No. 14 Penn State women’s volleyball beat Michigan State 3-1 Friday at Rec Hall, on a night where the program honored All-American alumna Jonni Parker and her Chasing Greatness foundation.
Jess Mruzik had a match-high 19 kills, six digs, two total blocks, and hit .484 in the win, helping the Nittany Lions avenge their five-set loss to the Spartans earlier this season in East Lansing. Mac Podraza also had a strong showing with a match-high 44 assists, seven digs, three kills, two blocks, and one of Penn State’s nine aces.
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— Penn State Womenβs Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) November 18, 2023
Podraza surpassed 5,000 career assists during the fourth set and orchestrated an impressive Penn State offense, guiding the Nittany Lions (18-8, 12-5 Big Ten) to a .414 hitting percentage in the second set and a .696 figure in the third. Penn State battled back after dropping the first set, as Katie Schumacher-Cawley received a yellow card for arguing a late Taylor Trammell attack error, which was called a carry by the referee.
Parker spoke to the Rec Hall crowd before the match and thanked everyone for their support. She and her family interacted with fans and sold Chasing Greatness T-shirts made specifically for this match, with the proceeds benefiting Parker’s non-profit organization, which assists persons 18 years or younger with hearing loss.
Penn State signees Izzy Starck and Ava Falduto, who recently inked national letters of intent as members of the program’s 2024 recruiting class, were also in attendance for the match. Camryn Hannah and Zoe Weatherington joined Mruzik in double digits with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, while Trammell added eight of her own and a match-high five total blocks. Allie Holland had five kills, four blocks, two aces, and two digs.
Gill Grimes and Maddy Bilinovic combined for 23 digs, as Bilinovic tied Michigan State’s Nalani Iosia with a match-high 12. Grimes had a match-high three aces. The Nittany Lions out-blocked the Spartans 10-6, hit .362, and finished with a 42-33 advantage in digs. Anjelina Starck (two kills, one assist, one dig) and backup setter Ally Van Eekeren (four assists) rounded out the scoring for Penn State, which will welcome Northwestern to Rec Hall Saturday at 7 p.m. for senior night.
Schumacher-Cawley, Podraza, and Weatherington answered questions following the win. The full transcript can be found below.
Schumacher-Cawley’s opening statement:
“Thanks again, you guys, for coming. I’m proud of the team for competing hard and getting the win. It’s hard to win in this conference. It’s nice to be at home with our fans and wRECking Crew. It was a great atmosphere and I thought these two played really well.”
Coach, you guys hit .696 in the third set and had a nice night offensively in general. What do you think were some of the keys to that?
KSC: “I thought we were passing well and I thought Mac was moving the ball around well. Players were one-on-one and they were doing their job and scoring. I think when we pass well, like I’ve always said, Mac can move the ball around. Everyone’s aggressive. They have the green light to swing.”
After the first set, following that carry call on Trammell, what was your mentality that helped you come back and win the next three?
KSC:Β “We’re not going to talk about bad calls, but yeah, it was a bad call. But hey, that’s part of the game, right? I thought they did a good job of responding well and playing better volleyball.”
Podraza: “There are some parts of the game you can’t control, and that’s one of them. We just have to move on and score the next point.”
What began clicking for you guys once that second set started? Because it kind of looked like a whole different team once set two got underway.
Weatherington: “I think blocking. I feel like blocking is just a big change in momentum. When you can get a couple of them under your belt, it feels really good and makes the rest of your team feel really good, because when you have that ability to shut a hitter down, that will make your teammates trust you even more than they already do, and you’re just able to flow more.”
Podraza: “I think our serving pressure helped our blocking. We were able to predict where the ball was going to go on their side a little bit better — controlling it from the end line and then translating that into blocks.”
It looked like you settled down in the last three sets, especially in your serving. Your serving win ratios were so much better. What was the big change for that, Mac?
Podraza: “I think serving is a big mental thing. You have to go back there with the intent to stay back there for at least two, maybe three runs, and then see how many you can score after that. Just having that mentality that it’s okay to be aggressive and get after it, but how can we give ourselves a chance? We started giving ourselves a chance and then we were able to put a little more heat on the back of the ball and kind of just keep funneling that through.”
Zoe, what are some of your favorite things about playing on this year’s team?
Weatherington: “Ooh, I could go on. How much time do I have? No, I just have teammates I can trust on the court. It just goes a long way to have people who you know are that talented, because there’s no pressure. You go out there and there’s not a doubt in your mind that everybody’s going to do their job. Even if they don’t, you know that it’s going to come the next time, the next set, the next point. I think that trust and talent are the two biggest things right now, in my mind, for us.”
For the players, what do you think your senior night experience will be like tomorrow?
Podraza: “I’m excited. I think there are a lot of emotions with it being our last Big Ten weekend here. First and foremost, we have to go play volleyball. I think we’re excited to get that match under wraps. There are a few of us who have been in situations where it was a last, I’ll say, and I think we’re going to use that leadership to get us through the emotional part and get the dub on the night, then celebrate each other afterward.”
Weatherington: “I think we’re going to be a little extra motivated to do well. We’re always motivated to do well, but with it being senior night, you always want to go out with a bang in Rec Hall. I’m excited for that. I think, for me personally, it’s really bittersweet. I feel like I’m really going to miss college volleyball, but you know, it has been five years. I’m just glad to be ending it here.”
For you guys, both coming in as transfers, to be able to finish your careers at Penn State, what does that mean to you, in terms of how you’ve made this place your home and how the fan base has really embraced you?
Podraza: “I’ve only been here for a short amount of time, but I think this is a place that I’ll come back to forever, and a place that I’ve called home and have started to appreciate as my home. I think getting to be a part of this program and the legacy that it has, having my name follow the long list of talented Penn State volleyball players, I have chills just talking about it. It’s something that I do not take lightly and I will remember for the rest of my life. I’m really grateful for the opportunity and the people who provided it. It’s cool. It’s really cool.”
Weatherington: “I feel the same way. Being a senior here and ending my collegiate career at a program like this is definitely something that a lot of people want, and I’m very grateful to have it. I’m just glad to have a team that can rally around me and a coach who took a chance on me and trusted me all the way, because it means the world to me.”
Coach, what does Jonni Parker’s campaign mean to you? You’ve been supporting it for a few years now.
KSC: “Jonni was a special player here. I think her foundation is remarkable. She’s helping people all over the country. I’m just happy we’re still a part of it. I think Jonni’s a special person. I’m happy she comes back and I’m happy that Penn State and this community embraces her and continues to do that. I hope she raised a lot of money tonight.”