The Penn State women’s volleyball program held its fourth weekly media availability of the 2023 season Tuesday afternoon before practice at Rec Hall.
Head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley and graduate senior pin hitter Camryn Hannah answered questions ahead of No. 13 Penn State’s home matches this weekend against UMBC Friday at 7 p.m. and Seton Hall Saturday at 4 p.m.
Hannah made her first start in a Penn State uniform in the Nittany Lions’ sweep of Temple last Friday at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, recording 10 kills, three total blocks, and two digs. It was the second time Hannah has had double-digit kills so far this season, as she tallied a match-high 12 in a sweep of Colgate on September 2 at Rec Hall.
Hannah currently sits at 999 career kills heading into Friday’s match against UMBC, which Penn State swept in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. The Nittany Lions (4-3) are coming off a straight-sets loss to No. 2 Louisville on the road and are aiming to bounce back in the final weekend of non-conference play.
Schumacher-Cawley touched on a variety of topics during her weekly press conference, including freshman outside hitter Karis Willow’s Penn State debut against the Owls, what she would like to see from setter Mac Podraza moving forward, and how assistant director of athletic performance, Matt Dorn, positively impacts the program.
“I think Cam’s been working really hard in practice,” Schumacher-Cawley said last week. “Cam is flexible, where she can play on both pins. I told her that right away. She finds ways to score. She’s pretty confident in her skills. I’m excited to see her grow throughout the season.”
Hannah, who represented Michio Chicago Volleyball Academy, graduated from Clemson in three years before transferring to the Nittany Lions this offseason. She discussed some of her volleyball mentors growing up, fellow Chicagoland standout Gill Grimes, and her experience at a recent Beyoncé concert with teammate and roommate Zoe Weatherington, among other subjects. The transcript of questions and answers can be found below.
Katie Schumacher-Cawley
What were some takeaways from the Temple and Louisville matches with a couple days to reflect on them?
“I’m happy we can get back in the gym today. Yesterday was our off day. The takeaway is that you have to compete. You have to compete all the time. I think we have to show some more grit and push back a little bit more. I thought we did some good things against Temple. Sunday, I think we failed to compete all the time. It’s a game of errors, but we strung along too many. Louisville’s a very good team. I give them a lot of credit. I’m hopeful that it will make us better in the long run.”
You have UMBC this Friday, a team you played in the first round of the NCAA tournament last year. What stands out about them?
“They’re a tournament team. I think they play really hard. I think their coaches do a great job. They’ll be ready to compete. I think they enjoy playing here. We would like to welcome them back to Rec Hall. We’ll have a lineup by then and be ready to go.”
You mentioned previously maybe messing with the lineup a little bit. Where do you think you are in that process?
“We’ll see where we’re at by the end of the week. We need to get some things done in practice Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, compete, and see who else can find ways to score. We have to be better.”
What are some things you want to see from Mac [Podraza] moving forward?
“I think Mac knows she has to play some better defense. I think she moves the ball around well, but I think reading and seeing what other teams are doing, that’s something that she talks about, and she knows that she needs to be better. I’m confident she’ll make changes to help the hitters and the group.”
We saw Karis [Willow] make her debut against Temple. How is she coming along?
“I think Karis is doing a good job. She’s an aggressive attacker. I would like to see her be able to do more in practice and get her comfortable, so that she feels good on match day.”
What are your thoughts on the defensive specialists lately?
“We talk about the serve-pass game. I think if you’re a defensive specialist, you have to have a great serve, and you have to be able to steady it out in serve receive, and not have multiple errors in a row.”
As far as serving goes, what would you like to see from your team there?
“I’d like to see us pick up our serving game, and not just getting the ball over the net, but being able to keep it in certain areas and pay attention to the [scouting report] and who we’re trying to serve and why. I think just a better overall concept of the serve-pass game.”
How excited are you to have Megan [Hodge Easy] back with the team?
“I think it’s great. I’m glad she’s back and can help in the gym and be a resource for this team and help us get them better.”
Editor’s note: Hodge Easy was not seen on Penn State’s bench the previous two weekends.
How have you seen her grow as a coach in her first season?
“I think she’s great to have around. Meg’s eager to learn everything about what goes into coaching, whether it’s recruiting, scouting, which I think she’s really good at, and I think just the overall conversations with the players. She’s amazing.”
As far as the pin hitters go, what’s your assessment of them? What would you like to see them improve?
“Like everyone, I think we need to take a big step forward. I think we need to find some other players who can score, who are confident in their skills, and it starts in practice. How they practice is what’s going to set them apart in match time.”
How do you feel about your team’s leadership at this point in the season?
“I think that’s something that we can always be better at. That’s something that I’m really helping the group with and wanting everyone to have a role, to help lead in different ways. I think, until everyone understands that they have a role, it’s hard. We’re working on that daily.”
What stands out about Catherine Burke?How valuable is it for her to learn from Allie [Holland] and Taylor [Trammell]?
“I think Catherine works really hard. I think she does all of the extra things, to get stronger in the weight room, to help herself. I think she’s improving every day. She competes hard every day in practice and I like what she’s doing.”
How important is Matt Dorn to the team?
“Matt’s phenomenal. I think Matt goes above and beyond for this program and gives them every opportunity to get better. It’s up to them to use that.”
Allie [Holland] tied her career high with four service aces against Temple. What stands out about her at the line?
“I think it’s something we work on every day, so I’m not surprised. I think Allie has a really good serve. She needs to continue to get faster with it and be able to move it around a little bit more. She’s working on those things in practice.”
It’s been a hectic start to the season all over college volleyball. What are your thoughts about that and the Big Ten in general?
