No. 9 Penn State women’s volleyball (8-2) fell to No. 16 Tennessee (9-1) 3-1 on Sunday afternoon to close out the Penn State Classic. 

Despite the loss, right-side hitter Kennedy Martin and middle blocker Ryla Jones recorded season highs in kills, with 20 and 10, respectively. Jones also had seven blocks. Libero Ava Falduto led the way with 15 digs, and setter Alexis Stucky dished out 38 assists. 

How It Happened

Whitney Lauenstein delivered the first point of the match, lacing a shot to the backline. Maggie Dostic answered with her own, and Caroline Kerr served up an ace, but a quick set out of the middle to Gabrielle Nichols kept the score knotted at 2-2.

Penn State crept ahead 4-2 after two Tennessee errors. Dostic then swung for her second kill to cut the deficit to one. Jalyn Stout ripped a ball down the line, and Kennedi Rogers tacked on another kill.

Haley Burgdorf and Ryla Jones teamed up for the block, and Rogers and Jolene Oddo returned the favor for Tennessee. Oddo struck out of the middle, hammering down a quick set from Kerr. 

Kennedy Martin took a fiery swing out of the back row, but kills from Rogers and Dostic had Tennessee up 11-8.

Points were traded left and right in the middle stretch of the set. Nichols landed a roll shot, and Chelsea Sutton responded with a kill from the right side. 

Martin dinked a shot down to the 10-foot line, but Rogers struck out of the back row. Nichols notched another kill, and Stout followed in suit. 

Martin and Stout traded swings again, giving the Lady Volunteers the 15-12 advantage at the media timeout. 

Both sides kept their respective rhythms out of the break. Martin delivered a massive swing and Rogers swung to the deep corner. 

Tennessee stretched the lead to 18-14 after two Nittany Lion errors. Lauenstein and Sutton both notched their second kills. Stout delivered back-to-back kills, forcing a Penn State timeout with the Volunteers leading 21-16. 

Tennessee had a serve sail out of bounds, but recovered as Stout recorded her sixth kill. A chaotic rally ended with a Nittany Lion point after a Volunteer attack error, and Penn State called a timeout trailing 23-19. 

Rogers earned her fifth kill of the set, prompting another Penn State timeout with Tennessee at set point. Mackenzie Plante closed with a service ace, handing the Lady Volunteers the set win.

Tennessee kicked off set two with a backrow kill from Rogers. Martin answered, ripping one past the Volunteer defense. Stout threw off the block, but Martin hit between the seams. Rogers swung off fingertips twice, knotting the score at 4-4.

Kerr and Oddo put up a big block before Jones laced a shot out of the middle and Burgdorf added a solo stuff. 

Dostic’s ball trickled down off the block, giving the Volunteers the lead, but a Lauenstein kill and Burgdorf ace switched the advantage to the Nittany Lions, 9-8. 

Dostic found herself another kill, and Jones delivered to the back corner. Kerr dumped over the block, and a Penn State challenge awarded Lauenstein with a point. 

Stout notched a kill, but Nichols and Martin contributed to an energy shift, both hammering down overpasses in front of the ten-foot line before rising for the block. The Nittany Lions led 15-12 heading into the media timeout. 

The flow continued, with Martin putting away a set from Stucky and Jones earning the solo stuff to stretch the lead to 17-12.

Anni Tang snuck a kill through the block for Tennessee, and a Penn State attack error had the Volunteers in reach. Tang and Rogers tag-teamed for a block, but Jones silenced Tennessee, pounding the ball to the floor.

The teams exchanged errors before Burgdorf’s swing ricocheted off the Tennessee block and followed with a service ace. 

Kerr went back-to-back with Tang and Sutton for block points, prompting a Penn State timeout.

Lauenstein delivered out of the break, but a Kerr dump, Stout kill, and Stout-Sutton block had the Volunteers trailing by one.  Nichols’ ball darted off hands and out of bounds, and Tennessee took a timeout with Penn State up 23-21. 

Rogers fired a ball off the Penn State defense, and Stout followed to tie the set at 23-23. The Vols moved ahead 24-23 after Stout recorded her 11th kill of the match, and a block from Rogers and Sutton flipped the script on set two and gave Tennessee the set win, 25-23. 

