No. 12 Penn State women’s volleyball (4-3, 0-0 Big Ten) swept Bucknell (1-5, 0-0 Patriot League) 3-0 at Rec Hall on Tuesday night.

In the absence of its star player, Kennedy Martin, Penn State dominated Bucknell in the first two sets as it won the first two sets by six points or more. However, the Bison refused to go out without a fight and gave the Nittany Lions a run for their money in the third set as they were tied at 19 before the Nittany Lions pulled away to complete the sweep..

How It Happened

Penn State head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley made a change in her starting lineup as Alexis Ewing got the start over Kennedy Martin due to rest. Bucknell won the first two points of the first set before a block assist by Ewing and Maggie Mendelson got Penn State on the board. This block assist gave the Nittany Lions momentum as they went on to record three consecutive kills to take a 4-2 lead.

This run ended on the next point due to a service error by Jocelyn Nathan. Both teams went back-and-forth for the next six points as Penn State’s one-point lead stayed intact. The Bison tied the set at seven right after on a kill by Tijana Kostic. The deadlock was short-lived as the Nittany Lions started to seize their momentum as they went on a 4-0 run to take an 11-7 lead.

After Kostic’s kill ended Penn State’s run on the next point, it started to seize its momentum as it went to win four of the next five points to increase its lead to six heading into the media timeout. This was highlighted with kills by Jordan Hopp, Ewing, along with a block assist by her and Mendelson.

Mendelson/Ewing BLOCK!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/F5s4f5ygXE

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) September 9, 2025

Out of the media timeout, Bucknell started to show signs of life as it won three of the next four points to decrease its deficit to four. Both teams traded blows for the next four points before a service error by Bella Rodriguez allowed the Nittany Lions to take a 19-14 lead.

The back-and-forth affair continued after a timeout as both teams exchanged the next four points. On the next point, Addie Lyon recorded a service ace that allowed the Nittany Lions to get within three points of winning the first set. Bucknell responded by winning three of the next four points to trim its deficit to four.

However, Caroline Jurevicius recorded a huge kill for the Nittany Lions that allowed them to get five set points. On their first set point, the Nittany Lions capitalized on a service ace by Gillian Grimes as they won the first set 25-19.

The Bison got the board first in the second set before the Nittany Lions got aggressive on the attack and went on a 4-0 run that consisted of three kills and a service error. After Bri Frazilus’s kill ended Penn State’s run, it increased its lead to four on back-to-back kills by Ewing and Emmi Sellman. On the next point, Frazilus recorded a kill to trim Bucknell’s deficit to three.

However, Penn State started to put its foot on the gas as it went on a 4-0 run to take a 10-3 lead. This run was highlighted with kills by Ewing and Lyon, along with a block assist by the duo. Trying to find its way back into the set, Bucknell responded with a 3-0 run after Penn State’s run to decrease its deficit to four.

Once again, the Nittany Lions refused to let the Bison seize their momentum and responded with a 3-0 run to extend their lead to seven before a Bucknell timeout occurred. This run was highlighted with a kill by Gabrielle Nichols and two service aces by Lyon.

After the timeout, Bucknell ended Penn State’s run on an attack error by Ewing. However, the Nittany Lions refused to let the Bison any sort of momentum as they went on to win four of the next points to take a 17-8 lead. Both teams exchanged the next four points before Bucknell took its final timeout of the set.

Penn State took a double-digit lead after the timeout on a kill by Ewing. It continued its dominance as it went on to win four consecutive points to give it a set point. Just like the first set, it converted on its first opportunity on a kill by Sellman as Penn State dominated the second set 25-10.

Both teams exchanged the first four points of the third set before a service ace by Frazilus and an attack error by Mendelson gave the Bison an early 4-2 lead. After both teams traded points, Jurevicius showed her aggressiveness and went on to record a kill along with a solo block to tie the set up at five.

The deadlock stayed intact for the next two points, but once again, the Nittany Lions started to pull away from the Bison as they went on a 3-0 run to take a three-point lead. This run ended right after on a service error by Sellman, but Penn State continued to pull away as it won three of the next four points to take a 12-8 lead.

Both teams exchanged the next four points before an attack error by Frazilus increased the Nittany Lions’ lead to five heading into the media timeout. This media timeout paid dividends for the Bison as they went on a 3-0 run to get within two of the Nittany Lions’ lead. The run ended right after an attack error by Rodriguez, which allowed Penn State to have some breathing room.

However, Bucknell continued to fight back as it won back-to-back points to get within one point of tying Penn State at 16. Penn State refused to relinquish its lead and won consecutive points to take an 18-15 lead. The Bison refused to let the Nittany Lions pull away and won back-to-back points to trim their deficit to one, which forced Schumacher-Cawley to use her first timeout of the match.

Bucknell tied the set at 18 after the timeout on a kill by Kostic. Both teams traded points before kills by Ewing and Sellman gave the Nittany Lions a two-point lead. They extended their lead to three on a kill by Mendelson, which led Bucknell to use a timeout.

Both teams exchanged points after the timeout, before a block assist by Nichols and Mendelson gave Penn State four match points. This led the Bison to take its final timeout in hopes of making a comeback in the set. Just like the first two sets, the Nittany Lions converted on their first opportunity on an attack error by Riley Tucker as they completed the sweep with a 25-20 third set win.

Takeaways

• With the absence of Kennedy Martin, the Nittany Lions had an all-around performance as five players on the team had six kills or more. The player who had the most kills was Emmi Sellman with 10, and the other players who had six or more kills were Alexis Ewing, Maggie Mendelson, Caroline Jurevicius, and Jordan Hopp.
• Kill played a huge role in Penn State’s sweep over Bucknell. Penn State was more aggressive on the attack as it recorded 46 kills compared to Bucknell’s 22.
• Another factor that was crucial to this sweep was hitting percentage. The Nittany Lions had a hitting percentage of .362 compared to the Bison’s .079.

What’s Next?

Penn State will have a week-long break before it returns to action on Wednesday, September 17, at 7 p.m., where it will take on No. 7 Pitt at Rec Hall. The match will be televised on BTN.