Camryn Hannah Leads Penn State Volleyball To Maryland Sweep, 20th Win

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

No. 14 Penn State women’s volleyball swept Maryland Wednesday night in College Park to secure its 20th win of the season, as Camryn Hannah led the Nittany Lions with 15 kills and a career-high five of their 14 aces.

Hannah didn’t record a single attack error on 22 swings, hitting .682 against the Terrapins. She added three digs, a block, and an assist in the win, while Gill Grimes had a match-high 13 digs, four assists, and two aces. Mac Podraza had the lone double-double of the night with 29 assists, 12 digs, two blocks, and a kill.

Box Score

Podraza guided Penn State’s offense to a .365 hitting percentage, including .600 in a particularly lopsided second set. The entire match lasted only 1:15. There was a strong turnout of Penn State fans among the announced attendance of 1,938. On top of its 14-1 advantage in aces, the Nittany Lions (20-8, 14-5 Big Ten) also out-blocked Maryland 7-3. Allie Holland had a match-high four total blocks, four kills, and a dig.

Zoe Weatherington had eight kills and hit .467, while Taylor Trammell had four kills and hit .375 on only eight swings. Jess Mruzik did a little bit of everything for the Nittany Lions, as usual, posting eight digs, seven kills, three aces, two blocks, and an assist. Penn State sided out 74.4 percent of the time and had just eight attack errors.

Maddy Bilinovic had another strong outing from the service line with three aces to go along with her six digs and an assist, while Anjelina Starck (one dig) and freshman defensive specialist Joce Nathan, who made her second appearance of the season, joined Bilinovic as the only other substitutes of the match for the Nittany Lions. Nathan checked in toward the end of the match and tallied the first ace of her college career during a nice service run for the Wilmington, Delaware, native.

After celebrating Thanksgiving Thursday in Columbus, the Nittany Lions will wrap up the regular season against Ohio State (10-17, 7-11 Big Ten) Friday at 7 p.m. at the Covelli Center. Penn State previously beat the Buckeyes 3-2 earlier this season on October 7 at Rec Hall. Hannah, Nathan, and Katie Schumacher-Cawley answered questions following Penn State’s sweep of the Terrapins. The transcripts can be found below.

Katie Schumacher-Cawley

What are your thoughts on the win tonight?

“I thought we came out and served well and stayed aggressive throughout the whole match. I thought the team did their job and everyone contributed.”

Next it’s Ohio State in the regular season finale this Friday. What are your thoughts on traveling to Columbus?

“I’m excited to be on the road with this group. We’ll have Thanksgiving with Mac’s family. We’re looking forward to finishing out the season there. We’re looking forward to playing well and getting better as we head into the tournament.”

Speaking of Thanksgiving, there’s a lot to be thankful for this year. How about it, coach?

“I’m so thankful for my family, this team, university, and just that everyone’s healthy.”

How would you assess Cam’s performance tonight?

“I thought Cam played well offensively, defensively, and had a great serve. I was happy to see her do some good things.”

What was it like seeing the team have so much success from the service line?

“It’s something we’ve been working on all season, every day. We put a lot of emphasis on it and I thought they really did a good job.”

Zoe and Taylor were pretty efficient tonight as well. What stood out about their play?

“I thought we were passing well and Mac was able to move the ball around. They were finding holes and ways to score.”

We saw Joce get in at the end. What was it like to see her get her first ace?

“Joce works hard every day in practice. Her serve’s come along. Defensively, I think she makes good moves. I thought she did a great job.”

What do you think were some of the overall keys to success tonight?

“I thought our serve-pass game was great. I thought that everyone was ready to go and, collectively, they stayed focused.”

What’s your favorite Thanksgiving dish?

“I would say mashed potatoes.”

Joce Nathan

What was it like getting your first collegiate ace?

“It was awesome. Megan [Hodge Easy] came over and was like, ‘Juice, you’re going in.’ I was like, ‘Oh, shoot. I have to get warm.’ When I was in the line to sub in, Allie came up to me and said, ‘Just take a breath. You’re good. We got you.’ I was like, ‘It’s going to be good. I’ll get it in at the very least. That’s what Katie wants.’ It was good. I’m just happy it went over.”

What’s your experience been like so far this season with the older girls taking you and the other freshmen under their wings?

“It’s been awesome. Since day one, they’ve been the most welcoming of people, so that’s obviously been super nice. Half the team is obviously a bit older, so they’ve been through it. They are wiser. It’s been an awesome opportunity learning from all of them and having them as my friends.”

What do you think you’ve improved most throughout the season?

“Probably my communication. When you’re on the court, you just have to be loud. That takes up half the battle, so I think I’ve been working a lot on that, because I didn’t necessarily do that as much in high school. It’s been nice getting better at that.”

What are some things you think the team did particularly well tonight?

“This was kind of the night that we really needed to show up and just show that we could dominate a team, and I think we did that. Between our blocking and defensive shifts, I think we kind of were all around the board. Nothing really went their way as opposed to ours, so that was nice.”

What are some things you’ve learned from Gill?

“How to be calm. She’s one of the calmest and most active players I’ve ever met. Her presence, in itself, is very nice to be around, because you know she has your back. It’s just easy to trust her, playing-wise. I think that’s something that you look up to being as a player as well.”

What are some things the team is focused on heading into Friday?

“A couple things. First of all, it’s Mac’s old team. All of us really want to get her another win over them. And then, just not taking them for granted, I think. We obviously know that we have what it takes to sweep them, but I think just being there, being present, and respecting our opponents, like we did tonight, will go all the way for us.”

What do you think it will be like having Thanksgiving with the team tomorrow?

“I think it will be awesome. We just had Thanksgiving as a team the other day, which was super cute and good vibes. I think it will just carry on to the Podrazas’ house.”

What’s your favorite Thanksgiving dish?

“Unpopular opinion here. Sweet potato casserole.”

Camryn Hannah

What do you think were some of the keys to the team’s success tonight?

“I think our serving worked really well today. That was one of the keys. We went into tonight wanting to be a really good serving team, and we did just that.”

Why do you think you were able to be so successful tonight, individually?

“I think our middles did a really good job of holding their middles, so that really opened up a lot of shots for me. And just being ready to play. I think I was ready to come out here and make a statement for us, because it’s about time we have. That was the goal.”

What are some things the team’s focused on heading into Friday?

“Honestly, we’re just focused on playing our best, coming out of the gate and playing our best. Whatever happens, happens. [Any] win is a good win in the Big Ten, so we’re focused on this right now. Now, it’s time to focus on Friday.”

What do you think you’ve improved the most throughout the season?

“I think IQ-wise I’ve improved a lot. Just knowing when to be powerful and when to pick a smart shot, when to take your hitter out. That’s a big thing hitting on the outside rather than the right side.”

How important has Jess been to the team’s success this season? What have you learned from her?

“Extremely. Jess is competitive, Jess is smart. She teaches me so much about playing on the outside, because it’s kind of new for me, so she really helps me through the learning curves a little bit. But I think just watching her play and playing next to her, it makes you more of a competitor.”

What are some things that keep you going and motivated?

“My teammates, honestly. The way that they want to win and how much they love being out here and playing for Penn State oozes into me all the time.”

What do you think it will be like celebrating Thanksgiving with the team tomorrow?

“We already celebrated Friendsgiving together, so it will be part two. Some laughter, but lots of love. Lots of warm wishes together.”

What’s your favorite Thanksgiving dish?

“Definitely sweet potato casserole. Joce and I share that love, for sure.”