No. 18 Penn State (12-4, 4-2 Big Ten) took down No. 20 Washington (13-2, 4-2 Big Ten) on Sunday afternoon.

Kennedy Martin’s double-double fueled the Nittany Lions, who recorded 14 kills and 13 digs. Gabrielle Nichols had 11 kills and a 68% kill percentage.

Simona Mateska led the Huskies with nine kills, and Julia Hunt hit .333%.

How It Happened

Alexis Stucky opened the first set with a service ace for the Nittany Lions, followed by a service error. The Nittany Lions responded as Martin found an opening through the Husky block. An out-of-bounds ball from the Huskies, followed by a Gabrielle Nichols kill, gave the Nittany Lions an early 4-1 lead.

The Huskies responded with a massive block to cut the Nittany Lions’ lead to only two. After a long back-and-forth rally, the Huskies again responded with a block before a service error gave the Nittany Lions a 6-4 lead.

Kendall Northern hit Mateska hard, who got a touch on it but ultimately dropped it. Martin found the floor through the Huskies before Mateska and Andrea Fabikovicova responded. Kaitlyn Nguyen saved a hit past the white line and put it over the net before it went out of bounds, giving the Nittany Lions a 10-7 lead. Penn State went on a 2-0 run as Nichols and Whitney Laenstein scored kills, forcing a Husky timeout and giving the Nittany Lions a 12-7 lead.

After the timeout, a block by Nichols and Martin gave the Nittany Lions yet another point. Martin got another block, continuing the Nittany Lions’ 5-0 scoring run.

The Huskies stopped the 5-0 run by hitting it over the net; it touched the Nittany Lions before going out of bounds. Nichols immediately responded for the Nittany Lions, sending them into the media timeout with a 15-8 advantage.

Nichols and Martin blocked the Huskies twice straight out of the media timeout. The Huskies tried to respond, but a service ace from Launstein prevented them. Nichols’ kill, followed by a Haley Burgdorf kill, forced a Husky timeout as the Nittany Lions led 20-8. 

Katy Wessels ended the Nittany Lions’ 6-0 scoring run by finding open space twice, followed by a double-attack error by Burgdorf. Martin responded for the Nittany Lions, hitting it to the back line with help from Ava Falduto. The Huskies quickly responded with a slam to the Penn State back line, forcing a Penn State timeout as the Huskies cut their lead to 8, 13-21. 

A service error by Mateska, followed by a Martin service ace on Mateska’s serve, gave the Nittany Lions a 23-14 lead coming out of the timeout. A service error by Nguyen set the Nittany Lions up for set point. Penn State sealed the 25-14 set one victory after a Stucky-assisted kill from Lauenstein. 

Andrea Fabikovicova served for the Huskies to start set two, but a kill from Lauenstein and an attack error by Wessels and Maija Howse gave the Nittany Lions an early 3-0 lead. The Nittany Lions continued their run as Stucky found open space in the back line, followed by Nichols getting a touch on the Husky defense, before Howse found open room in the back to cut the Nittany Lions’ lead to just four, 1-5. 

Back-to-back blocks by Hayden Conner helped the Huskies erase the deficit, but Lauenstein got the Nittany Lions back in it before Howse recorded another kill. Despite a Martin kill, the Huskies got a touch on the Nittany Lions to cut the deficit to two. Kylie Kleckner scored to cut the deficit to one, 6-7. 

A Huskies kill, followed by a Penn State service error, tied the score at eight. Martin and Burgdorf responded for the Nittany Lions to retain the lead before Mateska answered for Washington. A Lauenstein kill that went through a Husky defender’s hands put the Nittany Lions back up by three. After a rally, a trio of the Nittany Lions, led by Nichols, put it past the Huskies for a 14-10 lead.

Nguyen hit the ball before dropping it, giving the Nittany Lions a 15-11 advantage going into the media timeout. Conner gave the Huskies a point out of the timeout before Howse committed an attack error. Two attack errors by Howse and Julia Hunt forced a Husky timeout, with the Nittany Lions leading 18-12. 

