Mac Podraza, Jess Mruzik Receive Preseason All-Big Ten Recognition

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

Penn State women’s volleyball standouts Mac Podraza and Jess Mruzik were among 15 players selected as preseason All-Big Ten honorees Friday afternoon.

Podraza was one of three unanimous picks, joining Nebraska’s Lexi Rodriguez and Purdue’s Eva Hudson. The conference’s 14 head coaches also voted on the teams’ projected order of finish. Wisconsin received 13 first-place votes, while the Nittany Lions came in fourth in the preseason poll.

Podraza, the reigning Big Ten Setter of the Year and a three-time AVCA All-American, is among three setters on the preseason all-conference team. Minnesota’s Melani Shaffmaster and Indiana’s Camryn Haworth, who joined Podraza as first-team All-Big Ten selections last season, were also recognized. It was Podraza’s third time landing on one of the conference’s postseason teams.

Mruzik, a two-time first-team All-Big Ten honoree and 2021 AVCA All-American honorable mention recipient, is among six outside hitters on the preseason team. Minnesota’s Taylor Landfair, last fall’s Big Ten Player of the Year, unsurprisingly joined Mruzik, as did Hudson, Illinois’ Raina Terry, and Wisconsin’s Sarah Franklin and Temi Thomas-Ailara.

Eight Big Ten programs were represented on the preseason all-conference team, which featured 15 members this year instead of the usual 14 due to a tie in the voting. Wisconsin had the most players with four, including Carter Booth and Devyn Robinson. Booth and Ohio State’s Rylee Rader were the only middle blockers selected.

Allie Holland was arguably snubbed from preseason recognition after earning first-team All-Big Ten accolades for the first time in her career last fall. While preseason honors will largely be forgotten before long, it’s unfortunate that Holland didn’t receive the praise she deserves from the conference’s head coaches heading into the 2023 campaign.

Holland, a senior middle blocker, and fifth-year senior right-side hitter Zoe Weatherington will represent the Nittany Lions alongside head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley at the second annual Big Ten volleyball media days in Chicago, Illinois, August 1-2. They will undoubtedly be asked about how the newcomers like Podraza and Mruzik are acclimating to Penn State’s program ahead of preseason training camp, which begins on Monday, August 7.

Earlier this summer, Podraza and Mruzik, who are now roommates, discussed their excitement for the season and what led them to pick the Nittany Lions after excellent careers at Ohio State and Michigan, respectively, in exclusive interviews.

“People keep asking me how Penn State is going to be in the fall, and my consistent answer is that we look really good on paper,” Podraza said. “We have all the right pieces, and in the offseason it all fell right into place on paper… I am excited to work with these girls to create chemistry on the court, so that what looks good on paper can translate to wins on the court.”

Mruzik, who has two seasons of eligibility left after graduating from Michigan in just three years, said she’s looking forward to making her mark with the seven-time NCAA national champions, and hopefully helping the Nittany Lions add to their trophy case.

“The program has so much history behind it, and I am just lucky enough that I get the opportunity to hopefully create even more history this season,” Mruzik said. “Rec Hall has always been my favorite place to play in the Big Ten, but now I luckily get to call it home.”