Jess Mruzik Returns From USA Volleyball Training Camp

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

Penn State All-American outside hitter Jess Mruzik spent last week in Anaheim, California, training with 16 other top college players March 10-16 in USA volleyball’s gym.

Mruzik is coming off one of the best individual seasons in Penn State program history in 2023, finishing second in points per set and kills per set (4.94 and 4.40) since the rally scoring format was adopted in 2008. Her 583.5 points and 519 kills both ranked third in program history during the same timeframe.

Mruzik, who hails from Livonia, Michigan, earned a spot on the AVCA All-America second team last fall after securing honorable mention following the 2021 season, her second of three campaigns at the University of Michigan before graduate transferring to Penn State last summer.

Mruzik continued to showcase herself as one of the nation’s best six-rotation players, recording 270 digs, 61 total blocks, and 24 aces in her first season as a Nittany Lion. Mruzik had double-digit kills in 28 of Penn State’s 32 matches and received first-team All-Big Ten recognition for the third time in her career.

Mruzik and fellow fifth-year seniors Taylor Trammell and Camryn Hannah all elected to use their bonus season of eligibility in 2024, granted by the NCAA in the wake of COVID-19, providing a significant boost to Penn State’s roster and championship hopes this fall. Mruzik is a leading candidate to take over captain duties from Mac Podraza and Allie Holland.

Mruzik and Podraza, the former Penn State and Ohio State setter who wrapped up her collegiate career with the Nittany Lions last fall before signing with the Grand Rapids Rise of the Pro Volleyball Federation, attended last year’s USA volleyball spring training camp together. The duo shared a strong connection at Penn State, as Mruzik was easily Podraza’s favorite target, taking a Penn State record 1,360 swings in 2023.

Mruzik and the rest of a talented group of players from across the country spent last week training under U.S. women’s national team head coach Karch Kiraly and his staff at the Open Gym Premier facility in Anaheim. The players watched film, worked out, met with the coaches, refined their on-court skills, and eventually wrapped things up with a Red-Blue scrimmage open to the public on the final day of the annual camp.

Mruzik isn’t the only current Nittany Lion who recently trained with USA volleyball, as rising junior libero Gill Grimes attended the U.S. women’s national team open program February 23-25 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Mruzik and Grimes often shared the court last season and worked well together as passers.

Mruzik, who checks in at 6-foot-1 and was previously named the 2019-20 Gatorade National Volleyball Player of the Year and MVP of the Under Armour All-America Match, is working toward her MBA at Penn State.

A member of the 2020 recruiting class, Mruzik was a standout prep player for Mercy High School in Farmington Hills, Michigan, leading the Marlins to their first MHSAA Division 1 state title as a senior. Mruzik also represented Legacy Volleyball Club, where she coached last spring before moving to State College. Mruzik began her club career with Team Detroit VBC.

Mruzik served as USA volleyball’s captain and earned MVP at the 2019 FIVB Girls’ U18 World Championship in Egypt while leading her team to a gold medal. A trip to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics could be in Mruzik’s future if she continues on her impressive developmental trajectory as a player.

“I think Jess wants to score every time she can,” head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley said before last year’s NCAA tournament. “I think she’s involved in a lot of plays. I think Jess has stepped up her game and she’s a really fun player to watch. She’s explosive. She’s a student of the game as well. I think she’s gotten better defensively. Her serving has improved. I think she wants to be the complete player. She’s taken some really good strides to do that.”