“I think volleyball has obviously grown so much and it’s so competitive. Every team has players. You have to be ready to compete every time you step on the floor. You want to call them upsets, but I think every team has great players, and it’s highly competitive. It’s what you do when no one’s looking that’s going to make you better.”
What have you seen from Zoe [Weatherington] and Cam [Hannah] lately?
“I think we have to find a way to be better and compete. We have to find ways to score and to help them see the court better, both offensively and defensively.”
What stands out about Ally [Van Eekeren]?
“Ally comes in every day and does extra work. She wants to help and contribute to the team in any way she can. I respect her work ethic. I know I can count on her to come in, whether it’s to serve, play defense, or to set. I think she’s ready to go.”
Camryn Hannah
It wasn’t the result the team wanted against Louisville, but what were some of your takeaways from the match? What can you work on improving?
“I think we all talked about just improving our trust in each other as a team. We’re a new team. Obviously, a lot of us hadn’t played together before, so that was one thing we took away from the match, just trusting each other to do our jobs, and not thinking that we have so many responsibilities. Making it more simple on ourselves.”
You need one more kill to reach 1,000. What stands out about your college career so far and now being here at Penn State?
“I think I’ve had a pretty unique college experience, with COVID and having a weird spring season in there in the beginning, and then now, being at Penn State, which I probably couldn’t have dreamed of this moment. But it is a dream. I’m forever grateful for everyone who was part of the process.”
How has Megan [Hodge Easy] helped you improve as a player?
“Oh, my god, I love Megan. I brag to my mom about her every day, just how smart she is, and the player who she was is inspiring. I plan on taking a lot of information from her.”
Who are some mentors who have helped you reach this point in your career?
“Definitely Kyle and Melissa Masterson, Naveed Nizam, they were all part of my club experience, and they have been a big part of who I am. And Bob Heersema. He’s the head coach at Saint Xavier University in Chicago, but he coached my mom, [Cheryl], so I’ve known him forever. He’s always been in my ear about a lot of things. It’s nice to have people back home who can help when this gets too stressful.”
How would you describe the volleyball culture in Chicago and the Midwest in general?
“Oh, goodness, it’s crazy. Everybody knows everybody, and everybody is coming for everybody else’s neck. You don’t get a break. Every team is good. I think that prepares us a lot for college volleyball, so it’s not surprising that a lot of Chicago girls are playing in the Big Ten.”
Gill Grimes is another one of those Chicagoland natives. What stands out about her?
“Absolutely. I’ve known Gill since she was little, and she’s been the same player — feisty and aggressive and just all over the floor. I was really excited to get to play with her here.”
Allie Holland said previously you two have known each other for a long time. What’s your relationship like with her?
“Allie has been one of my best friends since we were like 14. We met at a camp in Colorado, and ever since then, we’ve kept in contact. She came to visit me once at Clemson, actually. She was one of the big reasons why I was interested in here, because she told me what the program is like, what the culture is like, and what their goals are, and it aligned with mine. I trust her a lot.”
You’ve had some productive matches lately [against Colgate and Temple]. What has helped you get to this point and start to get some offense going?
“I think the other players on this team. Jess Mruzik has helped me a lot, just being a mentor for me on the team, seeing as she’s played this position a lot longer. I’m used to playing on the right side, so it’s a little different for me, but she’s helped me a lot. Megan [Hodge Easy], Allie [Holland], and all of the players on our team give me the confidence to just go out there and ball out. They tell me, ‘Swing and we’ll be behind you.’ I trust them.”
What stands out about your setters, Mac [Podraza] and Ally [Van Eekeren]?
“Both of them are so good. It’s really easy to hit off of them. It’s easy to give them feedback, which is nice, because the setter-hitter relationship, you have to be able to communicate with one another without it being hard criticism. That constructive criticism between us has been good.”
How have you seen Karis [Willow] improve throughout the early part of the season?
“Oh, extremely. I think when she first came in, she was quiet, but we could see that she has a lot of talent. We just needed to get her more comfortable and get her talking a little bit, so that’s what we’re working on now, just getting her comfortable being on the court and owning who she is, because she’s a great player.”
Alexa [Markley] and Anje [Starck] are two pin hitters who play a decent amount. What stands out about them?
“They’re both great players, too. That’s the beauty of this team is the depth that we have. I think it makes practice that much better, because we can all compete and go at each other, and all of us have our little thing that makes us great. That’s what makes it so much harder during practice.”
What do you enjoy most about playing with Zoe [Weatherington]? What’s your relationship like with her?
“I live with Zoe, so we talk every day, all day. We drive to practice together. I love playing with her. She makes it fun. She makes it funny. But she’s also competitive, and she keeps me zoned in when sometimes I lose focus. Zoe’s going to be there to reel me back in and tell me, ‘You’ve got it. Swing at the next ball.’ It’s good.”
I saw you two made it to a Beyoncé show before preseason camp. What was that experience like?
“Oh, my goodness. Actually, we were supposed to go to the show in Pittsburgh, but it got canceled, so when I went home with her to Charlotte, we ended up getting last-minute tickets and going to the show [August 6 at Washington’s FedEx Field]. It was amazing. I’ve been to four, but that was Zoe’s first show, so it was awesome for her to get to experience that, and for me to be with her to experience that. We literally almost started crying within the first 20 seconds, because she’s amazing, and we both love her so much.”
What are you most looking forward to about getting back in Rec Hall this weekend?
“Just working on the little things. Working on the trust with our teammates. Working on fine-tuning the small things, because I don’t think we have any big problems that we need to address. I think it’s just small things that we can clean up and we’ll be that much better.”