No. 24 Penn State Women’s Volleyball Sweeps Michigan State 3-0
No. 24 Penn State women’s volleyball (16-11, 10-7 Big Ten) swept Michigan State (18-9, 8-9 Big Ten) 3-0 at Rec Hall on Friday night. This was head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley’s 100th win with the Nittany Lions.
Penn State won the first set dominantly, winning it by a 10-point margin. However, the second set was a tight back-and-forth affair, but in the end, the Nittany Lions pulled away to take a two-set lead heading into the third set. The third set was also a tight affair, and it looked like Michigan State was on its way to forcing a fourth set as it held a 23-22 lead. However, Penn State managed to complete the sweep thanks to a 3-0 run.
How It Happened
Penn State got off to a fast start as it won the first three points of the first set. On the next point, Evie Doezema recorded a kill for Michigan State to put it on the board. However, the Nittany Lions continued to put their foot on the gas and went on a 5-0 run to take an 8-1 lead. This run was highlighted with two kills by Kennedy Martin and one by Emmi Sellman, forcing the Spartans to take a timeout.
After the timeout, Penn State increased its run to six on a block assist by Addie Lyon and Gabrielle Nichols. The run came to an end on the next point as Karolina Staniszewska’s kill gave the Spartans their second point of the set. Both teams went back and forth for the next 10 points as the Nittany Lions’ seven-point lead stayed intact.
Michigan State started to find its way back into the set as it won three of the next four points to cut the deficit to five. Both teams traded the next four points before a 3-0 run by Penn State gave it a 20-12 lead. This led the Spartans to take another timeout in hopes of ending the Nittany Lions’ momentum.
Out of the timeout, both teams exchanged the next four points before a block assist by Maggie Mendelson and Martin got Penn State within two points of winning the first set. After Carmen Waye recorded a kill for Michigan State on the next point, Sellman recorded a kill to give the Nittany Lions a set point. They converted it as Nichols’ kill allowed Penn State to close out the first set dominantly, 25-15.
Just like the first set, the Nittany Lions won the first three points of the second set before the Spartans won the next point. After Martin’s kill gave Penn State a 4-1 lead, Michigan State recorded back-to-back kills to decrease its deficit to one.
However, the Nittany Lions’ defense was on full display as they recorded three consecutive block assists to extend their lead to four. Both teams exchanged points before the Spartans started to show signs of life and went on a 4-0 run to tie the set at eight. On the next point, Lia Schneider recorded a kill to give Michigan State its first lead of the match.
The set was tied at nine on the next point due to Nichols’ kill. After Staniszewska’s kill allowed the Spartans to regain the lead, Penn State went on a 3-0 run to take a two-point lead. Both teams traded points before Michigan State won consecutive points to tie the set at 13. Mendelson and Nichols recorded back-to-back kills to give the Nittany Lions a two-point lead heading into the media timeout.
Bianca Mumcular recorded a kill for the Spartans to get them within one after the media timeout, before back-to-back kills by Penn State gave it a 17-14 lead. Michigan State responded by winning three of the next four points to cut its deficit to one. The Nittany Lions refused to relinquish their lead and won consecutive points to increase their lead to three, forcing the Spartans to use a timeout.
Out of the timeout, Mendelson’s kill extended Penn State’s run to three before Michigan State ended it on the next point. However, the Nittany Lions continued to seize their momentum, winning back-to-back points to get within two points of winning the second set. This led the Spartans to take another timeout.
Lyon recorded a service ace after the timeout to give Penn State a set point. Unlike the first set, the Nittany Lions couldn’t capitalize due to a block assist by Zuzanna Kulig and Danyle Courtley. However, Penn State put away the set on its second set point on a kill by Mendelson, giving it a 25-19 set win.
Martin’s kill got things underway in the third set before a service error by Gillian Grimes allowed the Spartans to tie the set at one. Both teams traded blows for the next four points as the deadlock stayed intact. Penn State won back-to-back points to give it a two-point lead.
The back-and-forth affair was wagered on for the next six points before Grimes’ service error allowed Michigan State to get within one of Penn State’s lead. However, the Nittany Lions’ offense and service game were on full display as they went on a 4-0 run, giving them a 12-7 lead. During this run, Nichols recorded two kills along with two service aces by Martin, leading to a Spartans timeout.
Out of the timeout, Michigan State started to show signs of life, winning three of the next four points to trim its deficit to three. After Mya Bolton recorded a service error on the next point, the Spartans showed their resilience as they went on a 4-0 run to tie the set at 14. This forced Penn State head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley to use her first timeout of the match.
Both teams exchanged the next 10 points after the timeout as neither team managed to pull away. However, the Nittany Lions broke the deadlock with back-to-back kills by Caroline Jurevicius to give them a 21-19 lead. This led Michigan State to take a timeout as the set started to slip away from it.
This timeout paid huge dividends for the Spartans as they responded with a 3-0 run to take the lead, forcing Penn State to use a timeout. The Nittany Lions tied the set at 22 after the timeout with a kill by Mendelson. Both teams traded points before Sellman’s kill gave Penn State a match point. It converted the match point on a block assist by Mendelson and Martin to win the third set 25-23 and complete the sweep.
Takeaways
- Penn State played its best match of the season tonight. It was very efficient with its service game, an area that has been a huge struggle for this team, as it recorded four aces and eight errors. Along with that, its aggressiveness on the attack paid off as it recorded 47 kills in this sweep.
- This was a great all-around performance from the Nittany Lions as four players recorded 10 or more kills. The players who did that were Mendelson, Martin, Nichols, and Sellman. It was Mendelson who led Penn State in kills tonight with 12.
- Lyon continues to be a great distributor for the Nittany Lions as she recorded 38 of the team’s 43 assists. Her contributions led to the team being very efficient on the attack and having a hitting percentage of .278.
What’s Next?
Penn State will play its final home game of the regular season at Rec Hall against Maryland at 2 p.m. on Sunday, November 23. The game will be streamed on BTN+.
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