No. 12 Penn State women’s volleyball (4-1) swept the No. 4 Stanford Cardinal (4-1) 3-0 Friday evening at The Palestra in Philadelphia. 

Kennedy Martin led the way with 14 kills, Whitney Lauenstein followed with 11, and Haley Burgdorf added 10. Alexis Stucky dished out 36 assists.

How It Happened

Penn State earned the first point of the match, backed by a Haley Burgdorf serve. Ipar Kurt notched a kill for the Cardinal, but Whitney Lauenstein countered with a swing off hands for the 3-1 advantage. 

Kurt swung again and Jordyn Harvey served up an ace for the 3-3 tie. Lauenstein continued to use the hands of the Cardinal block, earning herself two more kills. 

Kurt drove a ball to the backline and Logan Parks delivered a kill. Stanford knotted the set at 6-6 after a Nittany Lion attack error, but Kennedy Martin delivered a shot down the line to put Penn State up 7-6.

Gabrielle Nichols struck out of the middle, tooling a ball off the block. Harvey answered, hammering a ball from the back row and rising for a block, giving Stanford the 9-8 lead. 

The 10th point was fought for hard, with Julia Bylashov eventually driving it home for Stanford. Martin responded with a blast from the back row, and Burgdorf added an ace. 

Harvey ended a 3-0 Nittany Lion run with a kill, followed by a tip. Lizzy Andrew executed a slide with setter Logan Parks, and Kurt sent Stanford into the media timeout up 15-13. 

Parks put down an overpass out of the break, but a Martin kill shifted the rhythm to Penn State. After some crafty defense from Burgdorf and Jocelyn Nathan, Nichols and Lauenstein hit off hands to regain the lead at 17-16. 

A Stucky service ace forced a Cardinal timeout, but two consecutive errors kept Stanford within reach. Martin put away a Stucky set, tying the score at 18-18 and prompting a Penn State timeout.

Andrew tipped over the block, and a Nittany Lion error put Stanford at 20 first. Martin ripped a cross-court shot, but Parks powered a lineshot, and a Penn State error helped Stanford move ahead 22-19.

Ella Andrews and Parks teamed up for a block before Ryla Jones and Martin answered with one of their own. Stanford called a timeout with Penn State ahead 23-21.

Ava Falduto notched an ace, and Martin came through with a set-tying kill at 23-23. Blyashov then put Stanford on set point, but Martin wasn’t ready for the set to end, hammering an attack off the block to even things at 24-24.

Penn State got a block up against a Parks swing, but the Cardinal hitter tooled it off the hands and out. Freshman Burgdorf delivered a veteran swing to send the set into extra points.

Jones’ shot from the middle had the Penn State fans on their feet, and gritty work at the net from Stucky forced a Stanford ball-handling error, sealing the set for the Nittany Lions, 27-25.

Martin kept it rolling into set two with a cross-court shot, and Lauenstein followed in suite. The teams traded points behind a Harvey kill, Stucky throwing off hands, and Andrews adding in a point.

The teams exchanged errors before Burgdorf and Jones delivered back-to-back kills to give Penn State the 7-3 lead. Blyashov picked up a point for the Cardinal, but Burgdorf continued her success from the outside, hammering a shot down the line. 

Kurt landed a cross-court swing, but Lauenstein responded with a swing through the block and a roll shot for her sixth kill resulted in a Stanford timeout, the Nittany Lions leading 11-6. 

Nichols earned a kill after her attack danced on the net before dropping in front of the Stanford block. Martin and Nichols’ presence at the net caused a Cardinal attack error. 

Andrew and Parks swung for kills, but Nichols came up with a massive stuff block to force a Stanford timeout with Penn State leading 15-9. 

An attack error and a kill from Andrews put the Cardinal within four, but Martin swung for her seventh and eighth kills, stretching the lead to 17-11.

Lilly Wagner sent over a quick dump before Martin struck again, keeping the Nittany Lion advantage at six. Blyashov and Kurt each earned a kill, and a Penn State attack error had Stanford closing the gap until Burgdorf and Jones took advantage of the block. 

Lauenstein came through with a monstrous kill, leaving Stanford no other choice but to call a timeout as the Nittany Lions pulled ahead 21-15. 

Despite Harvey posting a kill and Penn State tallying two attack errors, the Nittany Lions still led 22-18. Martin drilled the ball for set point, and Burgdorf closed out set two with a kill off the block, giving Penn State the 25-20 win. 

Penn State got out to a quick 3-0 lead in set three, with Jones and Stucky teaming up for the block and Lauenstein launching a ball to the back corner. 

Lauenstein split the back row defense, and Martin fired a shot cross-court for the 5-2 advantage. Back-to-back attack errors put Stanford within one, and kills from Wagner and Blayshov tied the set at 6-6. Penn State called a timeout after the Cardinal went up one, and Stucky delivered out of the break. 

Burgdorf earned her sixth kill of the night, and two Stanford errors had Penn State up 11-7. After a Cardinal timeout, Blyashov and Martin exchanged swings, and Kurt delivered a kill and a block alongside Andrew. 

Burgdorf notched another kill, but Stanford went on a 5-0 run that included three blocks, a kill from Andrew, and an ace from Harvey. The Cardinal led 15-14 at the media timeout. 

Lauenstein and Blyashov traded blows from the outside before Stucky connected with Nichols in the middle to tie the game at 17-17. Burgdorf notched two quick points, Martin and Nichols stuffed the Cardinal offense, and Nichols swung through the block for the 22-18 Nittany Lion advantage. 

Blyashov and Andrews attempted to bring Stanford back, but the Cardinal were no match for Martin and Burgdorf.  Martin found her 14th kill, and Burgdorf delivered the set and match win, emphatically giving Penn State the 25-21 set three win and match sweep. 

Takeaways

• Penn State bounced back strong after a tough loss to No. 3 Kentucky. With Stanford sitting at No. 4, this win, let alone a sweep, was huge. 
• Gabrielle Nichols and Alexis Stucky have grown a strong connection in just five games, with Nichols tallying 32 kills across six matches.
• Haley Burgdorf continues to prove herself as a worthy starter, hitting .450 on the night. 
• Penn State fans showed up and showed out, taking over The Palestra in an electric display of Nittany Lion pride. 

What’s Next? 

Penn State will defend home court against Ohio in the second annual Team Ream match at 7 p.m. on Saturday, September 12. The game will be available to stream on Big Ten Plus.