Camryn Hannah’s Huge Night Helps Penn State Volleyball Reverse Sweep Kentucky

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

No. 7 Penn State women’s volleyball rallied from a 2-0 hole to reverse sweep No. 9 Kentucky at the newly renovated Memorial Coliseum in Lexington Friday night, securing the Nittany Lions’ second top-10 win in four days.

Camryn Hannah exploded for 22 kills on a .469 hitting percentage and added four blocks and two digs in the win. After a difficult first two sets in which Penn State looked out-of-sorts and lacked energy, the Nittany Lions (4-0) got things going down the stretch in the third set to prolong the match and reinvigorate themselves.

Box Score

Penn State battled back from a 15-11 deficit in the third and eventually won 26-24 to build some momentum and quiet the home crowd of 3,344 a bit. The Nittany Lions passed much better the second half of the match and had four players finish with double-digit digs in Izzy Starck (17), Gill Grimes (14), Ava Falduto (12), and Anjelina Starck (11). Izzy had a career-high 47 assists, five kills, five blocks, and one of Penn State’s six aces, going toe-to-toe with Kentucky’s Emma Grome (53 assists, five digs) in one heck of a setter battle.

Penn State also out-blocked the Wildcats 14-9 behind a strong night from Maggie Mendelson, who led all players with eight blocks. Mendelson added six kills and hit .312, while fellow middle blocker, Taylor Trammell, likewise put on a show in her hometown of Lexington, with scores of family and friends in attendance. Trammell had 12 kills, including four on five swings in the deciding set, and hit .435 in the win. She added five blocks and three digs.

Jess Mruzik took by far the most swings of any Nittany Lion with 53, but struggled a bit with attack errors (eight). However, Mruzik finished with 15 kills (.132), nine digs, and three assists, and Penn State proved that it can spread the ball around effectively even if one of its star outside hitters is being targeted with extra blockers. Starck worked the ball to the middle particularly well the second half of the match.

Alexa Markley came on in relief of Caroline Jurevicius at right-side hitter midway through the match and came up with a big block assist alongside Trammell. Jurevicius had one kill and three attack errors on only five swings. It appeared that she rolled an ankle in the sweep of Louisville Tuesday at Rec Hall, which may have contributed to her limited opportunities. Markley was one of four substitutes for the Nittany Lions Friday night, joining Hannah, Falduto, and Quinn Menger, who had one ace to go along with three service errors.

The Nittany Lions hit .264 for the match and held Kentucky to .189, including a dismal -0.105 in the fifth set. After evening things up 2-2, it was clear Penn State had the momentum, and that continued in a dominant, 15-8, victory to send the Kentucky faithful home disappointed. With three top-15 wins (two on the road), Penn State has the best early resume of any top-10 team — better than Pitt and Stanford, which are jockeying with the Nittany Lions for the No. 1 spot in next week’s AVCA rankings.

The Nittany LionsΒ  will wrap up their weekend at the Kentucky Invitational when they face former Penn State women’s volleyball player and current Ball State assistant coach Darcy Dorton and the Cardinals at 5 p.m. ET at Memorial Coliseum. Chances are high there will be several Nittany Lions recognized on the all-tournament team when it’s over.

We caught up with Hannah, Trammell, and Katie Schumacher-Cawley for exclusive interviews after the Kentucky win. The full transcript of questions and answers can be found below.

Katie Schumacher-Cawley

What do you think were some of the keys to tonight’s comeback and the resilience that your team showed?

“I thought we showed some grit, and we were passing better and serving better. I just think we were way more aggressive in the last few sets than we were in the beginning. I think we made way too many errors. I think Kentucky’s a great team. I think it’s hard to win and hard to win on the road. I’m happy with the way we ended.”

You guys hit .471 in the fifth set. What was working well offensively toward the end of the match?

“That’s great. Cam swung away on match point. Taylor made some senior moves and was just being aggressive.”

What impressed you about Cam and Taylor’s performance tonight?

“I thought Cam took some big swings and found ways to score. She was getting some good touches blocking as well. I think Cam’s improving every time she plays.”

What stood out about your middle blockers’ impact?

“I was really happy for Taylor. She had a lot of her family here. Being from Lexington, I know she was a little nervous, but I think she did some really great things, and found a way to score. I thought she had great energy. I thought Maggie had some good blocks, some good touches. I think she’s always engaged and aware of what’s going on. She works really hard. I thought both of them did a great job.”

You guys were able to dig a lot of balls and looked impressive blocking. What went into that?

“Yeah, I thought we were doing that toward the end of the match. We talk about defense. We do defense all the time [in practice]. Being aggressive, but being in control of what we’re trying to do. I was really happy with how they competed and found a way to win.”

Alexa came in and had a nice block assist. What impressed you about her energy coming off the bench?

“I think Alexa’s best skill is blocking. She came in and knew what was going on. I thought she did a good job on the bench paying attention and just being ready to go. That’s something we talk about all the time is that everyone has to be ready to go and ready to contribute. I thought she did a great job.”

Izzy and Ava showed some fortitude as freshmen in a tough environment. What stood out about them tonight?

“I think Izzy and Ava are getting better every time they play as well and they’re getting more confident. I thought Izzy, defensively, did some nice things at the net blocking. She pays attention to what’s going on and she listens to instructions. I think she’s a great student of the game. I thought Ava served well and had some unbelievable digs and kept us in the set. We were able to score after her digs. I thought she did a great job on the end line.”

