Debuting the pink edition of their Adidas jerseys for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the No. 16 Penn State Nittany Lions (14-5, 6-3 Big Ten) defeated the No. 10 Oregon Ducks (16-3, 7-2 Big Ten) 3-1 Friday night in the annual Dig Pink match. 

Right side hitter Kennedy Martin had a monstrous showing, leading the way with 25 kills, and outside hitter Whitney Lauenstein followed with 15. Middle blocker Gabrielle Nichols controlled the front row defense with nine blocks, and setter Alexis Stucky dished out 45 assists. Liberos Jocelyn Nathan and Ava Falduto collected 11 and five digs, respectively. 

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions took a 2-0 lead on back-to-back Oregon attack errors, and Kendall Northern executed a slide with setter Alexis Stucky for the first swing of the night. Penn State had two early service errors before Whitney Lauenstein and Gabrielle Nichols rose for the block. 

Brick. Wall. #WeAre pic.twitter.com/VR5KiaPefq

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) October 23, 2026

Lauenstein swung off the block for a 6-2 Nittany Lion advantage, but Alanah Clemente responded with a tip off the block. Stucky snuck over a dump, but Alaina Pollard answered with a tip over the block into similar territory. 

Stucky connected with Northern on a quick set, and Emmi Sellman threw down into empty court. Two more service errors riddled the Nittany Lions, but Northern extended the Penn State lead with another slide kill. 

Marina Crownover swung on a tight ball that ricocheted out of bounds, and Sjakkie Donkers followed with a cross-court shot to cut the deficit to four, 8-12. Kennedy Martin then landed her first swing of the match before Clemente notched a kill of her own. 

A Martin-Nichols block ended a chippy rally, but Marlee Arrington found the back line. An Oregon service error sent Penn State into the media timeout with a 15-10 lead. 

The Ducks earned the first point out of the break on a Penn State error, but Martin recovered her Nittany Lions with a four-to-four shot. The sides exchanged service errors before Stucky landed another dump to set the score at 18-13. 

Ava Falduto landed a service ace, forcing an Oregon timeout with Penn State leading, 19-13. Clemente dropped in a tip, but Lauenstein sent a shot to the corner, backed by a Falduto dig. 

Clemente and Lauenstein traded swings once again before an Oregon attack error led to a Ducks timeout, Penn State leading, 23-15. 

Alaina Pollard landed a kill for Oregon, but a Martin swing gave Penn State set point. Martin sealed set one with her fourth kill, the Nittany Lions winning, 25-17. 

Donkers delivered the first point of set two, and Oregon quickly burned a challenge, which was unsuccessful, awarding Lauenstein the kill. 

Martin swung for a cross-court kill, and Lauenstein continued her dominance, teaming up with Nichols for a block and landing her fifth kill of the night. 

Crownover and Donkers recorded back-to-back kills to tie the set at 4-4, before Nichols’ front row defense swung the lead back to the Nittany Lions. 

Crownover swung down the line, and Clemente swung viciously off the block to put the Ducks in front, 6-5. Martin rose up for the overpass kill, but Donkers responded with another point.

Penn State called a timeout after a block from Dalia Vrlan and Marlee Arrington, with the Ducks leading 9-6. 

Oregon kept it rolling, Vrlan notching a kill. Martin ended the Ducks’ run with a shot to midcourt, and back-to-back attack errors had the Nittany Lions trailing by one, 10-11. 

Pollard shot out of the middle for a kill, but the Northern-Stucky slide landed for the third time, tying the set at 12-12. Donkers landed two straight swings in Nittany Lion court before Lauenstein sent a fiery shot off the Ducks’ defense. 

Kendall Northern on the slide#WeAre pic.twitter.com/J1CB3v5Xww

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) October 23, 2026

Nichols took advantage of some Oregon frustration, soaring up for an overpass kill and sending Penn State into the media timeout with the 15-14 lead. 

Vrlan delivered a kill out of the break for the Ducks, and Clemente followed in suite. Clemente tipped over the block, and Donkers swung hard into the block to propel Oregon’s 4-0 run. 

Lauenstein ended the rally with a deep kill, the fourth player of the match with seven, but the Nittany Lions still trailed, 16-18. 

Sellman capped off a gritty rally with a kill to the back corner, and followed with a swing through the block to rattle the Oregon defense. A Duck attack error tied the set at 19-19, prompting an Oregon timeout. 

Clemente and Vrlan put up a massive block, but Martin kept the set knotted with a roll shot. Clemente sent a rocket off the block, and Pollard snuck through the block for the 22-21 Oregon advantage. 

Lauenstein’s roll shot sent the Oregon defense scrambling, but Valentina Vaulet delivered a kill and a block alongside Vrlan, earning the Ducks set point, 24-22. 

Martin exploded from the right side to lead all hitters with nine kills, but a swing from Donkers handed Oregon the set two victory, 25-23. 