Tennessee kept it rolling into set three, with Dostic earning the first two points. Martin put Penn State on the board with her tenth kill. 

Nichols and Jones both delivered from the middle, but a kill from Sutton tied the set at 4-4.  A savvy effort from Falduto led to a kill for Stucky, while Stout snuck in a swing.

Jones and Finley Krystkowiak combined for a block, Jones following with a solo stuff. Rec Hall exploded when Martin drilled a ball down the line, giving Penn State the 10-5 lead and forcing a Tennessee timeout. 

Two Nittany Lion attack errors put the Volunteers within three before Kyrstkowiak put away a ball from the outside. Kerr and Tang teamed up for the block, but Nichols found the floor and joined Martin for a block.

Martin exploded out of the right side for a kill that found the seam, and a Jones-Burgdorf stuff sent the Nittany Lions into the media timeout with a 15-11 lead. 

The energy didn’t waver for Penn State out of the break, with Burgdorf rising for a solo block and Jones hammering home her sixth kill of the match.

The duo of Kerr and Tang teamed up for another block, and Rogers registered back-to-back kills, forcing a Penn State timeout with the Nittany Lions leading by one, 17-16. 

Jones and Burgdorf set up the double block, and a Tennessee net violation stretched Penn State’s lead to 19-16.

Jones executed a slide with Stucky, but Kerr dropped down a dump. Martin flew out of the back row, putting down a ten-ball, and then following with a tricky tip to set the score at 22-18. 

Dostic earned a kill, but a Volunteer attack error gave Penn State set point. Burgdorf delivered the set-winning swing, and Penn State took set three, 25-20. 

Nichols set Penn State on fire in set four, first with a kill and then joining Kyrstkowiak for the block. 

Sutton found the back corner for the Volunteers, but so did Kyrstkowiak, giving Penn State the 4-1 advantage. Stucky dished out assist No. 30 to Nichols, and Martin smoked a ball to the backline. 

Emma Frietch floated a service ace just inside the backline, while Jones connected with Stucky again for her ninth kill. Stucky followed with a kill set up by Falduto before Rogers launched out of the back middle for her fourteenth kill. 

Dostic and Rogers recorded back-to-back kills, cutting the deficit to one, 9-8. Jones read the Vols’ defense and tipped just over the block, but Rogers continued her success out of the back row with another kill. 

Tennessee crept ahead 11-10 after Dostic’s swing, prompting a Penn State timeout. Martin swung off the block, but the Volunteers notched two quick points from Sutton and Stout. 

A Nittany Lion error and a Stutton ace had Tennessee up 15-11 at the media break. Stout and Sutton combined for another block, and Dostic added another ace for the Volunteers. 

A service error by Tennessee and a sharply-cut kill by Martin still had the Volunteers leading 18-13, but led to a timeout. Rogers matched Martin’s total in kills at 17 until Martin landed a cross-court shot and followed with a hit off Tennessee’s block. 

Rogers found herself two more kills, and a Nittany Lion attack error had the Volunteers closing in on the set and match victory, 22-15. It was a fight for the match lead in kills, Rogers ripping her twentieth and then Martin. Rogers then earned kill No. 21. 

Penn State clawed back, going on a 4-0 run. Burgdorf earned a kill, Emmi Sellman and Jones combined for a block, and Sellman earned her first kill of the match. Ultimately, their efforts fell short, with Dostic giving Tennessee the win, 25-20.

Takeaways

• The Nittany Lions had 22 attack errors and 13 service errors across the match. Penn State needs to control the controllables, especially when it comes to ranked opponents. 
• Kennedy Martin continued to play Kennedy Martin volleyball, but needs consistency from her teammates to help manage the load down the stretch, and it’s crucial in tight set situations. 
• Ava Falduto and Jocelyn Nathan did a solid job handling the power of Tennessee’s hitters, but the team overall had trouble digging Stout’s lineshots and Rogers’ backrow attacks. 

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions hit the road to take on Michigan at 7 p.m. on Friday, September 25, at the Crisler Center. The match will be available to stream on Big Ten Plus.