1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Total
Penn St.	20	25	20	25	15	3
Wisconsin	25	18	25	19	11	2

The Nittany Lions started Set 1 very error-prone. The Nittany Lions committed 11 unforced errors (4 hitting and 7 serving errors) in the set, which allowed the Badgers to hold the lead throughout the set. Despite the Nittany Lions earning more points from scoring (17 points: 15 kills, 1 ace, 1 block) than Wisconsin (14 points, 11 kills, 3 blocks), the errors gave the Badgers the edge to take the first set, 20-25. Kennedy Martin kept the set close by scoring 9 kills in the first set.

At the start of Set 2, it became clear that the Nittany Lions had to find a way to commit fewer errors but keep the Badgers off-balance by keeping the serving pressure on. The Nittany Lions were able to do that, and the teams traded points and the lead until 10-10. The Nittany Lions then got hot and led for the rest of the Set. The Nittany Lions led by as many as 10 points at 23-13 before Wisconsin mounted a comeback at the end of the Set, narrowing the margin to 24-18 before the Nittany Lions closed out the 2nd Set, 25-18. Kennedy Martin scored 6 kills, and Kendall Northern scored 5 kills and 1 block to lead the Nittany Lions in Set 2. Penn State had an efficient 0.364 in the Set and scored 19 of their 25 points: 16 kills and 3 blocks.

The Badgers fought back in Set 3 as Decelise Champion (20.5 points) started to catch fire. The Nittany Lions were behind most of the third set despite going on runs multiple times in the set to tie up the match (at 15-15 and 18-18) before Wisconsin ended the set with a 7-2 run. The Nittany Lions were held to only 13 kills and 1 block compared to the Badgers’ 17 kills, 1 ace and 2 blocks. The Nittany Lions were struggling to pass the strong Wisconsin serve, which kept Stucky and the hitters off-balance for most of the set. Whitney Lauenstein led the team in kills in the 3rd, with 6 kills. Remarkably, the Badgers held Martin to just 2 kills in the set.

In Set 4, just as the match had gone thus far, momentum swung the other way in favor of the Nittany Lions. Kennedy Martin got back to her (extraordinary) normal hitting numbers and earned 6 kills in the set. Whitney Lauenstein backed up Martin, with 4 kills. Serving pressure also ramped up as Martin pulled out 3 aces in a row in the set. Though not shown on the stat sheet, Danielle Whitmire and Emmi Sellman also had some good serving runs in the match. Penn State scored 21 points of the 25 in the set: 17 from kills, 3 from aces and 1 from a block, en route to the 25-19 set 4 win.

This was the Nittany Lions’ 3rd 5-set match; they were 1-1 in those matches, but had dropped the previous one in a close match against UCLA. The Nittany Lions did not let that 5th-set loss deter them, and started strong, building an 8-4 lead. Although the Badgers looked to surge back by tying the match at 9-9, the Nittany Lions strung together a 6-2 run to close out the match 15-11. The Nittany Lions remarkably earned all but one of their points (a service error from the Badgers) in the set. The Nittany Lions had 11 kills, 1 ace and 2 blocks. It was a strong team effort as the starting six players all earned at least 1 kill in the set. Kennedy Martin led Penn State with 5 kills in the set.

We think the team may have been excited by the win:

.@CoachKatiePSU and her @PennStateVBALL team celebrate a 3-2 win over Wisconsin, the Nittany Lions’ first in Madison since 2017.

Video via: Ava Jurevicius/IG https://t.co/Dyy625fUjb

— DigNittanyVolleyball (@DigNittany) November 9, 2026

Kennedy Martin put together another 30-point performance with 32 points (28 kills, 0.328 hitting percentage, 3 aces and 2 blocks), as well as consecutive double-double performances over the weekend (12 digs). Alexis Stucky also had another double-double with 55 assists (for the second match in a row) and 12 digs, as well as 5 points (4 kills, 1 ace). Stucky set the team to a 0.307 hitting percentage. It is Martin’s 6th and Stucky’s 9th double-double performance of the season. Keep an eye out for more player of the week accolades for these two in the coming week.

It is also important to mention that the other starters contributed well in the match tonight, especially in times when a kill was needed to keep up with the Badgers or to break their momentum. Whitney Lauenstein contributed 16.5 points (15 kills, 3 blocks), Kendall Northern contributed 11.5 points (9 kills, 0.429 hitting percentage, 5 blocks), Gabrielle Nichols earned 10 points (9 kills, 3 blocks) and Emmi Sellman pitched in 8 points (7 kills, 2 blocks).

The Nittany Lions led in kills (72-57) and aces (5-3), while the Badgers had a small lead in blocks (8-9) and digs (55-59) and committed fewer serving errors (15-3). It is important to note, though, that despite the stats skewing the service consistency towards the Badgers, the Nittany Lions mostly committed their errors in the first set and had 5 aces and 8 errors for the rest of the match. The Nittany Lions also held up a little better on reception and in managing chaotic plays compared to the Badgers.

With the win, the Nittany Lions move up to 19-5 in season and 11-3 in the B1G. They now occupy #2 in the B1G by virtue of head-to-head wins over the other 11-3 teams, Oregon and Wisconsin. This means that if the Nittany Lions keep their momentum and win the rest of their matches, they will earn the #2 seed in the B1G tournament. Penn State will have their last two away matches in the B1G season next week against Maryland (11/11) and Illinois (11/14).

Box Score

Match Details