The Nittany Lions are gathering steam as they put together a solid performance to get their 2nd consecutive sweep over Maryland. The Nittany Lions were led by Kennedy Martin (16 kills, 2 aces, 3 block assists), Maggie Mendelson (11 kills, 1 block assist) and Caroline Jurevicius (11 kills). The Nittany Lions also honored seven players: Kate Lally, Catherine Burke, Karis Willow, Addie Lyon, Jordan Hopp, Maggie Mendelson and Gillian Grimes in their post-match ceremony.
The Nittany Lions are getting some momentum as the B1G season closes. Three players had double-digit performances. Kennedy Martin had 19.5 points from 16 kills (0.517 hit pct), 2 aces and 3 blocks as well as 11 digs. She is now tied with Jess Mruzik for the most points scored in a single season in the rally scoring era. Maggie Mendelson, one of the seniors honored, also followed up a strong performance against the Spartans with 11 kills (0.611 hit pct) and 1 block assist. Caroline Jurevicius, back from a mid-season injury, scored 11 points from 11 kills. Jordan Hopp (5 kills, 7 blocks) and Emmi Sellman (6 kills, 1 block) combined for 15.5 points.
Jordan Hopp led the team in blocks with 7 and Gillian Grimes led a strong defensive and passing outing for the Lions with 19 digs. Addie Lyon had 42 assists and set a season-high hitting percentage with a 0.449 team hitting efficiency. The Nittany Lions dominated the Terrapins in every aspect of the game aside from hitting more service errors.
This was Penn State’s cleanest match of the season with only 14 combined errors (8 hitting, 6 service). It puts the Lions at 17-11 and 11-7 in the B1G.
This was the last match in Rec Hall this season, as the Lions are currently at 31 in the RPI and have more losses than any team in current Top 16. The Lions will close out the B1G season with two away matches, one against Nebraska and the other against Iowa. The Lions are still highly likely to make an appearance in the NCAA tournament for the 45th consecutive time, the only team to make all 45 NCAA tournaments.
Post-Match Press Conference
After the match, Coach Katie with Seniors Gillian Grimes, Maggie Mendelson and Jordan Hopp 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.
Thank you for being here and writing about us all year. We appreciate it. We really do. And I’m proud of these guys, and I thought it was a great team effort this entire weekend, and it’s exciting to celebrate these seniors.
Question: How do you describe the impact of the three seniors (Grimes, Mendelson and Hopp) you have up here and just all your grads in general?
Coach Katie: I think that’s exactly the point. They’ve each made an impact on the program, and I think the community, and that’s all you can ask for.
Question: For all the seniors, how did it feel stepping out into Rec Hall one more time for one last match?
Gillian Grimes: Yeah, definitely emotional. The past four years has been great, and I think to do this with all seven of us was a really nice treat and really good way to end it.
Maggie Mendelson: Yeah, just the same thing. Rec Hall is a really cool place, and I’m grateful that I get to play a few more games in here with the basketball side. But super bittersweet that this is my last volleyball game (in Rec Hall), just because of how awesome the fans are for Penn State volleyball, and just knowing how much this program has made an impact on me.
Jordan Hopp: I think just getting to finish like the senior season at such a historic program and place is just really special.
Question: Speaking of today, what were some of the things that you noticed that were positive?
Coach Katie: I thought we I thought we played great team defense. I thought the block did a good job, and we were picking up balls off the block. And I thought we played a pretty clean match today.
Question: For the middles, what do you think was working well with your connection with Addie (Lyon)?
Maggie Mendelson: It gets better and better every day, and I think Addie really trusts all her hitters on the court, and I think that shows in every game, just trusting us that we’ll get a kill when she sets us. So, it’s been really fun.
Jordan Hopp: She finds the right times and moments in plays, whether it’s side-out or transition, she can find us, kind of wherever she is on the court, and it makes it really easy to get kills.
Question: Question for (Coach) Katie, was there anything that changed between Friday and Sunday? For Caroline, because I know she had negative hit percentage (on Friday), and then she goes out and has 11 kills (today).
Coach Katie: Yeah, I think she took some smart swings tonight. If it wasn’t a perfect set, she put the ball in play but was still aggressive. So, you know, I think she’s getting back to where she was and she’s finding ways to score. And she can score on both sides of the pin. I think when we’re passing well, Addie can move the ball around well and get players one on one.
Question: What have been some of the most enjoyable aspects of your senior season?
Gillian Grimes: I love playing in Rec Hall. I think the fans are great, and my teammates, playing with them, it’s just been a real treat this whole season. But yeah, nothing beats this place, so I’m really gonna miss it.
Question: Would you guys all just describe the relationships that you’ve built here, and being able to carry that into the future?
Maggie Mendelson: Yeah, I think every single one of us has met our lifelong friends and people that we’re going to talk to for a really long time. And being able to come back to recall and know that we have a home here, not only with the fans and the community, but with our teammates and the people that we’ve met along the way. So, I think it’s just a really cool place. And I don’t think a lot of programs do it, like Penn State does it.
Jordan Hopp: I think just being able to like, we’re gonna leave here and see them maybe in 5-10, years, and be able to just pick up right where we left off is kind of the relationships that I feel like we have.
Question: What’s the main focus for you guys heading into the last few matches of the regular season?
Coach Katie: I think it’s to let these guys enjoy their senior night and get back to work next week. We have two tough matches on the road, and we’ll prepare, and we’ll be ready to go and see where that takes us. But you know, I think we’ll be ready to compete, and I know we’ll give our best effort.
Question: What was it like having your family here for senior day?
Maggie Mendelson: It’s super special just knowing the community that we have behind us, and I feel like all of our families are really close knit with each other, so just having everybody here feels like a really big celebration.
Gillian Grimes: Yeah, it’s been great. I mean, a few tears from our family, just because this is probably the last time they’ll be here in in like, a few years. Maybe, I don’t know when, but I think it’s just all kind of emotional, just because we’ve been coming here. I know my aunt, like, has been coming for like, 12 years, so it’s just been very emotional. But it’s good.
Question: How has Penn State positively impacted your lives?
Jordan Hopp: I think being here and being a part of not only like the volleyball, but the academic side of it has really just opened a lot of avenues and doors for us in the future when it comes to getting a job or wanting whatever we want to do with our careers, and I think Penn State has a great help in that.