Clemente notched the first point of set three, but a block by the Nittany Lion front line tied the set early

Clemente was the first player to reach double digits on the match, and Pollard extended the Oregon lead to 3-1 with a kill out of the middle. 

Nichols hammered down an overpass before Clemente kept her arm hot with another kill. Lauenstein’s tip fell into a campfire of Ducks, and Martin joined the double-digit kill club. 

Penn State took the lead after a Sellman swing, and Martin’s tip had Oregon bodies diving off the court. Martin tacked on a massive cut shot before Pollard ended the Nittany Lion run. 

Stucky kept feeding the beast, Martin’s shot flying into the stands. Sellman powered through the Oregon block for the 9-6 advantage, but Donkers halted Penn State’s rhythm with a kill. 

Both teams traded errors before a Nichols-Stucky block extended Penn State’s lead to 12-8. Stucky earned her third kill, forcing an Oregon timeout. 

Rec Hall exploded after Lauenstein capped off a chaotic rally full of action tight to the net. Pollard delivered a shot from the middle, but Martin’s fourteenth kill sent the Nittany Lions into the media break leading, 15-10. 

What. A. Rally. #WeAre pic.twitter.com/o5GJF6OCgh

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) October 24, 2026

Pollard found her eighth kill to lead all middles, and Vaulet swung off the block. Martin and Sellman landed shots for the Nittany Lions, extending the lead to 17-12. 

Donkers sliced through the block, and a Clemente-Vrlan block resulted in a Penn State timeout as Oregon closed the gap, 18-15. 

Martin continued to work the roll shot, and Northern teamed up with Stucky for a block. Laura Eichert snuck a kill down for the Ducks, but Martin kept swinging, arm a blazin’, for her seventeenth kill. 

Lauenstein tested the Oregon block, breaking ten kills, and an Oregon error prompted a Ducks timeout, Penn State ahead, 23-18. 

Clemente came out firing, but Lauenstein’s swing flew right over the block and kissed the corner for set point. Nichols and Martin completed the 25-19 set win with a stuff, and the Nittany Lions took the 2-1 match advantage. 

The Stucky-Northern connection held strong to kick off set four, another slide falling in Happy Valley.

Crownover sent over the second touch for Oregon, and Lauenstein responded, launching her swing off the block. Donkers and Clemente landed shots from the pins, while Martin snuck through the block. 

Donkers threw down for the 4-4 tie, but Martin landed her tried-and-true four-to-four cut shot. Vrlan sent an off-speed ball past the Nittany Lion block, Martin answering with a swing to the back line. 

Martin then showcased her power from the back row, landing her twenty-first kill. Eichert tried to end Martin’s flow, but Martin delivered once again from the back middle for the 8-7 lead. 

Vaulet found the floor, and Reese Sheppard served back-to-back aces, flipping the lead to Oregon, 10-8. Lauenstein toed the block, and Donkers returned the favor. 

Lauenstein backed Martin from the outside, soaring for her fifteenth kill. A Clemente-Vrlan block briefly stopped Martin’s firepower, but a Sellman swing and successful Katie Schumacher-Cawley challenge backed the Nittany Lions. 

After a stream of errors, Eichert gave Oregon a 14-13 lead, but Martin’s perfectly placed tip tied the set at 14-14, and Burgdorf notched an ace for the 15-14 advantage at the media timeout. 

Burgdorf picked up where she left off with another service ace, but the energy flipped sides, with Maila Ribeiro delivering two straight aces for a 17-16 Oregon lead.

Out of the Penn State timeout, Oregon registered back-to-back errors, and Martin’s swing forced a Ducks timeout, with the Nittany Lions up 19-17.

Nichols drilled an Oregon overpass and teamed up with Martin for the front row stuff. Burgdorf skimmed the line on a backrow attack, and another Nichols-Martin block sent Rec Hall into a frenzy, the Ducks burning another timeout, down 18-23. 

Despite save efforts from Burgdorf, Donkers earned a kill for the Ducks, but a Nichols-Lauenstein block would give Penn State set point, and who better than Kennedy Martin to close out the match, capping off a 25-20 set win with her twenty-fifth kill. 

That's a W#WeAre pic.twitter.com/GLaV4GC127

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) October 24, 2026

Takeaways

• Emmi Sellman was a hidden gem in this game, delivering seven kills. Although her court time has decreased from last season, she has embraced her role and has proven herself as a reliable front row threat. 
• Penn State continues to struggle behind the service line, racking up 13 service errors across four sets. Ava Falduto notched her tenth ace of the season, and Haley Burgdorf landed two aces in set four.
• While there is still no return time set for Ryla Jones, freshman Kendall Northern has stepped into the middle blocker position with confidence. Northern has executed the slide particularly well with Stucky, and sits at 57 kills on the season. 

What’s Next? 

The Nittany Lions will hit the road to take on the No. 18 Indiana Hoosiers at 3 p.m. on Sunday, October 25. The match will be available on the Big Ten Network.