The Nittany Lions lost to the Cornhuskers in a sweep 0-3. Kennedy Martin (17 points, 17 kills, 0.275 hitting percentage) and Whitney Lauenstein (13.5 points, 12 kills, 3 blocks) led the effort in the loss.
After a devastating loss last year, the Nittany Lions were looking to bounce back against the Cornhuskers. It was a packed Rec Hall and the atmosphere seemed to give the Nittany Lions some inspiration. While we saw flashes of offensive brilliance from the Nittany Lions, it was not enough to challenge the consistency of the Cornhuskers.
Kennedy Martin had a team-high 17 kills in the match. Compared to her previous matches, the connection with setter Alexis Stucky (32 assists, 3 kills, 2 aces) looked to be getting much stronger than at the beginning of the season. Whitney Lauenstein also had a good performance pitching in 12 kills and 3 blocks. The effort of these players allowed for the highest hitting percentage a Nebraska opponent has achieved in the season so far at 0.230. However, there wasn’t as much production from the rest of the hitters. Five other hitters saw playing time today but they could only combine for 9 kills (0.080 combined hitting percentage).
Particularly missing from the offense were the middle production. One of the biggest weakness of the Nittany Lions in this match was the serve and pass game and the defense. Nebraska led in all categories but particularly in digs (40-35), blocks (10-3) and aces (5-2).
The Nittany Lions will hope to find the correct mix of players for both the front line and back line. Coach Schumacher Cawley showed today that she is not afraid to experiment with the line up as she used 2 liberos today Ava Falduto (4 digs) and Jocelyn Nathan (5 digs). If the Nittany Lions find the groove in defense to match the explosive offense that the hitters can provide, the team will find itself competing against the stronger teams.
With the loss, Penn State falls to 9-4 for the season and 1-2 B1G record. Next for the Lions will be the Hawkeyes of Iowa in Rec Hall on Saturday.
Post-Match Press Conference
After the match, Coach Katie, Kennedy Martin, and Whitney Lauensterin answered questions from the media. Below is a transcript of the questions and answers, lightly edited for length and clarity.
Opening Statement from Coach Schumacher Cawley
Thank you guys for coming. I just want to thank the student section. It was an amazing atmosphere here in Rec Hall, and I thought, minus a few plays we had, it was a competitive match, and they found a way to finish it at the end.
But I think these two took some great swings. I thought we made some good changes, and we’ll get back to work tomorrow and prepare for Saturday.
Question: With conference play still early, how will you prepare yourself and the team for the rest of the Big Ten conference schedule?
Coach Katie: I’m happy we’re home these next two weeks, and we’ll practice tomorrow and Saturday and play Iowa here. It’s nice to be at home, and we have to win some matches, put ourselves in the best position for the Big Ten tournament.
These guys understand the importance of winning, but we also need to get better in the gym and play a little bit cleaner on Saturday.
Question: Coach, you guys used two liberos, I believe, for the first time. What went into that decision, and how did you think it went?
Coach Katie: We’re trying to maximize every player we have, and I think Juice is one of the best defenders, and we wanted to try that out. Ava’s a great passer, so just trying to use their best skills to help us score points. We tried a little bit in practice and thought tonight would be a good night to try it.
Question: Coach, looking back at last year’s match against Nebraska, was there anything you said to the team in preparation for today’s match?
Coach Katie: I don’t even remember that one (laughs). No, I think every team’s different. Every season is different. I thought we competed hard. We were flying around, and these guys know what went on last year. It’s a new team, it’s a new season, so we’re moving forward, and we might see Nebraska again in the tournament.
Question: Coach mentioned the student section, but there was a pretty big number of Nebraska fans here as well tonight. What did those two groups of opposing fans—what impact did that play tonight?
Kennedy Martin: I just think it’s awesome, just the growth that our sport has gotten in general. It’s awesome to see Rec Hall packed out, and I thought our student section did an awesome job. Just love those guys. They’re awesome. Really proud to be a Lion and to be supported by those guys and gals.
Whitney Lauenstein: I think it’s really cool. Wherever they travel from, whoever is in the stands, they all travel here to watch women’s volleyball, and I think that’s the coolest thing ever.
Question: This is for both of the players. You both came up big in tough moments and were aggressive on the attack with punctual kills. Can you guys each talk about how you kept your individual momentum for the team?
Kennedy Martin: I just like to think about the team at all times. I’m thinking I’m playing for the people next to me, and I want to put confidence in the people who are setting me, whether that’s Stucky or a non-setter. I want this ball, and I’m going to produce with it.
Whitney Lauenstein: Don’t take any ball for granted, especially if it’s an out-of-system and someone really hustled for that. I’m going to give as much effort as they just did in my swing right there. Or if it can’t be a good swing, I can’t get my feet to it, I’m going to be really smart because they just worked so hard. Just putting as much effort as they did into that ball.
Question: You both had double-digit kills tonight as hitters. What were you seeing with the Nebraska block that allowed you to take advantage of it so well tonight?
Kennedy Martin: I think our middles have been doing a really good job producing this year. I think with any team with a good passer, you have to be really set on our middles, and I thought Stucky did a really good job of being super deceptive and just allowing us to get good looks.
And when we didn’t have good looks, we had just training vision and people behind us telling us where shots were open and all sorts of studies, scout too, and kind of who we want to attack and what zones we want to attack.
Whitney Lauenstein: I think we practice by hand and everything every single day in practice off of each other. Just doing what we do in practice every day.
Question: It seemed like there was a lot of chippiness between the two teams. What was it like playing in this rivalry on this side?
Whitney Lauenstein: On this side, a lot more fun. It was a lot of fun. Love Cobra, Katie, and all the staff we have. I wanted to win for them and everything like that. I wanted to win for the team, and unfortunately that didn’t happen, but we have a long season ahead.
It’s just great. I love being here. I love the environment. I love that the men’s volleyball team shows up in the funny costumes, and win for all of them as well. I love being on this side, though. It’s great. A lot of positivity. Really love it.
Question: I almost feel like it’s important to lose at this point, to see exactly what is going wrong and what can be fixed come postseason. How do you think about losses early on in the season, and how do you move forward from that, knowing what you can take away from it come postseason?
Coach Katie: I never like to lose. But better now than later for sure, and we did do some good things in this match, no doubt. But there’s definitely things that we can be better at in practice and be more alert and ready to go.
These guys understand it. It’s coming to practice tomorrow and preparing to work and to focus on the next game. We can’t dwell on this. We have to learn from this. We have to move forward, and we have to prepare to beat Iowa.
Question: Coach, is there anything you can share with us about Ryla’s (Jones) status at this point?
Coach Katie: Ryla will be back. She’ll be back before the season’s over, so we’re happy about that.
Question: Kennedy, after a tough loss tonight, how will you reset and help lead the team for a match Saturday?
Kennedy Martin: Coach is very big about taking care of our bodies. My family’s here, so I want to say hi to them and hopefully get to bed. Getting treatment, put my legs up, get the Normatec boots and hydrate. Eat well.
Coach Katie: She’s listening. (laughs)