No. 19 Penn State women’s volleyball swept Michigan Friday night at Rec Hall to improve to 2-0 on the season versus the Wolverines, as Jess Mruzik led the Nittany Lions with a match-high 13 kills and seven digs against her former team.
Penn State had one of its best serving performances of the season with 10 aces and only seven errors from the end line. On top of her five kills and three digs, Camryn Hannah had a season-high four aces for the Nittany Lions (16-8, 10-5 Big Ten). Sophomore libero Gill Grimes had a match-high 15 digs, two assists, and two aces.
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π΅βͺοΈ pic.twitter.com/ucH9JxZ0Y4— Penn State Womenβs Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) November 11, 2023
Penn State’s offense got off to a hot start in the first set, hitting .314 on its way to an early lead, but it wasn’t without a bit of drama. Trailing 22-21 following a Kendall Murray kill, the Nittany Lions went on a 4-1 run to go up 1-0, as a Taylor Trammell and Zoe Weatherington double block closed things out.
Despite giving up a 6-0 run late in the second set that allowed the Wolverines to cut Penn State’s lead to 23-22, a Weatherington kill and Michigan attack error promptly halted the comeback attempt. The Nittany Lions only hit .062 in the third set, knocking their hitting percentage for the match down to .208, but they easily won the frame after Michigan hit -0.152 with just five kills and 10 attack errors.
Weatherington finished with eight kills and four total blocks, while Trammell had five kills and a match-high five total blocks in the win. Mac Podraza had a match-high 32 assists, four digs, three kills, three total blocks, and an ace. Senior defensive specialist Maddy Bilinovic was part of the starting lineup for the second time in the last three matches and tallied 10 digs and three assists. Anjelina Starck and Lina Perugini had five and three digs, respectively.
The Nittany Lions will be back in Rec Hall for their next three matches, as they host No. 2 Wisconsin (23-1, 14-1 Big Ten) Saturday at 8 p.m. in a televised contest on Big Ten Network before welcoming Michigan State and Northwestern next weekend. The Badgers swept Maryland Friday night in College Park and have only lost to Nebraska so far this season.
After singing the alma mater with the pep band and their fans, head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, Allie Holland, and Zoe Weatherington discussed the win at the podium of Penn State’s media room. The transcript of questions and answers can be found below.
Schumacher-Cawley’s opening statement:
“Thanks for coming. I was happy to see us win in three and to start off the third set ready to go and be able to finish a team when you have an opportunity to do that. These two played great. High energy, good blocking. It was a good match for us.”
Coach, how would you assess your team’s serving tonight? You had 10 aces.
KSC: “I didn’t know that’s how many we had. I thought we served much better. That’s something that we’re doing every day, though. I think that they’re holding themselves accountable to being better at that skill and being focused. I’m happy with it. I’m happy with how aggressive we were and we need to continue that.”
Coach, what did you see was the reason it was so close in the first set and you started getting space from them in the third set?
KSC: “I think we started off the first set with three errors, and that’s tough. It’s tough to come back against any team. I thought we passed better. We were more in-system as we got going. We need to start better, faster.”
After losing three matches in a row, how important is this win for the team?
Holland: “It’s a major momentum-builder. We’re happy to be at home. We’re happy to win in three. Any win in this conference is a huge win, so I’m super proud of my team and I’m very excited about the win.”
You looked like you were having so much fun out there. How do you feel about your performances?
Weatherington: “It feels great. We spent a lot of time in the gym, as usual, this week. We really wanted this more, and I think it showed, because we were able to go out there and show people and not just have another game where we’re wondering, ‘Are we the better team or not?’ We know for a fact we’re the better team. It’s just nice whenever we get to have the outcome that shows that.”
Allie, what were some of the positives of the offense tonight that you noticed?
Holland: “I thought that we spread it out really nicely from the start, which just relieves our pins in the future of the game. [They] were blocking with us. I thought that all of the pins and the middles did really well. I’m proud of Tay [Trammell]. We’ve been working really hard with our setters to work on that middle connection, so I’m happy with tonight.”
Coach, you brought in some different players as defensive specialists. Did you see an improvement? It seems like your sets were getting closer to the net this time.Β
KSC: “Yeah, I think everyone knows their role, knows what to expect, and needs to be ready to go. I thought Lina [Perugini] came in, did a nice job, and dug some balls. She brings good energy to the court. I think that they’re ready to go and know what to do. We prepare them all week to be ready.”
How quickly do you prepare for tomorrow [against Wisconsin]?
KSC: “We’re onto them right now. That’s it. After we leave this. We’ll be up tomorrow doing some film and we’ll be ready to go. These guys will get a good night’s sleep. They understand the importance of every match.”
Zoe, what are some things you want to see from the team heading into tomorrow that you’re focused on?
Weatherington: “Just more greatness. We get in the gym and we work really hard. The things that we do in practice, I just want to see them happen in the game, because I know how talented of a group we are, and all the talent, strength, and power we have from each player. Not just the starting six, but all 19 of us have greatness in us, and I just want that to translate to the court every match.”