No. 8 seed Penn State women’s volleyball (19-13, 12-8 Big Ten) was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament by No.1 seed Texas (25-3, 13-2 SEC) in a 3-0 sweep at Gregory Gymnasium in Austin, Texas, on Saturday night. This is the Nittany Lions’ earliest exit in the NCAA Tournament since 2021.

In a battle between the teams that have won the last three national championships, home-court advantage proved to be a huge difference as Texas dominated Penn State in the first two sets by winning the sets by nine or more points.

The Nittany Lions refused to go down without a fight and kept the third set close throughout most of it. However, the Longhorns proved to be too much for them, and they won the third set to complete the sweep and end Penn State’s run as the defending national champion.

How It Happened

In front of its home crowd, Texas got off to a fast start as it won the first three points of the match before Kennedy Martin’s kill got Penn State on the board. Both teams exchanged the next four points until a block assist by Jordan Hopp and Addie Lyon allowed the Nittany Lions to get within one of tying the set at five.

The Longhorns refused to let that happen and responded with a 3-0 run to increase their lead to four. Martin’s kill on the next point ended this run. After Torrey Stafford’s kill restored Texas’ four-point lead, Penn State got aggressive on the attack and recorded three consecutive kills to trim its deficit to one. Once again, the Nittany Lions could not tie the set at nine as Lyon committed a service error.

This service error gave Texas momentum as it went on to win five of the next six points to take a 15-9 lead heading into the media timeout. Out of the media timeout, Penn State started to show signs of resilience as it decreased its deficit to three by winning four of the next five points. However, this momentum was short-lived as the Longhorns responded with back-to-back points to take a five-point lead, forcing Penn State head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley to use her first timeout.

After the timeout, Stafford recorded back-to-back kills to increase Texas’ lead to seven. Despite Martin’s kill ending the Longhorns’ 4-0 run, they continued to pull away as they won consecutive points to get within three points of winning the first set.

Caroline Jurevicius recorded a kill for Penn State on the next point, but Texas responded with back-to-back kills to give it set point. It could not capitalize on this opportunity as Jurevicius’ kill kept the set alive. However, Stafford converted the second set point opportunity with a kill to win the first set 25-16.

Just like the first set, the Longhorns won the first three points of the second set before a kill by Martin won Penn State its first point. Texas extended its lead to four with consecutive points. However, the Nittany Lions refused to go away and won three of the next four points to cut their deficit to two.

Both teams traded kills for the next four points until Jurevicius’ kill got Penn State within one of tying the set at eight. However, the Longhorns, with the help of their crowd, refused to relinquish their lead as they went on a 4-0 run to give themselves a five-point lead. This led the Nittany Lions to take a timeout in hopes of cooling off Texas’ momentum.

This timeout did not pay dividends as Texas continued to seize its momentum by extending its run to eight. This gave it a 16-7 lead and forced Schumacher-Cawley to use another timeout. The Nittany Lions could not stop bleeding after the timeout as the Longhorns increased their run to 11 before an error by them ended it.

Despite this, Texas continued to make life miserable for Penn State as it won five of the next six points to take a 15-point lead and give it set point. The Longhorns converted the set point on a block assist by Cari Spears and Ayden Ames as they dominated the second set 25-9.

The Nittany Lions won the first point of the third set, their first lead in the match. On the next point, the Longhorns tied it with a kill by Ella Swindle. Both teams traded blows for the next four points before kills by Stafford and Spears gave Texas a two-point lead.

Penn State got within one by winning two of the next three points. However, Stafford recorded a huge kill for the Longhorns to give themselves some breathing room. After Hopp’s kill decreased the Nittany Lions’ deficit to one, Texas started to pull away as it won four of the next five points to take a 10-6 lead.

Both teams went back-and-forth for the next eight points as the Longhorns’ four-point lead stayed intact. Before the media timeout occurred, Stafford increased Texas’ lead to five with a kill of her own. Stafford continued to be aggressive on the attack after the media timeout as she recorded back-to-back kills to give the Longhorns a 17-10 lead.

Penn State responded with consecutive kills by Jurevicius before Texas returned with consecutive points of its own. Both teams exchanged the next four points, but Martin recorded back-to-back kills to trim the Nittany Lions’ deficit to five and give them some life. After Abby Wal Vander’s kill, Penn State continued to cut into its deficit with consecutive kills.

However, Texas refused to let Penn State seize its momentum and responded with back-to-back points to give it a match point. Martin’s kill kept the Nittany Lions alive, but on the next point, Stafford’s kill allowed the Longhorns to cap off the third set 25-19 and end Penn State’s season.

Takeaways

• There will be no repeat for the Nittany Lions this year. They heavily struggled in this match as the Longhorns dominated them in all aspects of the match. A season that had so much promise at the beginning of the season ends with a lot of disappointment.
• The two statistics that played a huge factor in Texas sweeping Penn State were the attack errors and service games. Penn State committed 21 attack errors compared to Texas’ five. Along with that, it struggled with its service game as it committed seven service errors and recorded no aces. Texas committed five errors and recorded two aces.
• What an incredible performance by Torrey Stafford. She recorded 21 of the team’s 43 kills and had an effective hitting percentage of .556. Not only did she play incredible offense, but she also played great on defense as she had five digs and three blocks.
• Penn State’s big focus this offseason will be to find offensive firepower that can help out Kennedy Martin. Once again, her supporting cast could not back her as she recorded 16 of the team’s 34 kills. This will need to be fixed if it wants to be a contender for a national championship next season.

What’s Next?

Penn State has been eliminated from the NCAA Tournament.