Jess Mruzik’s 26 Kills Lead Penn State Volleyball To Win 3-1 Win Over James Madison

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

Jess Mruzik had a match-high 26 kills, the second-most of her career, in leading No. 14 Penn State women’s volleyball to a 3-1 win over James Madison Sunday afternoon at Rec Hall.

Mruzik now has eight matches with 20-plus kills so far in college, including her three-year career at Michigan, and it’s clear she’s been setter Mac Podraza’s favorite scoring option through five matches of the 2023 season. As a Wolverine, Mruzik had 31 kills in a 3-2 win over Duke on September 10, 2021.

Mruzik added seven digs, two assists, an ace, and a block assist in Sunday’s win over James Madison, which fell to 4-2 on the season after winning its previous two matches over Colgate and No. 22 Western Kentucky at the Penn State Invitational. Mruzik has 84 kills already this season and surpassed 1,000 in a sweep of Colgate Saturday.

Box Score

Podraza tied her season high with 39 assists against the Dukes. She also tallied six digs, three total blocks, and two kills before Katie Schumacher-Cawley subbed in backup setter Ally Van Eekeren in the fourth set. After playing a substantial portion of Penn State’s sweep of Colgate, tying Podraza with 12 assists, Van Eekeren had one assist and one kill, a back-corner “pineapple,” to set up match point.

The Nittany Lions were out-blocked, 11-8, for the first time this season, but Taylor Trammell led the team with five total blocks. The senior middle blocker added six kills and an assist. Fellow middle blocker Allie Holland had eight kills, five digs, and two total blocks against the Dukes. Zoe Weatherington tied Holland with eight kills of her own, three digs, and two total blocks.

Freshman defensive specialist Joce Nathan made her collegiate debut late in the fourth set, coming in to serve for the Nittany Lions. Nathan, who has received praise from Schumacher-Cawley for her serving skills, is the first Penn State freshman to rotate into a match this season. She did not record a stat.

Maddy Bilinovic, who remained Penn State’s libero after taking over for Gill Grimes during the 3-1 win over Western Kentucky Friday, paced the defense with a team-high 13 digs Sunday. Bilinovic also had four assists against the Dukes, while Cassie Kuerschen had nine digs and an assist, and Grimes had six digs, three assists, and two of Penn State’s three aces. Bilinovic and Grimes are tied for the team lead with 53 digs apiece.

The Nittany Lions (3-2) will travel to Temple (6-1) Friday for a 7 p.m. match at the Liacouras Center against the Owls, who bounced back from a straight-sets loss to Towson Saturday with a sweep of Morgan State Sunday. Penn State also has a huge road trip to No. 3 Louisville Sunday at 1 p.m. in a televised match on ESPN2.

Schumacher-Cawley, Holland, and Weatherington met with the media following Penn State’s 3-1 win over James Madison. They are currently third and fourth on the team with 31 and 29 kills, respectively. Holland leads the Nittany Lions with 26 total blocks, one more than Trammell. The transcript of questions and answers can be found below.

Schumacher-Cawley’s opening statement:

“It’s nice to win at home. I’m happy for the team. I think we made some good adjustments. We started passing better to find ways to score. I thought Gill [Grimes] served a hell of a game and did some really nice things.”

One of the things that I noticed was the atmosphere in Rec Hall and all the energy these fans have. What’s it like going into the huddle after a big moment? How does the energy in Rec Hall affect your game?

Holland: “Oh, it’s everything. We’re just so happy to be at home. We love the wRECking Crew, we love the fans. After a big moment, when the floor is vibrating and everyone is screaming, it’s definitely awesome. After a low moment, the energy is there to help pick us up.”

Weatherington: “Agreed. I think, without our fans, we would be a completely different team. Especially the band, they have all the energy, and it really helps in those moments, even when we’re low. They just come in and lift us up.”

For Zoe and Allie, how has your confidence in Mac and Ally grown so far this season?

Holland: “It’s definitely growing more and more every day. The more time we get to be together in the gym, the more time we get to work, the confidence is growing. As we get deeper in the season, I anticipate it growing even more, but it’s definitely pretty high right now.”

Weatherington: “Agreed. I was confident before they got here. I’m confident now. I’m just happy they’re on our team now.”

What are some of their similarities and differences as setters?

Weatherington: “I think they’re two completely different players, but they both offer so much for us. We’ve been able to grow our relationships as hitters and setters with them, so we know what to expect when they’re on the court. I think it’s great that we’re able to know what time we need to leave to take our approach. We just know each other like that now. It’s great.”

Coach, JMU finished the match with more blocks, but at one point, it seemed like you made some changes and all of a sudden that turned around. What led to that?

KSC: “I thought our block did a good job and was over the net a little bit quicker and getting quality touches. We have to work on a few things with blocking, for sure, this week.”

You put Joce Nathan in the game to serve around match point. Was that her collegiate debut? What can you expect from your freshman class this year?

KSC: “Yeah, it was, actually. I expect them to compete hard in practice. Joce has a great serve and works on it a lot in practice. I thought it would be good to get her in there and see what she can do. She’s confident. I think she’s great for the team.”

Editor’s note:Β Joce’s older sister, Danielle, was an outside hitter for James Madison from 2019-2022 and was in attendance alongside their parents for Sunday’s match.

Allie, what are some things that Cassie Kuerschen does particularly well on defense?

Holland: “Oh, I think she’s great. She’s hustling down every single ball. Especially when I’m serving and I’m in the back row, which is maybe something that I’m not as comfortable with, she’s so good at talking to me and helping me through the back row. But yeah, I really trust her a lot, and I think her talk is great.”

Allie, we saw that you were doing more slides this weekend than previously this season. Is that just because your relationship is growing with Mac?

Holland: “I mean, as the season goes on, I think that we’re going to just keep expanding. It’s getting reps in the gym and getting more comfortable expanding our range. The slide is one of my favorite hits, so we’re definitely incorporating that a little bit more.”

Zoe, JMU’s defense did a pretty good job against you guys. What made it difficult playing against them today?

Weatherington: “They are very scrappy on defense. You have to give them their flowers. They definitely challenged me. I felt like I was really trying to put my all into my swings, and some of them were popping them up, and I can respect that. It’s really fun having a night like that. I would say it’s more fun to play a game when you’re getting challenged like that.”

What are some things you’ve learned through the first five matches that you can take forward?

Weatherington: “Keep swinging.”