No. 25 Penn State women’s volleyball (13-10, 7-6 Big Ten) was swept by No. 9 Purdue (20-3, 11-2 Big Ten) 3-0 at Holloway Gymnasium on Friday night. With this loss, the Nittany Lions have now lost 10 or more matches in a season for the first time since 2021.

The first set was a back-and-forth battle as both teams struggled to build a lead throughout most of the set. However, after the set was tied at 15, Purdue pulled away and went on to win the first set 25-20, ending its six-set winless streak against Penn State dating back to last season. The Boilermakers carried this momentum into the next two sets and went on to sweep the Nittany Lions for the first time since 1987.

How It Happened

The match got underway with Penn State winning the first two points before a kill by Kenna Wollard put Purdue on the board. After Kennedy Martin recorded a kill on the next point, the Boilermakers took advantage of back-to-back errors by the Nittany Lions to tie the set at three. On the next point, Purdue took the 4-3 lead on a kill by Wollard.

Purdue’s lead was short-lived as it committed a service error that allowed Penn State to tie it at four. Both teams traded blows for the next six points as the deadlock stayed intact before back-to-back kills by the Boilermakers gave them a two-point lead. The Nittany Lions responded by winning three of the next four points to tie the set at 10.

The back-and-forth action continued for the next 10 points as neither team managed to pull away. However, Purdue got very aggressive on the attack and recorded three consecutive kills to take an 18-15 lead, forcing Penn State head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley to take a timeout. After the timeout, Purdue extended its run to four on a block assist before a kill by Martin ended it.

Both teams exchanged the next six points before a kill by Grace Heaney got the Boilermakers within two points of winning the first set. This led to another timeout by the Nittany Lions. Out of the timeout, Martin recorded another kill for the Nittany Lions to trim their deficit to three. However, Purdue refused to let Penn State gain any sort of momentum and recorded back-to-back kills to win the first set 25-20.

The Boilermakers got off to a fast start in the second set as they won five of the first six points. After both teams exchanged kills, Martin’s kill and block assist with Mendelson allowed the Nittany Lions to decrease their deficit to two. Purdue responded with back-to-back points to restore its four-point lead at 8-4.

Martin continued to carry the load for Penn State, winning two of the next three points with her kills. However, the Boilermakers went on a 3-0 run to extend their lead to six and this forced the Nittany Lions to take a timeout as the set started to get ugly for them.

After the timeout, Purdue increased its run to four with a kill by Bianka Lulic. Once again, Martin kept Penn State alive in this match as her back-to-back kills trimmed its deficit to five. Both teams traded the next four points as the Boilermakers’ five-point lead stayed intact.

However, the Nittany Lions refused to go away and responded with a 3-0 run to decrease Purdue’s lead to two. This run was highlighted with kills by Martin and Emmi Sellman, along with a service ace by Addie Lyon. This led the Boilermakers to take a timeout in hopes of cooling off Penn State’s momentum.

This timeout did not pay dividends as Martin’s back-to-back kills tied the set up at 15. Penn State could not take the lead on the next point as Dior Charles recorded a huge kill for Purdue. Both teams went back-and-forth for the next six points before a kill by Akasha Anderson and a block assist by Taylor Anderson allowed the Boilermakers to take a 21-18 lead.

After Heaney committed an attack error on the next point, Wollard’s kill got Purdue within three points of taking the second set, forcing Schumacher-Cawley to use a timeout. Both teams exchanged attack errors after the timeout before a kill by Lulic gave the Boilermakers a set point. They couldn’t capitalize on their first opportunity due to a Mendelson kill, but on their second set point, Wollard recorded a kill that allowed Purdue to win the second set 25-21 and take a two-set lead going into the third set.

Just like the second set, the Boilermakers got off to a fast start as they won four of the first five points of the third set. However, the Nittany Lions started to show signs of resilience and went on a 4-0 run to take a 5-4 lead. On the next point, Purdue tied it at five on a kill by Wollard.

Both teams exchanged points before back-to-back points by Penn State gave it a two-point lead. Penn State’s lead was short-lived as Purdue went on a 3-0 run to regain the lead. The run came to an end right after as Ewing and Jordan Hopp’s block assist tied the score at nine. The deadlock stayed intact after two points before consecutive points by the Boilermakers gave them a two-point lead.

Sellman’s kill trimmed Penn State’s deficit to one, but Purdue put its foot on the gas and responded with a 3-0 run to take a 15-11 lead heading into the media timeout. Out of the media timeout, it extended its run to five before Sellman’s kill ended the bleeding for the Nittany Lions.

This kill gave Penn State some momentum as it started to claw its way back into the set by winning four of the next five points to trim its deficit to two. The Boilermakers decided to take a timeout in hopes of cooling off the Nittany Lions’ momentum. Gillian Grimes committed a service error after the timeout that ended Penn State’s 3-0 run.

However, the Nittany Lions refused to be deterred and went on another 3-0 run to tie the set at 19. The Boilermakers won two of the next three points before Penn State took a timeout with them holding a 21-20 lead. Both teams kept trading blows as they exchanged the next four points before the Nittany Lions used their final timeout.

Out of the timeout, Wollard recorded a kill to give the Boilermakers a match point. They converted on this opportunity as Wollard recorded another kill to win the third set for Purdue 25-22 and complete the sweep.

Takeaways

• After being swept by Penn State twice last season, Purdue returned the favor as it swept it for the first time since 1987. With this loss, Penn State’s 40-year run as a ranked team will most likely come to an end.
• Despite the sweep, this match was closer than the scoreline says. However, the service game continues to be a huge problem for the Nittany Lions as they committed 10 service errors compared to three aces. Also, Kennedy Martin did not get the help she needed tonight as she recorded 20 of the team’s 42 kills. Penn State is reeling at the worst time.
• Purdue’s Kenna Wollard was the catalyst in the Boilermakers’ sweep. She recorded 19 of the team’s 46 kills and recorded the back-to-back kills that allowed the Boilermakers to complete the sweep. Along with that, her teammates Akasha Anderson and Grace Heaney played a huge role as the duo combined for 20 kills.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will look to end their three-match losing streak as they head to Champaign, Illinois, to take on Illinois at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 9. The match will be televised on the Big Ten Network.