Jess Mruzik Named AVCA Second-Team All-American

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

Penn State women’s volleyball outside hitter Jess Mruzik received AVCA second-team All-American honors Wednesday after leading the Nittany Lions with 519 kills in 2023.

Mruzik is the 52nd different Penn State player to be named an All-American in program history. The Nittany Lions now count 114 total accolades, including honorable mentions like Kashauna Williams last season.

Mruzik was among 10 Big Ten players to land on either the first, second, or third team, while three more from the conference received honorable mention. After joining Mruzik on the AVCA All-Northeast region and All-Big Ten first team, setter Mac Podraza was surprisingly not recognized as an All-American during her final season.

The program recently announced that Mruzik and fellow seniors Camryn Hannah and Taylor Trammell will all return to the Nittany Lions in 2024 for their bonus season of eligibility. Mruzik previously received All-American honorable mention in 2021 following her sophomore season at Michigan.

Mruzik added 270 digs, 61 total blocks, and 24 aces during an outstanding 2023 campaign for the Livonia, Michigan, native, who represented Legacy Volleyball Club before college and served as an assistant coach there last spring. Mruzik is one of the nation’s most well-rounded six-rotation players and her return to the Nittany Lions next fall provides a massive boost for the team’s outlook in 2024, as Penn State will be breaking in a new setter following Podraza’s graduation.

“I think Jess wants to score every time she can,” Katie Schumacher-Cawley said before the NCAA tournament. “I think she’s involved in a lot of plays. I think Jess has stepped up her game and she’s a really fun player to watch. She’s explosive. She’s a student of the game as well. I think she’s gotten better defensively. Her serving has improved. I think she wants to be the complete player. She’s taken some really good strides to do that.”

Mruzik is a prime candidate to take over captain duties from Podraza and Allie Holland next season, as Holland recently announced that she’s not planning to use her bonus season of eligibility and is stepping away from the game. It will be exciting to see what Mruzik has in store for the 2024 season, as her first year in Rec Hall provided plenty of head-turning plays.