Led by Kennedy Martin’s 20.5 points (16 kills, 2 service aces, and 5 block assists), Penn State moved to 6-4 on the season with a 3-0 win over Central Michigan (25-21, 25-20, 25-22).
No. 13 Penn State women’s volleyball finished up non-conference play with a sweep of Central Michigan, led by first-year head coach and former Penn State All-American Arielle Wilson, who won four national titles during her college career.
Wilson and Katie Schumacher-Cawley shared a big hug before the match and posed for a photo with Megan Hodge Easy that the Penn State program shared on social media. Schumacher-Cawley said earlier last week that she recruited Wilson while she was the head coach at the University of Illinois Chicago, and even got Wilson to visit campus before she eventually committed to the Nittany Lions.
Kennedy Martin continued her torrid start to the season with another 16 kills against the Chippewas. She currently sits at 162 kills through nine matches after sitting out the Bucknell sweep for rest. Martin hit .394 and added eight digs and five total blocks Sunday.
Caroline Jurevicius joined Martin in double digits with 10 kills (.368), building some confidence with an efficient outing. Jurevicius was hot and cold during non-conference play, but her connection with Addie Lyon appeared strong Sunday, and the redshirt sophomore pin hitter will be relied upon to keep swinging away during the Big Ten slate.
The Nittany Lions improved their hitting percentage each set against Central Michigan, hitting .357 for the match, including .400 in the third set. Give the Chippewas credit for adjusting to Penn State’s taller block and putting together an excellent third set in which they hit .387. Penn State’s middle blockers, Maggie Mendelson and Jordan Hopp, didn’t have a single attack error between them, tallying nine and five kills, respectively. Both hit above .600. Mendelson’s .692 mark led all players.
Ava Jurevicius came in as a serving sub and played in two sets for the Nittany Lions. Schumacher-Cawley commended Jurevicius for her serve after the match and said she expects her to continue seeing playing time. Senior libero Gillian Grimes had a match-high 10 digs and two assists in the win.
Penn State begins Big Ten play with a pair of matches against the Los Angeles schools this weekend at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions host USC Friday at 8 p.m. ET in their Team Ream match before playing UCLA Sunday at noon in their THON match. Both contests will air on Big Ten Network. Penn State’s 2027 commits are scheduled to take their official visits that weekend, which also includes Saturday’s White Out football game against Oregon.
Olivia Henry, Nejari Crooks, Taylor Harrington, and Molly Robertson will have a chance to go down on the sidelines at Beaver Stadium for part of the game with their future coaching staff. Plenty of Penn State teams will have recruits or commits at the game, which is always a spectacle. ESPN’s College GameDay will be on site at Old Main lawn Saturday morning.
Post-Match Press Conference
KSC Opening Statement
It was nice to welcome Ari back to Penn State. Happy to see her and her team. It’s always nice to get the win and win at home. It was a great crowd for a Sunday afternoon, and I always appreciate the band, the cheer, and the wRECking crew for what they do. We found a way to win and score some points. And these two (Maggie Mendelson and Addie Lyon) played great and led the way.
Question: Coach, 2-0 weekend obviously fantastic. Big Ten play is coming up. What’s your team’s main focus?
KSC: Well, we’re done with the preseason, and how we talk about it is this is the next season. So it’s nice to be able to be at home next weekend, and we need to take advantage of our time to train and to get better and to focus on USC and UCLA. The Big 10 is relentless, and we’re going to have to be prepared. And I’m ready to compete and make a few changes, and really get better every day we have the opportunity in the gym.
Question: Addie, you’ve been having a lot of experience setting a lot of different people, with Maggie [Mendelson] and Jordan [Hopp] being a bit more offensive out of the middle, and now Caroline [Jurevicius] having an effective day, with her, Alexis [Ewing] and Emmi [Sellman] and Kennedy [Martin], how do you set a balance setting all of them with so many different options.
Addie Lyon: I think finding the hot hitter in the moments that we need them. But then also spreading that attack so that we’re not getting double blocks on all of them and we want them to have kills across-the-board, so that it’s hard to scout us.
Question: [Addie] had that big block, so Maggie, how much easier does it make your life when your setter can roof someone like that?
