jason Williams in hopes of cooling off Penn State’s momentum. This timeout paid off for the Horned Frogs as they ended the Nittany Lions’ run by winning back-to-back points.

However, Penn State continued to seize its momentum as it won five of the next six points to extend its lead to six. Both teams went back-and-forth for the next four points before TCU won consecutive points to decrease its deficit to five. The Nittany Lions refused to give the Horned Frogs any sort of momentum and responded with a 3-0 run to take a 14-6 lead.

Both teams exchanged the next six points before an attack error by Sylvester and bad set by Ella Foti increased Penn State’s lead to double digits. The Horned Frogs refused to go away and won five of the next six points before a kill and service ace by Martin got the Nittany Lions within three points of sending this match to a fifth set.

Both teams traded points before Sellman’s kill gave Penn State nine set point opportunities. TCU saved four set points but on their fifth opportunity, the Nittany Lions won the fourth set 25-19 thanks to a kill by Martin to send this match into a deciding set.

Emmi Sellman rips the line shot to put @PennStateVBALL at set point pic.twitter.com/CfB0midfHA

— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) September 1, 2025

TCU got off to a fast start in the fifth set as it won the first three points before an attack error by Becca Kelley got Penn State on the board. After Caroline Jurevicius recorded a kill on the next point, the Horned Frogs refused to relinquish their lead and went on a 3-0 run to take a 6-2 lead.

Both teams exchanged points before a kill by Sylvester gave TCU a five-point lead heading into the media timeout. After the media timeout, Jurevicius recorded a kill to trim the Nittany Lions’ deficit to four, but the Horned Frogs responded with consecutive points to get within five points of winning the match which led to a Penn State timeout.

Out of the timeout, TCU extended its lead to seven on a block assist by Alexis Roberson and Murphy. However, the Nittany Lions refused to go away and responded with a 3-0 run to trim their deficit to four. This forced the Horned Frogs to take a timeout. Penn State extended its run to five after the timeout to get within two of TCU’s lead.

The Nittany Lions started to commit costly attack errors right after as they committed back-to-back errors. This got the Horned Frogs within two points of winning the match and forced Penn State to use its final timeout. Martin recorded a kill after the timeout before a service error by Penn State gave TCU four match points.

The Nittany Lions managed to save two match points due to a service error and solo block by Nichols. However, Penn State shot itself in the foot as it committed a service error on the next point which allowed TCU to win the fifth set 15-12 as Penn State’s comeback bid came up short.

Takeaways

• The struggles for the Nittany Lions kept on going. They got dominated in the first two sets and despite forcing fifth set, they could not carry that momentum into the fifth set that they dominated last year. With this loss, Penn State equaled its total losses from last year in just four games into the season and lost the fifth set for the first time since 2023. It won’t get easier for it as it will play another ranked opponent on Friday.
• TCU dominated Penn State in the service game. This played a huge role in its upset win over the defending champions as it recorded 11 service aces compared to Penn State’s four. Also, Penn State committed seven more attack errors than TCU as its struggles on the attack cost it the comeback win.
• TCU dominated the first two sets and looked to be on its way to a sweep over Penn State but the injury to its captain, Jalyn Gibson, changed the momentum of the third set as Penn State went on to win the third and fourth set before pulling out the win in the fifth set. It showed a lot of resilience after all that happened, and this could’ve been an easier win for it if the injury didn’t happen.

What’s Next?

Penn State will play its home opener at Rec Hall and raise its national title banner on Friday, September 5, at 8 p.m. when it takes on No. 4 Kentucky. The match will be nationally televised by FOX.