The Penn State women’s volleyball program held its second weekly media availability of the 2024 season Tuesday afternoon before practice at Rec Hall.

Head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, senior outside hitter Anjelina Starck, and junior middle blocker Maggie Mendelson answered questions ahead of the Nittany Lions’ three home matches this weekend. The team did not hold availability last week, as it hosted Louisville on Tuesday night, sweeping the Cardinals in its home opener.

The Nittany Lions (5-0) will host Duke in their first match of the Penn State Invitational Friday at 8:30 p.m. on FS1 before returning to Rec Hall for a doubleheader Saturday against Princeton (10:30 a.m.) and St. John’s (6:30 p.m.). No. 3 Penn State already has three top-15 wins after knocking off Tennessee, Louisville, and Kentucky.

Katie Schumacher-Cawley

Izzy [Starck] was Big Ten Freshman of the Week again. What has stood out about her play so far through five matches?

“I’m happy for Izzy. I thought she did a great job. She’s a competitive player. I thought our passers did a really good job of putting her in a good position to find the hitters and let them score. I thought, defensively, she was doing some nice things at the net, blocking, and digging as well, so she was playing a full game. I’m happy for her. I know she’ll continue to work hard and get better.”

[Maggie] Mendelson was one of the players who [Izzy] Starck did a really good job of connecting with. She just had a career high with 10 [kills against Ball State]. How has she impacted this offense? On the defensive end, she had eight blocks in the Kentucky match.

“Maggie’s a workhorse. She puts the time in. With her and Taylor [Trammell], Jordan [Hopp], even Catherine [Burke], our middles, they’ve all been doing extra work with Izzy so that they have that good connection. It’s good to see Maggie find ways to score. Defensively, she does a really good job of being in the way and causing problems for other teams. I’m happy for her.”

What have you been most impressed with as you’ve watched Izzy make the transition to the collegiate game? What do you think she can continue to improve on as the season goes on?

“I think Izzy coming for the spring semester really helped her. She was here all spring training with us. I think she’s a student of the game. She always wants to learn more. She likes to watch film. I was actually just in the gym with her right now. She likes to do the extra things to set herself apart. She knows that she can improve on game situations, and we’re working with her on that with film. I think she’s only going to get better. I’m excited to see her improve every week.”

[No. 3 is] the highest ranking you’ve had since you’ve been here. What’s different about this team?

“I think that it’s a special group. I think they’re really good to one another. I think that they have set the expectations pretty high and hold each other accountable. They were here all spring together. I just think that they’ve set some really great goals. They’re working daily on that. Even on their off-days, they’re doing things to help themselves be better. And I think they’re focused. I don’t put a whole lot of stock in the rankings. I think it’s great for media and for their parents and everyone, but I think that we have big goals ahead of us, and we need to stay focused on what we can do to get better.”

How has your depth helped you guys through a pretty difficult stretch of the season?

“We say every day in practice, ‘Everyone’s going to contribute here.’ I think they’ve all committed to that and understand that you don’t know when your opportunity is going to come, but you have to be ready because of how we train. I’m hopeful this weekend, with having three matches in a short period of time, that we can get some people in and get some more experience. They’re focused in practice.”

Touching on the Penn State Invitational this weekend, the defense has been great. No team has hit over .200 except Ball State (.271). You’ve done a good job of shutting everyone out. How confident are you feeling going into the invitational this weekend in the team’s recent play?

“We’re happy to be home. It’s always fun to be back at Rec Hall. I know the girls love playing here. It’s a big stretch ahead of us, but I think being home, having the day off yesterday (Monday), getting back in the gym today, they’re excited to get back after it. We look forward to playing Duke Friday night and then onto Princeton and St. John’s [Saturday].”

How do you prepare to play one match at 8:30 p.m. [against Duke] and then 10:30 a.m. [against Princeton] the next day?

“These kids are used to playing multiple matches. Coming from club season, they’ve done it. It is a lot, but we have depth, and we have a lot of people who can help and contribute. Everyone will have their opportunity this weekend to step up and do their job. I think it’s taking care of yourself all week, getting your rest, and eating well — doing all the extra things they do to help their bodies feel better throughout the week. I think they know how to do that now and they’re doing a good job with it.”

