No. 15 Penn State (7-4, 1-0) was defeated by the unranked UCLA (7-4, 2-0) in four sets inside Rec Hall Sunday afternoon.

Although Penn State took the first set, they struggled to find a steady rhythm and fell in the next three. Kennedy Martin tallied a career-high 34 kills for the Nittany Lions. Cheridyn Levertte and Eliana Urzua combined for 36 kills. Both Addie Lyon and Kate Duffy dished out 47 assists for their respective teams. Lola Schumacher had 24 digs as the Bruins’ libero.

How It Happened

Both teams traded kills early, Martin notching the first for Penn State off an assist from Emmi Sellman. UCLA answered quickly with kills from Eliana Urzua and Brooklyn Briscoe, keeping the score tied at 3–3. 

A block from Maggie Mendelson and Addie Lyon gave the Nittany Lions an 8–7 lead, followed by back-to-back points from Mendelson that stretched the advantage to 10–7.

The Bruins went on a 5-0 run, kills from Cheridyn Leverette and a service ace by Kate Duffey forced a Penn State timeout as UCLA led 13–10. Martin and Sellman contributed multiple kills, and Mendelson used her strong presence at the net to tie the set at 13–13. 

Sellman then delivered back-to-back kills, followed by three from Martin, including the set-sealing kill for the 25-22 victory. Penn State moved to the second set with a one-set advantage. 

The Bruins jumped out to a 5–1 lead, fueled by kills from Urzua and Brooklyn Briscoe. Penn State struggled to find rhythm, with multiple hitting errors allowing UCLA to build a comfortable lead. Kills by Anastasija Ivkovic and Marianna Singletary extended their lead to 13–6 and forced a Penn State timeout. 

Penn State showed life, closing the gap to 18-13 after two UCLA attack errors. Jordan Hopp and Caroline Jurevicious contributed kills late in the set, but a late attack error gave the Bruins the set win, 25-19. After dropping the first set, UCLA answered with a dominant second-set performance to even the match 1–1.

Penn State continued to have miscues in the third set; a pair of Nittany Lion attack errors gave the Bruins a 4-1 lead. Penn State kept the set within reach with a service ace from Ava Falduto and kills by Kennedy Martin and Emmi Sellman. 

An ace from Addie Lyon and a big kill from Jurevicius to go up 18–16, forcing UCLA to call a timeout. The Bruins responded with Briscoe and Leverette tying the set at 21–21.

With the score knotted at 23–23, UCLA made the crucial plays down the stretch. Urzua delivered a huge kill to put the Bruins ahead. Leverette led all scorers in the set with five kills and a service ace. She sealed the set with back-to-back kills to give UCLA a hard-fought 25–23 win.

Martin and Urzua traded kills early. The Bruins capitalized on Penn State attack errors, and a service ace from Kat Lutz built a 10–6 advantage.

Caroline Jurevicius hammered a kill to keep the Lions within striking distance, and Emmi Sellman and Jordan Hopp combined for a block that narrowed the score to 13–10.

Two blocks and a kill from Martin tied the set at 17-17, and multiple back-and-forth rallies brought the game to 20-20. Two kills by Leverette and a costly Penn State attack error forced the Nittany Lions to call a timeout down 23-20.

Although Martin added another two kills, tallying fifteen in the fourth set alone, a kill by Urzua closed on match point gave UCLA the Big Ten win. UCLA outlasted Penn State, winning the fourth set 25–23.

Takeaways:

• Kennedy Martin has proven to be Penn State’s dominating force. She has had 20+ kills in five games this season, including her career-high 34 against UCLA today. She had 29 kills Friday night against USC. She has quickly become the go-to option for Addie Lyon.
• Maggie Mendelson has been an X-factor at the net for the Nittany Lions. She had five blocks against UCLA and a season-high eight against Pittsburgh. Her 6’5″ frame has been a force for Penn State, and she will only improve as she is further integrated on the offensive end. 

What’s Next?

Penn State will take on No. 1 Nebraska in Rec Hall at 8 p.m. on Friday, October 3. The game will be broadcast on FOX.