Penn State women’s volleyball (14-11, 8-7 Big Ten) was swept by the Minnesota Gophers (18-8, 8-7 Big Ten) at Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Julia Hanson led the Gophers with 14 kills. Kennedy Martin had 26 kills for the Nittany Lions, hitting .447 on the night. 

How It Happened

Kennedy Martin opened the match with a back-row kill for the Nittany Lions. Julia Handson answered with a back-row swing of her own for the Gophers. Martin stayed hot, giving herself four kills on four swings to start the set. Penn State started strong offensively with 1 error on their first 10 swings.

Emmi Sellman notched a block, then scored a kill immediately after to spark a 3-0 Penn State run, giving them an 8-6 lead. Addie Lyon notched a service ace, pushing Penn State ahead 12–9. Martin added another kill, and Mendelson delivered back-to-back kills. Penn State still had 0 errors on 17 swings, and another Martin kill prompted Minnesota to call a timeout with the Nittany Lions up 17–13.

Jordan Hopp scored off the slide, and Sellman followed with a kill tucked inside the block. A few Penn State service errors allowed Minnesota to close the gap, leading to a Penn State timeout with the Lions ahead 20–18. Martin added another kill for the Lions, but Kelly Kinney delivered a service ace, pulling the Gophers within one at 21–20.

Gilk then had back-to-back kills, giving Minnesota the late lead at 23–22, forcing another Penn State timeout. Hopp and Ewing came up with a block, but Minnesota took the set 25-23. Penn State hit efficiently with just 3 attacking errors on 36 swings, but their 6 service errors played a significant role in the narrow loss.

Martin took control immediately to start the second set, opening with back-to-back kills. Minnesota answered with two kills from Gilk, but Martin responded again with another kill. Sellman followed with a kill, keeping the set tight through the early points.

The score remained close until Minnesota gathered kills from Hanson and Swenson, giving the Gophers an 11-8 lead. Martin stayed sharp with another kill, followed by a kill from Ewing. Martin added two kills, and a solo block from Hopp, and a Hopp–Martin block extended Penn State’s lead to 15–12.

The Gophers began to close the gap, but kills from Ewing and Martin allowed them to lead 18-17. Penn State then committed two hitting errors, giving Minnesota the lead at 20–18 and forcing a Penn State timeout. Hopp scored with a kill, but Minnesota answered by forcing an attack error and tallying a kill, extending the lead to 23–19.

Martin came out of another Nittany Lion timeout with two kills, forcing Minnesota to call a timeout. Martin struck again, her 10th kill of the set, delivered off a Sellman assist. Penn State appeared to tie the match at 24–24 when Maggie Mendelson scored off the block, but after a Minnesota challenge, the call was overturned, giving Minnesota the second set in devastating fashion.

A service ace from Jordan Hopp, giving Penn State the early spark in the third set. Kennedy Martin immediately added a kill, then another, continuing her dominant offensive performance. Minnesota struggled early, giving up three straight points on errors, allowing Penn State to build an early lead.

Martin responded with two more kills. Despite Martin’s early surge, Minnesota’s freshmen Taylor and Kinney answered with key kills to keep the Gophers in front. Minnesota led 15–11 heading into the media timeout.

Out of the break, Penn State gained momentum with back-to-back kills from Mendelson. After a long, hard-fought rally, Sellman added a kill and a block from Hopp, and Ewing tied the set at 17–17. A Hopp–Willow block and a service ace from Martin gave Penn State the 20–18 lead, forcing Minnesota to burn a timeout. The Gophers quickly tied the set 20–20, forcing a Penn State timeout.

Martin came out of the timeout firing, drilling a back-row kill, and another Minnesota error pushed the Lions ahead 22–20. Minnesota responded with three consecutive kills and put the match away with a service ace from Swenson and a kill from Kinney, sealing the sweep for the Gophers.

Takeaways

• Martin continues her hot streak, tallying 26 kills and hitting nearly .500. Her teammates need to feed off of her intensity to finish off the season in the win column. 
• Penn State struggled with efficiency after the first set, racking up 14 service errors and 17 attack errors. Cleaning up these controllable factors is the only way to set this team on a positive track to close out the regular season. 

What’s Next?

Penn State Volleyball returns to Happy Valley to face off against Ohio State at 2 p.m. on Sunday, November 16. The match will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.