I thought it was really cool how Taylor [Trammell] went back to Lexington last weekend and got the MVP of the Kentucky Invitational. How impressed have you been with her this year and then also the combination that she’s had with Maggie [Mendelson] at the middle spots?

“I was really happy for Taylor. It’s her last season and we got to play in her hometown. She had a great crowd of people there to see her and support her. I just have to maybe tell her we’re in Lexington every time we’re playing, because I thought she was pretty lights-out both matches. I think she’s really enjoying her last go-around here and really embracing the challenges, but putting the work in to be better.”

What impresses you about Duke’s team?

“I think their coaching staff does a great job. Jolene [Nagel] has been there for a long time, and I have a lot of respect for her and what she’s done there. I think they’re still trying to figure out their lineup. They’ve had a bunch of different players in and out. I know they’ll compete hard. Their libero, [Mailinh Godschall], is a [DMV] kid, so she’ll have a lot of family here. I think they’ll play hard. I think that we need to stay focused on what we can control on our side. I think they’re still trying to work out lineups through preseason, so we’ll see. They have a lot of different options.”

What are the biggest things that you’re looking for [in terms of] improvement from your team despite the high level of play recently?

“I would like to see us start faster and be able to earn the first couple points, instead of kind of waiting and seeing how the game is going to go. I think to really be aggressive from the first point on.”

When Gillian [Grimes] came into Penn State, she had Maddy Bilinovic to learn under. Is the same dynamic kind of flip-flopping now that Ava [Falduto] is here? What has the dynamic been like between those two?

“I think it’s great. They’re both super fiery and competitive. Ava came in early as well, so I think for her to have that time to train [was important]. They get along so well. They want to win, so I don’t think it matters who’s wearing the libero jersey for them. It’s super competitive, but I think they both make each other better.”

Has the new libero rule changed anything in that regard?

“You can dress two now. We haven’t done that, just because I would like to have Ava and Gill both on the floor at the same time. If they’re both in the libero jersey, that wouldn’t happen. We haven’t really experimented with that yet.”

How long have you guys been doing the position-specific huddles during timeouts? What is the value of that?

“I think we started that in the spring. There’s strength in numbers. They like to help each other. Like I said, they’re really good to each other. If they’re not playing, maybe they’re seeing something differently. It’s more of just a group chat to check in on the position and what they can do better, what they’re seeing differently. I think it helps them and keeps their focus on what they need to do.”

I don’t know how much you guys have watched Princeton yet, but if you have, what are your early impressions of their team?

“I did coach in the Ivy League for one season [at Penn in 2017]. Princeton is always competing for the championship in that conference. They’re winners. They know what they’re doing. [I have] a lot of respect for their head coach, [Sabrina King], as well. I think she’s done a phenomenal job there and is just super successful. Princeton will play hard. They have some kids who take some big swings. Again, I think, for us, we need to be able to control the ball on our side, focus on being aggressive at the serving line, and playing good defense.”

Jess [Mruzik] and Cam [Hannah] are both hitting above .300 so far this season. What has impressed you about their efficiency?

“I think both of them are playing exceptionally well right now. There are always things to improve on, but I think they’re both attackers who want to swing all the time. I think we’re passing well, like I said, and with that, Izzy can create and get them one-on-one, so they can score a lot more when they’re one-on-one. I think that they’re both having a great season so far, and I would like to see that continue.”

Anjelina Starck

What were some of your biggest positive takeaways from last weekend?

“I think, from last weekend, as a team, we passed and played really good defense. In practice, we’ve been working a lot on covering, and I think that showed in our matches last weekend.”

Being named one of the team captains before the season started, how has that been for you stepping into a new role? How has that affected things on and off the court for you and the team?

“I was definitely very excited to find out, since it’s my last year. I just try to use it to encourage people.”

How were you guys able to turn it around after being down 2-0 against Kentucky?