Out of the timeout, Lauenstein served for the Nittany Lions, and after a long rally, Burgdorf found open room and secured the point for the Nittany Lions. Hunt quickly responded for Washington, earning a point before the Huskies recorded their first service ace of the match after a Falduto reception error. Not long after the Washington ace, Nichols found open room and shot it down to take a 20-14 lead. 

The Huskies took advantage of the back left corner and snipe it down to respond before Martin used the back line to preserve the lead, 21-15. After finding the back corner, Hunt again committed a service error, and Northern recorded a kill. After a Mateska attack error, the Nittany Lions reached set point, 24-16. 

Washington quickly denied set point three times: Fabikovicova found Mateska to record a kill, Kendall recorded a service error, and Conner and Mateska blocked Northern’s kill. The set ended 25-19 for the Nittany Lions after a Fabikovicova service error.

The third set opened with a Penn State point after Kleckner made an attack error. After Fabikovicova set the ball and it looked like it was going out of bounds, Nguyen saved it for Washington; however, the Nittany Lions ultimately won the point after Launstein killed it. Martin found the back corner of the Huskies and put it away for a 3-0 serving run. Washington responded with a kill from Conner and Fabikovicova. 

Martin’s kill and a service ace from Lauenstein forced an early Husky timeout, with the Nittany Lions up 6-1. Out of the timeout, a kill from Conner and a service ace from Nguyen put the Huskies on the board 3-7. After a long rally, the Huskies won the point after a block error by Burgdorf. A block from Martin and Northern put the Nittany Lions back on the board, 4-7. 

Hunt found Stucky as a misfire from the Nittany Lions put the Huskies within two. Nichols and Lauenstein kept the Huskies from finding room; a follow-up hit from Lauenstein sent it out of bounds before touching the Huskies, giving Penn State a 12-7 lead.

The Huskies went on a little run, fueled by Mateska, but Nichols responded for the Nittany Lions. A kill from Nichols straight to the back line of the Huskies brought the Nittany Lions into the media timeout leading 15-11. 

Mateska responded straight away out of the timeout for the Huskies, finding open room in the back corner, followed by a block by Hunt to cut the Husky deficit to two, 13-15. Penn State tried to respond by diving into the media table, but couldn’t connect as Kleckner’s kill cut the Penn State lead to just one, 14-15. 

Penn State responded with a Martin kill and a Burgdorf kill to take a two-point lead. After a called attack error by Stucky, Penn State used its challenge to claim a touch by the Huskies. The challenge failed, and the Huskies trailed by one, 16-17. 

Martin found open room through Nguyen to record her 11th kill of the night, putting the Nittany Lions up by two. Washington responded with a Howse block to cut into the deficit, but a Conner attack error kept the Nittany Lions up 20-18. 

Despite Howse’s kill, Martin recorded her 14th kill of the night, prompting Leslie Gabriel to use her second and final timeout of the set for the Huskies, down 23-20.

After the timeout, two diving saves by Falduto and Jocelyn Nathan kept the Nittany Lions hopeful; however, a kill by Hunt gave the point to the Huskies. A Burgdorf kill put the Nittany Lions at set point, 24-21. 

Two attack errors from Lauenstein forced a Nittany Lion timeout, up by one, 24-23. Out of the timeout, a block from Northern and Stucky ended the match 25-23, sweeping the Huskies 3-0 and handing Washington its second loss of the season.

Nichols & Martin shut it down#WeAre pic.twitter.com/fdi7ypisyh

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) October 11, 2026

Key Takeaways

• Gabrielle Nichols and Kennedy Martin worked together to produce a detrimental defensive double block.
• Despite trailing 2-0 at the end of the second set, Washington didn’t give up and kept playing physically and aggressively in the third set, leading to a back-and-forth set with constant lead changes.
• Kennedy Martin recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 13 digs.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions return to action on October 16 as they take on UCLA at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. The game will be available on Big Ten Plus for folks to watch, and the first set is set to begin at 10:00 p.m.