Jess Mruzik, Izzy Starck Receive Weekly Big Ten Honors

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

Penn State women’s volleyball standouts Jess Mruzik and Izzy Starck were recognized by the Big Ten in week five of the season for their outstanding performances to begin conference play at 2-0 with wins over Purdue and Michigan State.

Mruzik shared Big Ten Player of the Week honors with Rutgers’ Alissa Kinkela, who combined for a staggering 53 kills in wins over Iowa and Michigan. Mruzik was tremendous in her own right, as is usually the case, recording 13 kills and nine digs in a road sweep of the Boilermakers and 29 kills and 10 digs in a 3-1 home win over the Spartans.

After previously earning Big Ten Freshman of the Week three times in the early going of the season, Starck claimed her first Big Ten Setter of the Week award for guiding Penn State’s offense to an excellent .369 hitting percentage versus Purdue and dishing out a career-high 55 assists against Michigan State. She had a double-double in West Lafayette with 38 assists and a match-high 13 digs.

Mruzik’s 29 kills were the most by a Penn State player in a four-set match in the modern scoring era, which began in 2008. The star outside hitter’s double-double against Michigan State was her first of the season. After the win, she credited Starck and Penn State’s defense for allowing her to succeed to such an extent.

“Izzy just set really, really well [today],” Mruzik said. “Our defenders did a good job of putting Izzy in a good spot to feed myself and Maggie [Mendelson] the ball. I thought it’s all credit to Izzy. She put us in good situations.”

Katie Schumacher-Cawley discussed what’s impressed her about Izzy Starck’s season so far during her Tuesday press conference last week. Starck’s ability to adjust in the air and find her teammates from some ridiculous angles continues to astound fans and media members alike.

“I think she’s unassuming,” Schumacher-Cawley said. “I think she’s big, physical, and strong, but she also moves well and can play above the net, which is a must in our conference. I think she’s done a great job. I think she puts our hitters in a great position to score.”

Starck and Mruzik’s connection has been particularly strong this season, but Penn State’s freshman setter has done a nice job of involving her other attackers so teams can’t double up on Mruzik all the time. The strong play of Penn State’s middle blockers, Maggie Mendelson and Taylor Trammell, as well as fellow outside hitter Camryn Hannah, has meant Mruzik isn’t taking a disproportionate amount of the team’s swings, as was often required in 2023, allowing her to be even more effective.