Maggie Mendelson: It’s awesome. We’ve been working a lot of blocking together and Addie’s done a really good job of leading the way on the blocking aspect of it. When she’s front row she’s doing a really good job, and I think it’s just easier for us to run our defense, run our offense when our setter is as good as Addie is.
Question: Addie, Maggie hit .692 Jordan hit .625. What was working well with the connection with the middle blockers?
Addie Lyon: I think we work a lot in practice, and that trust is continuing to build with them. And both when I’m on and off the net, I have full faith that they’re going to get up, and whether it’s a perfect set or not so great, they’re going to do something with it, and I think that trust is continuing to build.
Question: Katie, Taylor Cripe gave you some trouble with that fast serve. Is that something that you’re going to work on going into Big Ten play?
KSC: I thought they served really aggressive. We talk about our serve-pass game all the time and it’s something that we will continue to work on every day. Because we sure will be seeing a lot of tough serves coming up here. I thought they had a great game plan. They served aggressive. They served where they should have. We’ll use it as some film work and get better.
Question: Maggie, what are some things you’ve improved this season? It seems like you’re really quick in closing out a lot of blocks.
Maggie Mendelson: Thank you. In the weight room this summer we worked a lot. Our coaching staff was really awesome about like putting weights first. So I thought that was really helpful for me in the offseason. And then just getting more comfortable, playing with my teammates, playing around, I think it’s only going to continue to get better.
Question: Addie, how would you describe your teammates in their support this season?
Addie Lyon: They’ve been absolutely fantastic. Both on and off the court, I think this group has come together from the moment I got here, and I felt their support from the second I stepped on campus and it hasn’t wavered once.
Question: [to Addie] What were some of the things about Penn State that most interested you when you were looking at them?
Addie Lyon: The incredible legacy, the coaching staff. One, they’re a fantastic coaching staff on the court, but they also want us to succeed off the court and in life. And being an older player, that was something I was really looking for and then the team was just so welcoming when I was here on my visit.
Question: Coach, the defense was looking really strong today. Would you say that there was something specific that [contributed] to this?
KSC: I think we just talk about being aggressive and taking care of the ball, and our backrow players know their role. I think it’s just don’t hold back and continue to be aggressive and communicate well. I thought they did a good job and played their spots well.
Question: So I thought you had Caroline (Jurevicius) and Ava Falduto and you switched that to Alexis (Ewing) and Jocelyn (Nathan) at times. What did you like from both those rotations?
KSC: We talk about everyone being prepared and ready to go, and Juice is always ready to go, whether it’s serving sub or back row player. And I thought she did a good job, and we wanted to get her in there to pass a little bit. And thought Lex and Caroline took some good swings, and did some things that we worked on by keeping the ball in play and still being aggressive. I want everyone feeling comfortable in their skills, and they know that they’re going to have to help us out.
Question: Maggie, how have you seen Kennedy improve in her blocking?
Maggie Mendelson: Kennedy has a really good mindset. When it comes to blocking and attacking the ball. Every day she’s in practice, getting better working with our coaches, working with the people next to her. And I think like, once again, it’s only going to get better from here. She’s just shown that she’s super coachable and just a great teammate all around.
Question: What do you guys think of the new arm sleeves?
Addie Lyon: I like them a lot.
Maggie Mendelson: Look good, play good, I guess.
Question: Coach, Ava Jurevicius seemed to be the serving sub today. Will that role continue to be rotated through different players?
KSC: She has a great serve. And it’s something that she’s been working on for a while, and she’ll find a way to score us points and for sure, she’ll definitely be on the floor.
Question: Addie, you guys improved your hitting percentage with each set. Why do you think that was?
Addie Lyon: I think throughout the match, just getting more comfortable and finding the places that were scoring the most and figuring out where they were setting up their defense and my attackers were finding the open court.
Question: Maggie, as a middle blocker, what are some things that impress you about Arielle Wilson, if you’ve had a chance to watch any of her film.
Maggie Mendelson: I mean, she’s insane. She’s a Penn State legend. She’s just awesome to watch as an attacker. I thought she’s really aggressive. And I think that’s something that I want to take into my game more, just hit as many balls as I can.