Penn State Volleyball Sweeps Duke In Efficient Offensive Outing

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

No. 3 Penn State women’s volleyball swept Duke and hit .482 Friday the 13th in a televised match on FS1 at Rec Hall, as five different Nittany Lions had at least seven kills in the win, which lasted only 1:14.

Camryn Hannah and Jess Mruzik had a match-high 10 kills apiece, while Maggie Mendelson had nine against the Blue Devils, coming up one shy of tying her career mark set against Ball State last Saturday in Lexington, Kentucky. Taylor Trammell and Caroline Jurevicius each had seven kills.

Box Score

The Nittany Lions (6-0) only surrendered six attack errors all match and hit .593 in the third set to close out a victory over the ACC opponent. Izzy Starck had 34 assists, five digs, three kills, and two blocks, while her sister, Anjelina, had eight digs and a kill. It was remarkable how evenly distributed the offense turned out to be, as Mruzik took the most swings of any Nittany Lion with 23, but still wasn’t overly relied upon.

Penn State held the Blue Devils to .132 hitting and out-blocked them 6-3. The backcourt duo of junior libero Gill Grimes and freshman defensive specialist Ava Falduto continued their strong play with a team-high 11 and eight digs, respectively. Grimes added four assists and two of Penn State’s nine aces, while Falduto had a career-high four aces, besting her previous high of three in the 3-2 win over Kentucky.

Falduto, Hannah, and senior co-captain Quinn Menger were the only substitutes for the Nittany Lions, who will likely have a chance to get more players involved during Saturday’s doubleheader at Rec Hall, where Penn State will host Princeton at 10:30 a.m. and St. John’s at 6:30 p.m. Due to the quick turnaround, we only spoke to head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley after the Duke win, as the players were encouraged to rest up before another long day Saturday.

Schumacher-Cawley discussed a variety of topics during her press conference, including what she perceives to be some of the biggest reasons for her team’s early season success. The full transcript of questions and answers can be found below. Penn State’s third-year head coach appeared pleased with the growth her players have shown so far and how they’re treating each other as teammates.

This Starck-to-Starck pass and thunderous Mruzik kill from the first set, a 25-9 beatdown, made the rounds on social media for obvious reasons after NCAA volleyball reposted it on their X account. It’s been fun to watch Izzy Starck run Penn State’s offense with poise and confidence through six matches.

Katie Schumacher-Cawley

Opening statement:Β 

“First of all, thanks for staying and coming. It was a great team win. It’s nice to win at home. I thought we came out in all three sets and were ready to go, served aggressively. It was a great team effort.”

Penn State had a really dominant showing at the net today. Four blocks from [Taylor] Trammell. What went into the preparation for that? How did you feel about your blockers’ performance?

“I thought Tay had a great match. She was focused, aggressive at the net. We worked on some of that this week. It’s exciting to see it actually happen in a match and for her to do great things. I think they’re focused and stick to the game plan. We’re being really aggressive.”

Your team had nine aces. What led to that success from the service line?

“It’s something we do every day. We talk about being able to compete at a high level, and within our conference, you have to be able to serve tough. I’m really happy. We had nine aces and only four misses. For us, that’s great. I mean, that’s really good serving. I thought they served their targets and it was great focus.”

You held Duke to a .000 hitting percentage in the first set. What are your thoughts on the defensive performance in the first set and overall?

“I think our aggressive serving kind of took them out-of-system. I thought our blockers did a great job. The back-court defenders were ready to go. I think we missed a few tips that we could have gotten, but I thought, toward the end, we were picking everything up and being really aggressive.”

Coach, what do you think are some of the biggest reasons for the team’s success so far this season?

“I think that they’re a great team. They’re focused and determined. I think they’re really great teammates. I think they stick together, whether it gets tough. I’m just really proud of all of them, even the players who didn’t play. We talk about competing in practice every day, and I think that everyone’s done their job. The players on the bench are just as important as the ones who are playing all the time. They’re pushing them and making them better.”

Izzy Starck had a great match today, not just with finding her outside hitters but decision-making herself and also at the net. What’s it like having the versatility of a setter who can do all of those things?

“Yeah, Izzy’s really finding a way to score some points herself. She’s been working on that in practice and I think doing it at the right time. Knowing where and when she can score is part of the game. She’s getting better every set.”

Overall, what advantages does the team gain with both Ava Falduto and Gillian Grimes on the court at the same time?

“I think they’re both exceptional liberos. I think they’re aggressive. They have the green light to go dig as many balls as they can. They fly around out there. They make each other better, and that’s really special that they continue to push each other in practice.”

There were five players on your team this match who had at least seven kills. What goes into preparing the team to have such a [balanced and] dominant offensive showing?

“We talk about it all the time. ‘Everyone has to be able to contribute.’ When we pass well, Izzy can move the ball around. I think she’s doing a great job spreading it out. That’s why this group will be successful.”