What do you think your team learned from tonight’s match? What did they show you?

“Not to stop, not to quit, and to stay aggressive. To trust their skills and trust each other to be able to perform. I think Kentucky’s a great team. I thought they did some really good things. I think we made fewer errors as we got through the match. I think they understand that they have to be able to start fast and be ready to go right from the first point.”

What do these two early top-10 wins do for your team’s confidence moving forward?

“I think they know that every match we have scheduled this preseason and moving into conference [play] is going to be a battle. I think Ball State is a gritty, gutsy team, and they fly around. I know they’ll be ready to play us. We need to take advantage of getting better as a team and being able to focus for every match.”

What do you think it will be like facing Darcy Dorton’s team and getting to catch up with her?

“I got to see Darcy last night. Darcy was a fiery player and is a fiery coach. I know she’ll be excited to see us tomorrow, but I know she’ll have her team ready. I think those [Ball State] coaches do a great job there. They compete.”

What’s your message to the team heading into Saturday’s match?

“I think it’s to get off their feet, get some rest, and to take care of their bodies. We need to have a good film session tomorrow and be fresh and ready to compete.”

Camryn Hannah

How important was this win for the team’s confidence just as far as being able to come back?

“I think winning on the road is hard. For the newbies to get that feeling of being down, I think a lot of our games right now, we’ve been up. We talked about that in the locker room. We’ve been up and we’ve been the chased. This time, we had to bounce back and we had to chase them. We had to overcome that feeling of being a little bit nervous or being a little bit timid to take this swing. We just had to flip a switch and say, ‘We’re going to be aggressive, and we have to go at people if they’re going to come at us.'”

What does it feel like when you get in a rhythm like that offensively?

“It’s fun, for sure. It definitely builds the trust that my teammates have in me. That’s all I can ask for, really. Being there for them and being able to produce for them, it kind of takes a little bit off of everybody else’s shoulders, and they don’t feel like they have to be perfect, if I can play a good game. I think that’s important to me.”

What impressed you about Izzy’s fortitude tonight?

“Oh, my god, it was really cool to see her run the court and not be timid, not be scared. She told us what she needed from us, and we gave that back to her. I think that’s how we need to be moving forward.”

What was the energy like in some of those huddles the second half of the match?

“We were dancing around, we were screaming, we were giving each other block calls and where we can hit on the court. It was just so cohesive.”

What’s it like seeing the self-belief within your team?

“It’s very refreshing, I’ll say that. I think we’re a hodge-podge of people who come from different places. We didn’t always have that trust. I think, for me, personally, it’s really special to have that with my teammates and for them to trust me the same way. For us to all be together and get through something like that was really cool.”

What do you like most about playing alongside your middles?

“I like that they get kills all the time. I like that they’re huge. I like that they’re aggressive. They want every single block, and I want them to get every single block, because they’re that good, and I know they can.”

Alexa came off the bench and had a nice block. What stood out about her play?

“She was fearless. She wanted to come in and score points right away and make a difference. I think that’s the difference between coming off the bench and being a little bit timid and coming off the bench and being confident and knowing what’s going on.”

What impresses you about your libero, Gill, and your defensive specialists?

“All of them are gritty. I saw a different side of Gill today. She was always very quiet and reserved. She did her own thing. She came out of her shell a little bit, but today she was commanding and I really saw her grow up on the court. That was a really unique moment for us.”

What’s your message to the team heading into tomorrow?

“This is the standard. We can have a bad game, but we can’t have a bad match.”

Taylor Trammell

What was it like being in your hometown, playing in front of a bunch of family and friends?

“It was super amazing. This was something I’ve been waiting for for five years, to come back here and, not only be able to perform in front of my loved ones, but to just be at home and do my best. Everyone here, this is my foundation growing up. My club, my coaches from high school, just everyone watching this game, it means a lot getting that support.”

How do you think you guys were able to use that positive momentum the second half of the match?

“I think that, honestly, a lot of us, we just had a wake-up call with our huddles. It was this moment where it was like, ‘What type of season do we want to have?’ Because we’re not thinking game-to-game, we’re thinking of the season in total to get to the finish line. It was just kind of a wake-up call for all of us. We woke up and we realized, ‘We have to kick it in.'”

What impressed you about Izzy and Ava tonight?

“Izzy’s a dog. She’s actually a big dog. Izzy, obviously, switching up plays, doing things, communicating, it’s something that’s so rare just from a freshman, in general. Seeing how she does that every single night, rises to the occasion, and can push, I’m so impressed by that girl. She’s amazing. With Ava, same exact things. Going on a serving run, game point, match on the line as a freshman, multiple times just this season already, every time, she’s proved herself. I literally can trust her with my life. Both of them, they just do their jobs. That’s all you can ask from a freshman is to do their jobs. Not only that, they do it confidently.”

Maggie had eight blocks tonight. What stands out to you about her?

“She’s a big dog for real, too. She’s not a puppy. Sorry, that’s our thing we’ve been saying on the bench. She’s good. Her height says it all, too. People are scared. At the end of the day, that’s our job as middles is to get blocks. For her, doing that time and time again, I’m proud to have her as my other middle and partner in crime.”

What do you think you and Cam did particularly well tonight?

“Cam was really there every single time. From the gate, she started on time. The whole entire time, she was doing what she needed to do. She was fearless out there, so you have to love her for that.”