No. 9 Penn State Women’s Volleyball Beats Villanova 3-1
The No. 9 Penn State Nittany Lions (7-1) defeated the Villanova Wildcats (5-4) 3-1 in the Keep it in PA match on Tuesday evening.
Middle blocker Gabrielle Nichols had 13 kills and six blocks, and right side Kennedy Martin added 12 kills and three blocks. Alexis Stucky dished out 43 assists, and Haley Burgdorf and Ava Falduto combined for 25 digs.
How It Happened:
The match opened with a quick middle shot from Ryla Jones, followed by a solo block from Whitney Lauenstein. Abby Harrell answered by tooling the block, and a Nittany Lion attack error tied the set at 2-2.
Lauenstein notched a kill, and the Wildcats’ Cat Young answered with one of her own. Lauenstein then found open court again, extending the Nittany Lions’ advantage to 6-3.
Taylor Lewis and Gabrielle Nichols traded blows, with Nichols continuing to connect with Alexis Stucky as she drilled another shot to the corner.
Lauenstein earned her fourth point of the set from a service ace, forcing a Villanova timeout with Penn State leading, 10-4.
Finley Kyrstkowiak took her first swing of the match, and three Wildcat errors stretched the Nittany Lion lead to 14-4. Lauenstein delivered her second ace, prompting another Villanova timeout.
Harrell hit off the block to end a 9-0 run, and Chloe Kelly and Reagan McGivern combined for a block. Martin and Kelly exchanged kills, setting the score at 17-8.
Jones swung for her second kill, and Lauenstein followed with a dink. McGivern notched a kill, and Harrell served up an ace for two quick Wildcat points, but Villanova still trailed, 19-10.
Martin rose for another big shot from the right side, and Stucky joined in on the kill action with her first of the night.
Young and Lewis snuck in two kills, but a stuff block from Nichols set up the Nittany Lions for set point. Martin threw down the line and closed out the set, giving Penn State the 25-14 win.
Set two began with a Villanova service error, but Harrell answered with a line shot. The teams rallied to a 2-1 lead, which Penn State earned after an attack error.
Nichols and Young each ripped cross-court kills, while a Penn State hitting error evened the set at 3-3. Campbell McKinnon secured her first kill, as Lauenstein followed with her fourth.
McKinnon and Kyrstkowiak each found the floor with kills, but Young’s service ace gave the Wildcats an 8-6 advantage. Kyrstkowiak answered with a sharp-angle kill, and McKinnon followed with a quick set from Selah O’Connor.
In a set plagued with unforced errors on both sides, freshman Kendall Northern delivered a crucial swing. Harrell responded for Villanova, leading the Wildcats’ attack with another kill before adding a service ace.
Stucky answered with a kill of her own, while Lewis put one away for the Wildcats. Villanova carried a 15-10 lead into the media timeout. Nichols delivered out of the break, and Lauenstein tallied her third service ace. A chaotic rally ended after Lewis swung through the block, but Martin delivered on a cut shot to cut the deficit to three.
Stucky connected with Northern, but three Penn State errors had Villanova closing in on the set victory, 21-15. Harrell stayed hot with another kill, although Lauenstein responded with a vicious swing for Penn State.
Stucky started a run for the Nittany Lions, first with a kill, then with a serving run that set up an attack error by Villanova and a kill from Nichols. Villanova called a timeout, leading 23-19.
A Penn State service error gave Villanova set point, and Lewis capped it off with a kill to give Villanova the 25-19 set win.
Abby Harrell carried her confident swing into set three, giving Villanova the first point and following with an ace to take a 2-0 lead.
Martin hit a big shot out of the right side, but the Wildcats tooled the block early, with Lewis notching a point. Nichols and Burgdorf delivered back-to-back kills to tie the set at 3-3, but Lewis swung down the line for the Wildcats and O’Connor served up an ace for the 5-3 advantage.
Martin hammered a ball to the center of Wildcat court, Burgdorf skied up and delivered a beautifully placed kill, and Jones followed with a tip into no man’s land to knot the score at 6-6.
Kelly and McKinnon joined for the Wildcat block, and Harrell continued her hitting success, earning her seventh kill.
