The Nittany Lions fell to Indiana in Rec Hall for the first time in the program’s history. Penn State was led by Kennedy Martin (14.5 pts, 14k, 1 block) and Emmi Sellman (6pts, 6k). Indiana was inspired in their effort against the blue and white and was led by Avry Tatum and Jaidyn Jager with a combined 32 points. The Nittany Lions struggled to defend the attacks and serves from the Hoosiers and fell to 7-5 in the conference, 13-9 overall.
The Nittany Lions were outclassed in offense (36 kills to 43 of Indiana), defense (40 digs to 45) and serve (1 ace, 12 service errors to 6 aces, 4 service errors). Penn State was led by Kennedy Martin who scored 14.5 points from 14 kills and 1 block assist. The Nittany Lions fielded 4 of their outside hitters Emmi Sellman (6 kills), Caroline Jurevicius (4 kills, 2 blocks), Alexis Ewing (2 kills, 1 block) and Karis Willow (1 kill, 2 blocks). Kennedy Martin and Gillian Grimes led the team in digs with 13 and 12 respectively while Addie Lyon led the team in assists with 25 and a team hitting percentage of 0.233. Gabrielle Nichols, who once again started the match, had a team-high 3 blocks in addition to 2 kills off 2 swings. Passing was one of the team’s weak points in this match and while Penn State actually outhit the Hoosiers, there were not enough opportunities for production to overcome the Hoosier’s excellent performance. This marks the first time the Hoosier’s prevailed against the Nittany Lions in Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions will try to bounce back from this weekend against Purdue and Illinois next week.
Post-Match Press Conference
After the match, Coach Katie, Gillian Grimes, and Emmi Sellman answered questions from the media. Below is a transcript of the questions and answers, lightly edited for length and clarity.
Opening Statement by Coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley.
Thanks for being here and I thought Steve and Kevin and the staff at IU have done a great job. I thought they were really consistent and played hard and they were the better team.
Question: Coach the in the second set, Caroline (Jurevicius) came in and of provided a jolt of energy and Karis (Willow) did so as well in the third. What did you like, from their performances?
Coach Katie: They were able to score a few points and help the team. We were struggling across the board, and, you know, we gave everyone a run at it. CJ took some big swings, and Karis does that practice every day – I know she’s ready to go.
Question: Coach, Gabrielle Nichols had a really good show of blocking today. How are you looking at improving your blocks forward, especially when it comes to really hard hitting teams like Indiana today.
Coach Katie: We’ve been working a lot on defense and trying to get some better touches. I think Gabby works really hard, and she does that every day in practice, so she’s getting better and better. She’s fun to watch.
Question: Emmi, what were some things that Indiana did well today to put you guys off balance?
Emmi Sellman: I thought they served really well and really aggressively. And I think they were really efficient hitting wise as well.
Question: Gill, what are some of the things the team can do moving forward to try and turn this around?
Gillian Grimes: I think it’s just how we go into practice next week to try and build out things. We struggled on serve the past games, so really getting to the gym, and that starts with me too, being with my littles, knowing that that’s a big part of our play. So getting in the gym and making sure we’re really confident going into the next match.
Question: Gill, the Indiana setter spread the ball around throughout different hitters today. How did that affect you and the littles in the backcourt to guess where it’s coming from?
Gillian Grimes: I guess to take a step before really, I think depends on how well we’re serving the ball, and that they were passing it pretty well, so the setter had the opportunity to spread it around. So I think we kind of have to go back and serve the ball a little bit better. But yeah. I mean, they did a great job, and we were a little off guard on a few of them, but we got to be able to dig in and take some more balls too.
Question: Coach, obviously not what you were looking for tonight, but you’ve still won six of your last nine. How do you stay positive going forward?
Coach Katie: Yeah. Every week presents its new challenges, and we need to get back to work. Get better in the gym and watch some more film and really be students of the game and get better. Matches don’t get easier in this conference. And you know, being focused and being prepared has been a struggle with this group. But we’ll get back to work on Tuesday and be prepared for another two great matches ahead of us.
Question: Emmi, how important is it for the team to have mental toughness moving forward and move past some of the struggles that have popped up this season?
Emmi Sellman: Yeah, it’s extremely important. We still have so much season left to play and a lot to look forward to, so I think we just can’t look back. We have to be focused on one day at a time, the next day, the next game, and that’s that’s where our focus is right now.
Question: Coach, What impressed you about (Avry) Tatum and (Jaidyn) Jager today for Indiana.
Coach Katie: They took some big swings and moved the ball around well, chopped it when they needed it, and swung away. You know, I thought they played a complete match, and it’s a well deserved win for them.