After going 1-1 over the weekend with a loss to Nebraska and a win over Maryland, Penn State Women’s Volleyball finds itself at 8-6.

Very few people could have predicted the 2025 Nittany Lions would end up with three times as many losses as last season, just 14 games into the season, even with the reigning NCAA champions losing a handful of veteran contributors such as Jess Mruzik, Camryn Hannah, and Taylor Trammell.

Acquiring Kennedy Martin from the transfer portal helped shrink the Mruzik-sized gap. Adding the talented, yet inexperienced, freshmen duo of Alexis Ewing and Gabrielle Nichols to the program has also helped replenish the talent pool. However, Penn State is still searching for consistency from its roster, particularly in the scoring department.

While Ewing has been leaned on to deliver kills as an outside hitter, she still has her fair share of growing pains to navigate. Head Coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley understands that.

“Alexis didn’t get here until the summer, but I think she caught up really fast. Volleyball is a game of errors, so, yes, it’s about being patient,” Schumacher-Cawley said Tuesday during her weekly media availability.

After a frustrating 3-0 loss to Nebraska, Penn State turned toward the true freshman to start all five sets against Maryland instead of Caroline Jurevicius. Ewing, a Maryland native, made the most of her opportunities, registering a career-high 12 kills against the Terrapins.

“Caroline and Alexis are great players. They both do special things. Just from Friday, Alexis was ready to go,” Schumacher-Cawley said of the decision to go with Ewing for the Maryland match.

Schumacher-Cawley says she wasn’t surprised by Ewing’s promising performance.

“She’s grown tremendously since she’s been here. She just turned 18, so she’s getting the game and learning different shots, but I think defensively, she can get better, and she knows that. She’s working on being a better blocker, so for her, it’s about knowing when she should tip and maybe hit a different shot. I’m really happy for her, though. She had her whole family there, and she’s improving every day.”

Schumacher-Cawley also mentioned sophomore Emmi Sellman, who transferred to Penn State from Ohio State after last season, as a key offensive contributor. Sellman has started all 14 games for the blue and white while ranking second on the squad in total kills with 123.

Despite being just a sophomore, Sellman is a captain and an integral part of the team’s on-court chemistry, frequently hyping up her teammates after a point.

“I think energy is really contagious, especially in the sport of volleyball. I like to bring the energy not only for myself but also for others. It helps me play better, if that makes sense,” said Sellman during weekly media availability on Tuesday.

As the season progresses, Sellman says she’s focused on maintaining consistency, both on the court and with recovery, a sentiment that Schumacher-Cawley echoed.

“We’ve been talking about being ready to go from the first whistle. I expect it because I know this team can do it. When you hang around and let teams do what they want to do, you won’t be successful. Every team in this conference is good, and there’s a short window of time when you can win, so we need to take some ownership in that and finish it,” Schumacher-Cawley said.

The upcoming weekend features back-to-back conference home games, including the White Out against No. 7 Wisconsin on Friday at 7 p.m. and a Saturday night matchup against Northwestern at 8 p.m.

Schumacher-Cawley says she wants to see her team earn the first few points and then keep pushing forward.

“We’ve had an issue with strings of points, so I’d like to cut those down quite a bit. When we play aggressively and focus, we’re pretty solid.”

After a turbulent start to the season, she believes the players have certainly taken accountability and shown a willingness to improve both individually and as a unit.

“This group has acknowledged that they need to do something on their own to be better, whether that’s extra recovery or extra reps. It’s been nice seeing them have a little more ownership of what’s going on because it’s going to take all of them to help us win.”