Emmi Sellman swung deep for a Nittany Lion point, but Harrell came through twice for the Wildcats, forcing a Penn State timeout with Villanova leading, 10-7.
Martin rolled a shot over the block from the back row, and after a service error from both sides, Sellman floated over an ace. Penn State settled into their block, with Nichols and Burgdorf, and Nichols and Martin rising to stuff Villanova’s attackers.
Sellman ACE
— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) September 16, 2026#WeAre pic.twitter.com/VvWcqLn0Ag
The teams continued to trade points offensively, with a kill from Young evening the score at 12-12. Martin followed with her eighth kill of the match, leading all Nittany Lion hitters. Lewis then found the floor for Villanova before Jones answered for Penn State, putting the Nittany Lions ahead 15-13 heading into the media timeout.
McKinnon earned a kill out of the break, but Jones’s solo block and Burgdorf’s service ace sent Penn State ahead 18-14.
Out of a Villanova timeout, the Nittany Lions tallied two attack errors, and McKinnon delivered an ace. The Wildcats tied it at 18-18 with a kill from Harrell.
Jones crushed a quick set to end the run, and Stucky pushed a ball deep down the line as Penn State was the first team to 20 points.
Harrell’s swing was dug out of bounds, but Nichols blasted a ball down the line off the slide with Stucky twice, leading to a Villanova timeout with Penn State leading, 22-19.
Harrell remained the hero for Villanova, leading all hitters with 12 kills. McGivern added one of her own, tying the set 22-22 and forcing a Penn State timeout.
Martin tooled the block, sending the Wildcat defense into a frenzy, then followed with a 4-to-4 shot for set point.
Lewis kept Villanova within one, but Burgdorf’s swing split the defenders and found the floor, giving Penn State the 25-23 set win and 2-1 match advantage.
Martin flew out of the back row, dropping in her eleventh kill to start set four. Stucky tacked on two aces, and a Villanova attack error gave the Nittany Lions an early 4-0 lead and forced the Wildcats to burn a timeout.
Nichols rose for a solo block before Lewis-McGivern ended the run with another block. Martin and Nichols teamed up to return the favor, and Burgdorf found the back line for a 7-1 Nittany Lion advantage. The block party continued, with Burgdorf and Nichols forming a brick wall. A kill from Nichols and an attack error prompted another Villanova timeout, Penn State leading 10-2.
Lewis found her eleventh kill of the night, but the block sequences continued, with Jones-Martin stuff. McKinnon and Burgdorf chipped in kills for their respective squads.
Sellman and Jones brought out the hammers, both delivering major shots to deep court and stretching Penn State’s lead to 14-5.
Harrell notched a kill, but Nichols delivered the kill that sent the teams into the media timeout. Sellman delivered a blast that was sent to the stands, and Martin followed up by putting down her twelfth kill.
Lewis swung to the floor and Penn State had two attack errors. Villanova added to the run with a block from Young and McKinnon and another kill from Lewis.
Nichols ended any Wildcat rhythm with a crushing swing. A block from Jones and a swing from Caroline Jurevicius put the Nittany Lions up by nine, 20-11.
McKinnon smocked a set from Alyssa Nelson, and two hitting errors had Villanova within six until Jurevicius and Burgdorf caught fingertips on their swingers, closing in on the match win, 22-14.
Burgdorf’s seventh kill and a perfectly executed slide by Jones and Stucky had Penn State one point away, and a kill from Nichols sealed the set and match victory for the Nittany Lions.
Takeaways:
- Villanova relied heavily on tip shots, which the Nittany Lions read well. When they transitioned to full swings, it caused problems for Penn State’s defense.
- The middle blockers combined for 22 kills on the night as Stucky continues to work quick sets and slides with Nichols, Jones, and Northern.
- Sellman took advantage of her court time, tallying three kills and three digs. Although her role looks different than last season, her energy has remained high and her swing aggressive.
- Penn State had way too many errors on the night, especially down the stretch of each set. The team totaled 22 attack errors and 12 service errors, which proved costly in their set two loss and close set three win.
What’s Next?
The Nittany Lions will take on South Florida at 6 p.m. on Friday, September 18 in Rec Hall. The Beach Bash will kick off the Penn State Classic and is available to stream on the Big Ten Network.
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