No. 17 Penn State women’s volleyball (10-7, 4-3 Big Ten) defeated Oregon (12-5 -5, 3-4 Big Ten) 3-1 at Matthew Knight Arena on Sunday night.

After an error-riddled performance against Washington on Friday, the Nittany Lions bounced back with a strong offensive performance led by Kennedy Martin. The AVCA National Player of the Week finished with 26 kills, four blocks, and six digs.

How It Happened

The Ducks grabbed the first point of the match after a hard-hit kill from Alanah Clemente, but Penn State answered with a kill of its own, courtesy of Maggie Mendelson. An ace from Cora Taylor put Oregon up 6-4, but a pair of kills from Kennedy Martin and Emmi Sellman knotted it up at 6-6.

Mendelson continued to attack from her middle blocker position, finding a hole in the Ducks’ defense for her fourth kill of the set and giving Penn State a 12-11 lead.

4 swings, 4 kills for Mendelson!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/sJPjI4lLfd

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) October 19, 2025

Martin sandwiched an ace between two kills to put the Nittany Lions up 15-14. A strong serve from Iva Sucurovic pulled Addie Lyon into the bench area to save the ball, but Penn State’s setter couldn’t make it back to her block, allowing Martin to sandwich an ace between two kills to put the Nittany Lions up 15-14.

A strong serve from Iva Sucurovic pulled Addie Lyon into the bench area, allowing Valentina Vaulet to capitalize on a late block with a kill that tied the game at 16-16. Jordan Hopp made an immediate impact upon entering the game, logging a block and a kill in back-to-back plays. The swings from Clemente kept pouring in, as she landed a pair of kills to lessen the Ducks’ deficit, but the Nittany Lions’ in-system domination continued. Martin, Mendelson, and Caroline Jurevicius all pitched in kills to take the first set for the blue and white 25-22.

Oregon grabbed the first two points of the second set, but an ultra-rare fourth touch call on the Ducks put Penn State on the board. The Nittany Lions had no answers for Clemente, who landed another kill to extend Oregon’s 9-6 lead.

Sucurovic placed a spike just out of Lyon’s reach to put the Ducks up 12-7 and force a Penn State timeout.

Out of the break, Reese Sheppard committed a service error to flip possession back to Penn State, but a kill from Sucurovic gave Oregon a 14-9 lead. The Nittany Lions rattled off three straight scores to get back within two points, but Oregon pulled away after an attack error from Jurevicius and an ace from Sucurovic. A kill from Sellman was ruled out, but Katie Schumacher-Cawley successfully challenged the call. Sellman notched another kill to cut down the 17-15 Oregon lead.

A rare attack error from Martin dug the hole deeper and prompted Schumacher-Cawley to burn her last timeout of the set, trailing 21-16.

Kills from Sellman and Jurevicius and an ace from Ava Falduto forced an Oregon timeout.

A rally sparked for the Nittany Lions, who took three of the next four points out of the break to make it a 23-22 game. The late comeback surge was to no avail after Vaulet hammered home the set-sealing kill, taking it 25-23 for the Ducks.

To start the third set, Martin perfectly placed a roll shot to draw first blood for the Nittany Lions, but a service error from Lyon and back-to-back aces from Reese Sheppard put Oregon back on top 3-1.

Mendelson plastered her seventh kill of the night to make it a 4-3 game. Penn State’s momentum began to surge after Martin landed another kill and Lyon snuck a ball over on the second touch, putting the blue and white up 6-5. Lyon landed another surprise attack, extending Penn State’s 10-8 lead. Vaulet answered with a swing of her own, but hit the ball into the net on the next play, giving the ball back to Penn State.

Martin stuffed Sophia Meyers at the net right before the media timeout, putting Penn State up 15-11.

KMart BLOCK #WeAre pic.twitter.com/sKm1KcKjKU

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) October 19, 2025

Both squads began to rack up service errors, the latest belonging to Oregon’s Clemente. Attack errors from Martin and Hopp inched Oregon closer, forcing Penn State to take a timeout as it narrowly led 18-17.

A kill from Clemente knotted it up at 19-19, but Penn State immediately retook the lead following an Oregon service error and an ace by Lyon. Jurevicius muscled her way through a block for a score to put Penn State up 23-22 and then blasted the set-winning kill moments later.

Oregon gift-wrapped the first point of the fourth set to Penn State via a service error. Jurevicius surrendered an attack error, but immediately responded with a hard kill to cut down the 7-4 Oregon lead.

Oregon maintained an 11-7 lead after a block on Martin, but the Nittany Lions went on a 6-1 run and took a 13-12 lead after a rejection from Martin at the net. Grimes launched an ace, but put her next serve into the net. Oregon dug its heels in and went on a 4-0 run, forcing Schumacher-Cawley to take a timeout with Penn State trailing 18-17.

Out of the break, Martin mashed an ace to tie the game 18-18. Sellman placed a kill down the line to put Penn State into the 20s. Penn State benefited from a crucial Clemente service error, going up 23-22, then Jurevicius sent it to game point with a kill.

The Ducks did not relent, taking a 25-24 lead on three straight kills. Martin evened it back up at 25-25 with a kill, and Jurevicius sent it back to game point with a roll shot.

At last, Martin’s game point serve rattled off the net and plopped down onto the court to win the game for Penn State 3-1.

Off the tape ACE!

KMart ends this one in four!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/E1pwAyhIIq

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) October 19, 2025

Takeaways

• Penn State’s offense came flying out of the gates against Oregon, hitting a whopping .559% to take the first set. Kennedy Martin and Maggie Mendelson combined for 15 kills to open the match.
• Service errors were once again a major problem for the Nittany Lions. They finished with 19 errors from the line after committing 17 against Washington.
• Penn State’s big three of Martin, Mendelson, and Jurevicius led the way offensively all night long, all finishing with double-digit kills. The trio combined for 49 kills and seven blocks. Mendelson was extremely efficient from her middle blocker spot, landing 12 kills on 18 attacks.

What’s Next?

Penn State returns to Rec Hall to host Rutgers for its annual Dig Pink Match on at 7 p.m. Friday, October 24.