1st	2nd	3rd	Total
Washington	14	19	23	0
Penn St.	25	25	25	3

Kennedy Martin continues to lead the Nittany Lions by example, scoring 17.5 points. She led all players in points and kills. But Martin has emphasized that she wanted to be an all-around player, and this match she did that, leading PSU in blocks (4 blocks) and was second in digs and aces (13 digs and 1 ace). Martin continues to show that she is one of the best players in the country.

Alexis Stucky continues to direct a strong offense as she tallied 33 assists this match. Stucky contributes in all aspects of the game as well, contributing 2 kills, 1 ace, 2 blocks, and 8 digs. The senior setter led the team to a 0.235 hitting percentage. Gabrielle Nichols and Whitney Lauenstein continued their strong play from last match as they both earned 12.5 points. Nichols led the team in hitting percentage with 0.563 (11 kills) and added 3 blocks to her numbers. Lauenstein led the team in aces with 3 and had 9 kills and 1 block.

The passing and defense were also strong and clean this match. Ava Falduto led the team with 15 digs as Coach Schumacher-Cawley switched back to a 1-libero system. Strong serving was one of the primary reasons that the defense was able to have a strong performance. Strong serving from Lauenstein, Falduto, Stucky and Ava Jurevicius, who assumed the role of serving sub for the middle, put the Huskies out of system often.

The Nittany Lions led the Huskies in nearly all the statistics, but had a strong lead in kills (46-29), aces (5-2), and digs (58-46). The Huskies only had a leg up in blocks (8-10) and hitting errors (19-16).

The Nittany Lions now go up to 12-4 on the season and 4-2 in the B1G, which is tied for 3rd in the B1G with Washington and UCLA. The Nittany Lions will next travel to Southern California to face the two LA teams, UCLA (10/16) and USC (10/17), who are currently unranked but have received votes.

Post-Match Press Conference

After the match, Coach Katie, Ava Falduto and Gabrielle Nichols 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

It’s nice to win. It’s nice to win at home. I thought we played great as a team today, and it was nice to see everyone contribute.

Question: Coach, three players with double-digit digs. What was working for your defense today?

Coach Katie:  I thought we were flying around and aggressively attacking the ball. I think when we’re aggressive and trust our skills, we do some good things.

Question: Coach, You went back to just one libero today. What went into that decision?

Coach Katie: I thought the two-libero thing was a little too busy for me. I like having Juice (Nathan) and Ava (Falduto) next to each other on the floor and just thought it was a little bit smoother. I thought that was the best move for today’s match.

Question: You put the emphasis on starting fast in weekly media this week. How did that play out through not just Northwestern, but also today?

Coach Katie: I’m really proud that we started off all three sets with the lead, scoring points and earning points. It’s something we talk about all the time, and that starts in practice. I thought the team was focused this week, and they get a [Dunkin’] drink for that.

Question: Ava, what have you seen from Ava Jurevicius this season? She’s been playing a little bit more.

Ava Falduto: She’s been doing a really good job. She’s always ready to go in, and you always hear her on the bench. She’s just the best teammate ever. Seeing her have her chance to go in and do what she does has been really impactful. She works hard every day in practice, so she really deserves it. She’s done a great job.

Question: Gabrielle, you had three blocks today, 11 kills. What was working well for you today?

Gabrielle Nichols: My teammates were helping me out. Ava here was passing dimes. Everybody was passing dimes, and Stuckey was putting me in situations to be successful. So I owe that to them.

Question: Coach, first ranked win in Rec Hall in over 365 days. How does it feel?

Coach Katie: It’s great. I’ll take any win in this conference. Obviously, it’s nice to win at home with this great crowd. Washington’s a great team, and glad we only see them one time right now. I know they’ll be successful along the way, and it’s a great win.

Question: Coach, Washington’s ranked 10th in the RPI. What does this mean for playoff implications and stuff down the line?

Coach Katie: We just need to keep winning matches, obviously. That will help in the big picture for NCAAs and even Big Ten standings for our conference tournament. Any win is a great win in this league, and definitely will help us along the way.

Question: Ava, did you think this was the team’s best performance of the season from top to bottom?

Ava Falduto: I would say it was the cleanest performance we’ve had in a while. I think our hitters did a really good job managing the ball, and our defense was working together, front court and back court. It was really easy to play defense around our block, so I think that was a big difference. We were just steady the whole match, which was good to see.

Question: Gabrielle, where do you think you’ve improved the most from year one to year two in the program?

Coach Katie: I would say being a leader, being a little bit more vocal on the court, and just letting my teammates know different situations of what’s going on. I’ve also been working on my offensive game a lot, trying different shots, trying to make the best decision in non-perfect situations.

Question: What are you guys looking forward to about heading out to the West Coast?

Ava Falduto: I’m looking forward to the sunshine. But also just really good competition. Those are two really good teams and another great opportunity for us to take two wins on the road.

Box Score