No. 12 Penn State women’s volleyball (4-1) defeated DePaul (4-2) at McGrath-Phillips Arena on Monday afternoon.

The Nittany Lions only won the first two sets by two points. Whitney Lauenstein and Kennedy Martin combined for 31 kills, which helped the team jump ahead late in each set. Ryla Jones stepped up defensively on the blocking end, contributing to various scoring runs to win the match.

How It Happened

DePaul had the first serve, resulting in an ace. The next two out of three points were kills from Isabela Tavares Salomon, but Lauenstein put Penn State on the board with a kill.

The Blue Demons went up 6-1 after two more kills and a Penn State attack error. After a timeout, the Nittany Lions scored two more points on kills from Lauenstein and Gabrielle Nichols.

The next three out of five points were from DePaul. Martina Diana contributed two kills for DePaul, and the Blue Demons followed with three straight points. Diana had another kill and an ace to put DePaul up 12-5.

Haley Burgdorf put Penn State back on the board with a kill, but DePaul responded with a kill as well. The teams went back and forth before Martin and Lauenstein put up a kill. Tavares Salomon had a kill of her own before a media timeout. The Blue Demons were ahead 15-9.

Penn State won the next three out of four points. Martin and Finley Krystkowiak contributed a kill, and DePaul committed an attack error. The next four points were split between both teams, and the Blue Demons maintained their six-point lead.

Finley and Burgdorf had two kills each in an attempt to come back. DePaul jumped ahead 21-15, but the Nittany Lions didn’t quit. Nichols and Martin each had a kill to narrow the team’s deficit. The next two out of three points were kills from Lauenstein, making DePaul’s lead only three points.

Tavares Salomon had a kill for the Blue Demons, but then committed an attack error, giving Penn State another point. Jones then had her first kill of the game to make it a two-point set. Jones notched two blocks to tie the game. Martin put forth a kill, and DePaul committed an attack error, giving Penn State the first set. The Nittany Lions went on a 6-0 run to come back.

Alexis Stucky started the second set with an ace for Penn State. Martin followed with a kill, and DePaul committed an attack error, giving the Nittany Lions a quick 3-0 lead.

The Blue Demons scored two straight points, but Nichols and Burgdorf both had a kill. Penn State won the next three out of four points with kills from Martin and Burgdorf, and an attack error from DePaul. But the Blue Demons narrowed their deficit to three after two kills and a block.

The teams split the next four points. Burgdorf had another kill to maintain a lead. DePaul eventually tied the set after two kills and an ace. The next five points went back and forth, but two kills from Martin and one from Nichols kept Penn State ahead, 15-14.

Krystkowiak had a kill to extend Penn State’s lead by two, but DePaul re-tied the set. The Blue Demons eventually took a two-point lead after a kill and attack error committed by Penn State. However, a kill from Lauenstein and an ace from Jones tied the game once again.

The next four points were split. Lauenstein had another kill and DePaul committed an attack error. The following six points were again split after various errors from both sides. After a 25-25 tie, Penn State had two straight blocks to take the second set, once again winning by two.

DePaul took the first point of set three after a Penn State attack error. Martin responded with a kill, but the Blue Demons took the next two points. Martin responded with a kill, and Burgdorf had three straight kills, making it a one-point game. DePaul took an early 6-5 lead.

Penn State won the next three out of four points to take the lead. Lauenstein had three straight kills that put Penn State ahead. Jones followed with another block to extend the team’s lead, and Martin had another kill. DePaul also committed a service and attack error, followed by another kill from Lauenstein. Penn State went on a 4-0 run, taking a 13-8 lead over the Blue Demons.

DePaul scored two straight points after a kill and a Penn State attack error, but Martin responded with a kill. Tavares Salomon followed with a kill, and DePaul had three blocks to tie the game.

The teams went back and forth the next few rallies. Lauenstein, Martin, and Krystkowiak each had a kill to maintain a short lead. The Nittany Lions took a two-point lead, but DePaul battled to stay in the match.

Penn State then went on a 6-0 scoring run after two kills from Lauenstein, three aces from Stucky, and one kill from Martin. DePaul had one more kill and another point from a Penn State attack error after falling behind, but Jones finished the game with a final kill. Penn State swept DePaul 3-0.

Takeaways

• After trailing by six points in the first set, the Nittany Lions won 10 out of the next 12 points to come back. Ryla Jones had strong defense to block DePaul’s spikes, and Kennedy Martin and Whitney Lauenstein contributed late kills to take an early lead. Despite the slow start, the team built strong momentum defensively.
• Lauenstein led Penn State with 16 kills. With a slow day on offense, she stepped up for the team despite facing various deficits throughout the match. She finished with a .333 hit percentage on 36 total attack attempts.
• Despite keeping a close match against an unranked opponent, the team stayed poised throughout the match. Penn State finished with eight blocks, which heavily contributed to each comeback.

What’s Next?

Penn State travels to Philadelphia to face No. 4 Stanford at 6 p.m. on Friday, September 11, at the Palestra. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.