“Yeah, definitely, it was a hard gym to play in. It was packed. It was loud. But we knew how we know to play volleyball, and we went back in the locker room and we all just said that, ‘We need to go back and play Penn State volleyball.’ I think that’s what we did once we came out in the third set.”

Your sister, Izzy, played a big part in that and was able to find the hitters. What has your experience been like playing with your sister and what has her play meant for the team recently?

“It’s been so much fun playing with her. I think she’s stepped in and done a really good job as a freshman so far. She hasn’t showed that the pressure has been bothering her at all. She comes on the court and she just plays and has fun.”

It’s pretty obvious you two have a lot of chemistry with each other. Has that been a big catalyst for your success? Has that made this team different than the ones that you’ve been on the past few years?

“Yeah, definitely. Every time we’re together, we just have fun. We talk about that before every game. We keep our vibes up, go out on the court, and just play to have fun, and remember why we started playing volleyball.”

What are some of the things she does particularly well just as a pure setter?

“I think she does a good job communicating with everybody on the court. She’s definitely fast. When our passes aren’t perfect, she’s able to get there and still use her hands. I think 0ne thing that’s helped us is she runs middle a lot. That opens up the pins and makes it easier for everyone to score.”

How about off the court? You get a one-year overlap with your sister. That’s pretty cool.

“It’s been a lot of fun. We’ll have dinner, because she’s not in the dorms anymore, so I’ll go over to her house and she’ll make me dinner, or I’ll make her dinner. It’s been super fun.”

Do you trash-talk her more or less than your teammates?

“Probably a little bit more.”

How do you, as a player, prepare for a pretty quick turnaround with an 8:30 start on Friday and then 10:30 on Saturday?

“We definitely use all of our resources. Our strength coach, [Matt] Dorn, and then our trainer, Scott [Campbell], they do whatever we need for us. We’ll all get in the training room, we’ll get rehab, get ice, and get a good night’s rest, and be ready to play the next day.”

What’s your relationship like with the other outside hitters?

“I think it’s great. Especially during timeouts, we’ll all come off the court, we’ll talk to each other, I’ll tell them what I see that’s open. We’ll talk to each other about the block, defense, and I think it’s been very helpful.”

Maggie Mendelson

What were some of the biggest positive takeaways from last weekend [against Kentucky and Ball State]?

“I think the biggest positive takeaway was being able to see our team push through hard things. We were down 2-0 and coming [back] and reverse sweeping was a really big thing for us. I think that’s something we can put away and use later in the season.”

You’re coming off your career high with 10 kills against Ball State. How have you found your groove with a new system and new teammates? 

“I think it’s been really easy, because I had the opportunity to play with Izzy when I was a little bit younger [with the U.S. youth national team]. We actually live together, so we’re with each other all the time. That off-the-court connection has really helped us on the court I think. As a team, everybody has made it really easy coming in, being a new person kind of, and made it really easy to enter the team.”

What’s the team doing to prepare for three matches in two days and some quick turnarounds?

“We’ve done a lot of work in the weight room getting ready. Our bodies are prepared to do this. And then just working with our coaches, seeing what we need to scout, really focusing on what we need for each team, and just getting things done.”

How has your chemistry been this year playing alongside Taylor [Trammell] at the other middle spot?

“It’s been awesome. She’s a really great teammate, a really great leader, and it’s been really easy learning from her. She’s a little bit more seasoned than I am. Getting to learn from her, as one of the older people on the team, has been really awesome.”

Izzy’s done a great job starting things off. How would you say your relationship with her off the court has been for your success and the team’s success?

“She’s done a really awesome job. I think everybody’s connection with her has been really positive. Like I said, we live together, so we’re with each other all the time. I think that’s really helped us build a connection. On the court, we’re always getting extra reps, and she’s always pushing me to get in the gym, so it’s awesome.”

Jordan [Hopp] did some nice things against Temple. What impresses you about her?

“She’s just a really great teammate. She’s always here supporting us, telling us what we need to do in games, and I think she’s going to be ready when we need her in the game. I’m really excited to see her.”