No. 25 Penn State women’s volleyball (14-10, 8-6 Big Ten) took down Illinois (12-11, 7-7 Big Ten) 3-1 at Huff Hall on Sunday afternoon.

The Nittany Lions ended their three-game skid after four gritty sets against the Illini.

How It Happened

Emmi Sellman kicked off the match with a kill to give Penn State an early 1-0 lead. Both offenses kept swinging, but Illinois found itself up 6-5 after kills from Alyssa Aguayo and Ashlyn Philpot. Penn State pieced together a 5-0 run that featured kills from Sellman, Alexis Ewing, and a service ace.

A creative set from Lyon set Martin up with a kil to knot it up 13-13. Penn State, leading 19-17, forced Illinois to take its first timeout, but it wasn’t effective, as Ava Falduto aced out of the break. Penn State took two of the next four to go up 22-20, forcing the Illini to use its final timeout.

A kill from Mendelson moved it to set point, where the Nittany Lions secured the first set 25-23.

Illinois jumped out to a 3-0 lead to begin the second set of the day, but Mendelson pounded a pair of kills from her middle blocker position to keep Penn State close. Illinois remained in front 7-5 after an uncharacteristic error from Gillian Grimes, and shortly after, an attack error from Illinois knotted it up at 8-8.

Sellman and Mendelson sparked a 5-0 run after combining for five kills to give the Nittany Lions a 14-12 lead. Three kills from Taylor de Boer, along with a Penn State service error, moved Illinois within one point at 18-17. Mendelson continued to make plays, plastering a ball that came floating over on a bad Illinois bump to put Penn State into the 20s.

Back-to-back attack errors from Martin and Sellman kept a 4-0 Illinois run churning, forcing Penn State to take a timeout as it trailed 22-20. Out of the break, Mendelson landed her 10th kill of the afternoon, but Illinois answered with an Averie Hernandez kill from the back row.

The pendulum swung back to Penn State thanks to a kill from Martin to make it 23-22. Then, Martin stuffed Hernandez at the net to end an intense rally and knot it up 23-23.

win a long rally to tie it up!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/u5VOG5tgfa

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

A kill from Philpot moved it to set-point for the Illini, prompting Penn State to burn its final timeout.

Out of the break, Martin painted the baseline to keep Penn State alive. Then, Grimes snuck a cheeky serve over the tape of the net to move the Nittany Lions into the drivers seat, 25-24.

The Illini didn’t blink, landing three consecutive kills to end a thrilling second set 27-25.

Sellman drew first blood of the third set, but Jordan Hopp immediately surrendered the lead with a service error. Illinois returned the favor with a service error of its own. An attack error from Aguayo put Penn State up 4-3. Martin unleashed a spike that sounded like a shotgun blast, resulting in a kill that extended the lead.

Penn State climbed to a 10-7 lead after Hopp stuffed de Boer at the net and Ava Falduto notched back-to-back aces. Illinois took the next three points with kills from Hernandez and Aguayo to tie it up at 10-10.

Penn State climbed out to an 18-15 lead after a block and ace from Martin. Illinois called a timeout, but Penn State kept rolling after Ewing tooled the block. Ewing landed another flashy kill to put Penn State up 21-16. Mendelson, who took a spike off her head earlier in the play, found a hole in the defense and placed a kill directly into it to put Penn State up 23-19. Martin plastered a kill to move Penn State to set point, but the Illini remained in pursuit, taking three straight points and forcing a timeout from the Nittany Lions.

Despite Illinois botching its blocking assignment, Ewing was unable to find the court, keeping Illinois’ run alive. At last, Penn State closed the third set out 25-23 after a kill from Martin.

Penn State took the first two points of the fourth set on a pair of attack errors by Illinois, but Philpot and Gabby Dean logged a kill each to knot it up at 2-2. The swings from Illinois’ offense began to build up, as the Illini took a 10-8 lead after a kill from Aguayo. However, Penn State dug down and sparked a 6-0 scoring run fueled by a pair of kills and a block from Sellman.

Another kill from Sellman put Penn State up 14-11. Aguayo rattled off three kills to narrow the gap, and a kill from Auburn Tomkinson brought Illinois within one at 19-18. An Illinois service error pushed Penn State into the 20s. The red-hot Sellman landed another kill to put Penn State up 22-19.

13 kills for Sellman!

Illini timeout#WeAre pic.twitter.com/FxefvHkwl7

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

Martin came flying out of the back row, sending the ball ricocheting off Illini blockers to go up 23-21. Then, Sellman tooled the block to force setpoint, where Martin finished it with an awkward side-arm kill.

Takeaways

• Penn State hasn’t been unranked since 1988. With a win tonight, the program avoided a weekend sweep and provided some much-needed stability.
• Maggie Mendelson was stellar today. She finished with 16 kills and two blocks, but her efficiency was the difference maker. The senior logged an absurd .516 hitting percentage and did not commit an attack error against Illinois.
• Service play remained a double-edged sword for the Nittany Lions tonight. They surrendered 13 service errors, but logged eight service aces as well. This is simply a part of the unit’s identity at this point of the season.

What’s Next?

Penn State heads to Minneapolis for a conference matchup against Minnesota on Friday, November 14, at 8 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.