Hannah, Mruzik Lead Penn State Volleyball To 3-1 Win Over Michigan

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

No. 13 Penn State women’s volleyball beat Michigan 3-1 Friday night at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor behind strong showings from Camryn Hannah and Jess Mruzik.

Hannah had a season-high 20 kills and hit .395 against the Wolverines, while Mruzik added 18 kills and 11 digs versus her former team for her seventh double-double of the season. Mac Podraza had a match-high 46 assists in guiding the Nittany Lions (15-5, 9-2 Big Ten) to a .275 hitting percentage.

Fifth-year senior pin hitter Zoe Weatherington made her second start of the season, while Hannah came off the bench for the Nittany Lions after being a regular starter of late. Weatherington led Penn State with seven total blocks in the win, tying Michigan’s Serena Nyambio. Weatherington also had six kills, two digs, and one of Penn State’s three aces. The Nittany Lions out-blocked the Wolverines 11-7, but Michigan owned a 60-52 advantage in digs.

Hannah and defensive specialist Maddy Bilinovic (five digs, one assist) were Penn State’s only substitutes of the night, while Michigan rotated more often, deploying five subs during the match. Jacque Boney and Kendall Murray finished with a team-high 13 kills apiece for the Wolverines (3-17, 1-10 Big Ten). The two teams will play again on Friday, November 10 at 7 p.m. at Rec Hall. Penn State is now 55-6 all-time against Michigan.

“I think Cam has gotten so much better as the season’s gone on,” Katie Schumacher-Cawley said Wednesday. “I think she’s worked really hard on blocking and being able to attack from different points on the court. I’m excited to see her continue to get better.”

Schumacher-Cawley also discussed Mruzik’s impact so far this season during our interview with her before Wednesday’s practice. She’s previously lauded Mruzik’s ability to play the whole game as one of the best six-rotation players in the Big Ten and all of college volleyball. Mruzik, who hails from Livonia, Michigan, had scores of family and friends in attendance.

“I think Jess is a great player,” Schumacher-Cawley said. “She works on her game, she’s focused, and I think sometimes wants to do everything all the time. That’s just the type of player she is. I’m okay with Jess taking a lot of swings, because I know I’d want her swinging if I were playing, too.”

Sophomore libero Gill Grimes had a team-high 13 digs and one assist versus the Wolverines, while junior outside hitter Anjelina Starck added nine digs, two kills, and an assist, continuing to showcase her value as one of the team’s better passers. Taylor Trammell and Allie Holland had seven and four kills, respectively, while Holland added six total blocks.

The Nittany Lions will wrap up their road trip Saturday at 7 p.m. against Michigan State at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. The Spartans (13-9, 5-6 Big Ten) were swept by No. 2 Wisconsin at home Friday night. Penn State owns a 53-7 lead in the all-time series against the Spartans heading into Saturday’s match.

Box Score

Match Details

Penn St. Michigan
Set K E TA % K E TA %
1 14 5 34 0.265 15 5 39 0.256
2 11 3 27 0.296 12 8 29 0.138
3 19 5 39 0.359 15 0 33 0.455
4 14 6 42 0.190 9 9 40 0.000
Total 58 19 142 0.275 51 22 141 0.206
Penn St. Michigan
Points 72 60
Kills 58 51
Aces 3 2
Blocks 11 7
Assists 52 50
Digs 52 60

Match Leaders

Penn St. – Leaders
Kills Camryn Hannah (20), Jess Mruzik (18), Taylor Trammell (7)
Aces Allie Holland (1), Camryn Hannah (1), Zoe Weatherington (1)
Blocks Zoe Weatherington (7), Allie Holland (6), Taylor Trammell (3)
Assists Mac Podraza (46), Jess Mruzik (2), Gillian Grimes (1), Anjelina Starck (1), Allie Holland (1), Maddy Bilinovic (1)
Digs Gillian Grimes (13), Jess Mruzik (11), Anjelina Starck (9)
Michigan – Leaders
Kills Jacque Boney (13), Kendall Murray (13), Amalia Simmons (8), Saj McBurrows (8)
Aces Brooke Humphrey (2)
Blocks Serena Nyambio (7), Valentina Vaulet (2), Kendall Murray (2), Saj McBurrows (2)
Assists Morgan Burke (41), Brooke Humphrey (6), Hannah Grant (3)
Digs Kendall Murray (14), Brooke Humphrey (13), Hannah Grant (10)

Penn State Stats

# Player SP K E TA % A E SA SE BS BA BE DIG BHE RE Pts
8 Camryn Hannah 4 20 5 38 0.395 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 21
9 Jess Mruzik 4 18 5 55 0.236 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 11 0 1 20
17 Zoe Weatherington 4 6 5 16 0.063 0 1 1 2 0 7 0 2 0 0 10.5
1 Taylor Trammell 4 7 3 18 0.222 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 8.5
20 Allie Holland 4 4 0 7 0.571 1 0 1 2 1 5 0 2 0 0 8.5
10 Anjelina Starck 4 2 0 3 0.667 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 2
5 Mac Podraza 4 1 1 5 0.000 46 0 0 2 0 1 0 8 0 0 1.5
2 Maddy Bilinovic 4 0 0 0 0.000 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0
3 Gillian Grimes 4 0 0 0 0.000 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 13 0 1 0
Total 58 19 142 0.275 52 1 3 11 3 16 0 52 0 2 72

Michigan Stats

# Player SP K E TA % A E SA SE BS BA BE DIG BHE RE Pts
27 Kendall Murray 4 13 7 48 0.125 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 14 0 0 14
17 Jacque Boney 4 13 1 19 0.632 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 13
6 Saj McBurrows 4 8 3 24 0.208 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 9
1 Serena Nyambio 4 5 3 15 0.133 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 3 0 0 8.5
11 Amalia Simmons 2 8 2 17 0.353 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8
13 Valentina Vaulet 2 4 5 15 -0.067 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 5
3 Brooke Humphrey 4 0 0 1 0.000 6 0 2 3 0 0 0 13 0 3 2
7 Morgan Burke 4 0 1 1 -1.000 41 1 0 1 0 1 0 7 0 0 0.5
9 Hannah Grant 4 0 0 1 0.000 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 0
4 Scottee Johnson 1 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 Mira Chopra 4 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
19 Maddi Cuchran 4 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 0
Total 51 22 141 0.206 50 1 2 10 0 14 1 60 0 3 60

Box Score