No. 10 Penn State volleyball’s swept UConn 3-0 in its first game of the Penn State Invitational from Rec Hall on Saturday afternoon. 

Texas transfer Whitney Lauenstein led the way with 10 kills, and Kennedy Martin followed suit with seven. Florida transfer Alexis Stucky earned herself 27 assists and connected well with Gabrielle Nichols, who had six kills out of the middle. 

How It Happened

Ryla Jones and Alexis Stucky tag-teamed for a stuff to open the match. Stucky then notched her first service ace in Rec Hall, giving the Nittany Lions the early 2-0 lead. 

Courtney Grayson hit off the block to put UConn on the board before Kennedy Martin tipped to the middle for the kill. 

Jones drilled a ball short cross-court out of the middle, and true freshman Haley Burgdorf laid out for a save, leading to a rally win and a 5-2 Nittany Lion lead. 

Sydney Borowy recorded a kill for the Huskies, but Burgdorf slammed it home for her first kill as a Nittany Lion. Martin followed with a shot down the line to make the score 7-3.  

First career kill for Haley!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/Ak6tJkrniG

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) August 29, 2026

Burgdorf delivered again, and Whitney Lauenstein earned a free-ball kill after another save from Burgdorf off the service line. Stucky connected with Gabrielle Nichols off the slide for the 10-5 advantage,  forcing a UConn timeout.

Burgdorf continued her dominance with an ace, and Stucky won a contest at the net for two quick points out of the break. 

Lauenstein drilled it home for a 13-5 Nittany Lion lead, but UConn’s Maja Daca silenced the run with a kill. 

Penn State and UConn traded points. Martin swung out of the back row and Helena Einarsdottir earned a point for the Huskies. 

Lauenstein then fired a ball down the line before the media timeout as Penn State took a 15-7 lead.

A Nittany Lion challenge was successful, reversing a UConn point out of the break. 

The teams traded service errors, followed by a right-side kill from Einarsdottir. 

Another round of service errors was exchanged before Husky middle Olivia Frenadier found open court. 

Penn State recovered with a Stucky dump into no man’s land for a 22-11 advantage. 

UConn earned two points off of a kill from Daca and a block from Grayson and Audrey Jensen, but Stucky won a joust at the net, and a Husky service error put the Nittany Lions in set-point position.

A UConn net violation gave the Nittany Lions their first set win of the 2026 season, 25-14. 

A Penn State service error and a quick flick over the net from Einardottir gave UConn an early 2-0 lead in set two, but Lauenstein stopped any possible UConn run with a kill. 

Burgdorf swung deep and then off the block for two quick points for the 3-3 tie, and Martin and Nichols rose for a block. 

Too much power from Nichols #WeAre pic.twitter.com/Ct7Nop1HWi

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) August 29, 2026

A UConn hitting error gave Penn State the 5-3 lead, but Borowy swung to deep court to keep the Huskies within one. 

Nichols skied up for the kill, but UConn followed by closing out a gritty rally with a point from Einardottir.

Burgdorf notched her fifth kill for the 8-5 advantage, and Nichols continued to work the slide.  

A UConn kill error, a diving save from Ava Falduto, and a Stucky swing triggered a Husky timeout with the Nittany Lions leading 12-6. 

UConn scored out of the break, but Lauenstein used the block to keep the margin at six. Grayson tipped over the Nittany Lion block and won a lengthy rally, but Martin swung hard to the short corner to keep a steady lead. 

Borowy swung through the block twice to cut the deficit to 14-11, and a kill from Daca and two Penn State errors knotted the set at 14-14. 

Jones delivered a shot out of the Nittany Lions’ timeout, but Borowy stayed hot with a teardrop over high hands. Caroline Jurevicius got in on the action with a tip shot for the 16-15 edge. 

Olivia Grenadier rose for a kill, but two Husky errors and another Stucky dump forced a UConn timeout, and Penn State regained the lead, 19-16. 

Burgdorf delivered a monstrous swing out of the back row after a rally led by Falduto’s defense, and Nichols kept firing out of the middle. 

Grayson delivered out of the middle twice for the Huskies, and back-to-back aces from Hazuna Akishige had UConn trailing by just one, but Lauenstein ended the run with a cross-court shot. 

Martin drilled a shot for set point, and a Penn State block secured the second-set victory, 25-21. 

Stucky worked all her hitters at the start of set three before Lauenstein was able to put it away. Daca dropped a ball in front of the Penn State block to knot the score at 2-2. 

Kendall Northern shot out of the middle in her first regular-season appearance in Rec Hall, and Falduto floated a serve for an ace for the 5-3 edge. 

First career kill for Kendall!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/EEUQ6lA2NS

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) August 29, 2026

Martin earned herself another kill, and Jocelyn Nathan’s defense turned into a Stucky kill and a UConn timeout.  

A Penn State service error occurred, but Northern slammed a ball in front of the ten-foot line to earn the point back. 

A Daca kill and a Maggie Carley service ace had UConn trailing by two, and the Huskies earned another point from Grace Maria to make the score 7-9. 

Einarsdottir notched a service ace, and a Penn State error put the Huskies within one. A UConn block and back-to-back service aces from Daca gave UConn the 12-10 edge. 

Lauenstein ended the Husky run with a missile off fingertips, but UConn stayed persistent with a kill from Grayson. 

Lauenstein earned her ninth kill of the match and Nichols her fifth. A long rally was shut down by Nichols at the net, flipping the lead back to Penn State, 15-13, before the media timeout. 

Martin-Nichols teamed up for a block, and Finley Krystkowiak earned two kills for a quick three points.

Grenadier and Borowy notched a block, and Grenadier and Martin exchanged kills. Northern then hit off hands, and Emmi Sellman notched a service ace.

Danielle Whitmire set up Lauenstein on the outside for the 23-16 lead. A UConn service error led to match point, but the Huskies stayed alive with a kill from Maca. 

Jurevicius closed out the third and final set with a kill off the block, and the Nittany Lions swept their first regular-season match of the season, 25-18. 

FIRST NITTANY LION W OF THE SEASON #WeAre pic.twitter.com/nBMaViwBUT

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) August 29, 2026

Takeaways

• There was a significant difference in the defensive aggression Penn State showed compared to its match against SMU on Thursday. 
• The true freshmen of the Nittany Lions shined bright throughout the match. Kendall Northern hit a perfect 3/3 out of the middle, Haley Burgdorf showed grit and intensity on both ends of the floor, and Danielle Whitmire connected with her hitters for five assists. Finley Krystkowiak earned three kills from the outside. 
• Stucky looks to be much more comfortable in her hitter connections and isn’t afraid to score herself. She had six kills and three service aces in the match.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will continue action in the Penn State Invitational against High Point and Hofstra on Sunday, August 30. Both games will be available to stream on BTN+.