Mruzik Shines With 29 Kills In Penn State Volleyball’s 3-1 Win Over Michigan State

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

Then-No. 4 Penn State women’s volleyball beat Michigan State 3-1 in its Big Ten home opener at Rec Hall, as Jess Mruzik delivered 29 kills in the comeback win.

It was the most kills by a Penn State player in a four-set match in the modern scoring era, which began in 2008. Mruzik added 10 digs for her first double-double of the season. She was named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week the following Monday, while Izzy Starck, who had a career-high 55 assists against the Spartans, earned her first Big Ten Setter of the Week nod.

Box Score

After hitting .109 in a first-set loss, Penn State roared back by hitting .464 in the second set with only four attack errors. The Nittany Lions (12-1, 2-0 Big Ten) hit .247 for the match and narrowly out-blocked the Spartans 9-7 in their Alzheimer’s awareness match, which saw the team wear purple ribbons to show their support for those battling the disease.

Junior middle blocker Maggie Mendelson was spectacular against the Spartans, tallying a career-high 14 kills and hitting .480 in the win. Her final kill of the afternoon closed things out and secured a 2-0 start to conference play for the Nittany Lions. Two more Penn State players joined Mruzik and Mendelson with double-digit kills, as Camryn Hannah and Taylor Trammell added 11 and 10, respectively.

Playing against the program she originally committed to in Michigan State before flipping to the Nittany Lions, junior libero Gill Grimes had one of her better matches of the season with 21 digs, four assists, and one of Penn State’s five aces. Freshman defensive specialist Ava Falduto also turned in a strong performance with 12 digs, two assists, and an ace.

Backup setter Quinn Menger had a career-high three aces in the win, while fellow captain Anjelina Starck added seven digs. It was a difficult day offensively for Penn State’s right-side hitters, as Caroline Jurevicius and Alexa Markley had a kill each but both hit negative. They did some nice things on the defensive side, combining for five blocks and four digs.

The Nittany Lions have responded well this season after losing the first set, regrouping and typically starting faster in the second set rather than getting down on themselves. Mruzik discussed this topic earlier in the season, saying volleyball is a rather unique sport in that the momentum completely resets after each frame. Mruzik has been outstanding in her fifth season and is firmly in the mix for Big Ten Player of the Year recognition, doing a little bit of everything for the Nittany Lions.

Mruzik, Mendelson, and Katie Schumacher-Cawley spoke to the media afterward. The full transcript of questions and answers can be found below. Extended highlights from the match are also posted underneath.

Opening statement:

KSC: “As always, thank you, guys, for coming and supporting volleyball. I’m happy for the team that we won. We have some things that we need to work on, but that’s a feisty Michigan State team that’s going to win some matches. We weren’t really ready to go right at the start, and I think that’s something that they acknowledge and know that we need to be better.”

Coach, can you talk about that transition from the first set going onward? You guys kind of struggled to get things going offensively and couldn’t get the ball back up in the air. It wasn’t a problem later on.ย 

KSC: “Yeah, I think we made a lot of errors, and errors that we haven’t been making. I thought the second set on, we were keeping balls in play and passing a little bit better. I always say, ‘When we pass well, we can win matches.’ Gill, Ava, Anj, Jess passing, I thought we really buckled down there and found some ways to score.”

Jess, I know it’s always nice to get dominant wins like you had on Wednesday [against Purdue], but how much do scrappy, gritty-not-pretty wins like this help build the character of your team?

Mruzik: “Honestly, I think that those are more important to us. They show a little bit more character. There are a lot of lessons that can come out of that, whether you win or lose those matches. Obviously, we won this match, but we’re taking a lot of things away from, not only the first set that we lost, but sets two, three, and four that we won. I think the scrappy, gritty games that are neck-and-neck are better for us.”

Maggie, you had a career-high 14 kills. What led to your success today?

Mendelson: “Izzy giving me the ball, I guess. She’s been really good. Our connection has gotten really good. Today was a good matchup for me with the slide. I thought it was a good matchup.”

Jess, what impresses you about Maggie and Taylor? What did they do well today?

Mruzik: “They’re both super explosive. It’s nice when I’m putting the first ball up and Izzy is setting either one of them, I know it’s probably going to be a kill nine out of 10 times. They’re really consistent, super reliable, and they work their butts off defensively also. It makes my life easier as a blocker. When I’m in the back row, they’re always up there getting touches. They’re really consistent and both do their jobs well every day.”

Jess, you had 29 kills today. What are your thoughts on your performance?

Mruzik: “Like Maggie said, Izzy just set really, really well [today]. Our defenders did a good job of putting Izzy in a good spot to feed myself and Maggie the ball. I thought it’s all credit to Izzy. She put us in good situations.”

Coach, does a match like this prove just how difficult Big Ten play is going to be this year?

KSC: “Yeah, absolutely. We talk about it all the time. Every team, we’ll get their best. You need to be focused and ready to go, but I think that’s what makes this conference so great. Every match is exciting. You have to be focused and ready to go.”

Maggie, Quinn had some nice aces there that were pretty important for you guys. What impresses you about her?

Mendelson: “I love it. I eat it up when Quinn gets an ace. She’s always just ready to go in and make a difference. I really find that super admirable. She’s always ready. In practice, she pushes us. In games, she’s always ready to make a difference. She’s a great team leader and great person.”

With today being the Alzheimer’s awareness game, does that theme have any personal meaning for any of you? Can you speak toward having the platform to bring awareness to these causes?

KSC: “I have friends and family. There were a couple other teams around the country that started to do it. I think of it as something that should be talked about more and [have] more education, just putting it out there a little bit. It hasn’t affected so much my life, but several friends and family members, and I think everyone knows someone. It’s something new for us and I’m glad we did it.”

Mendelson: “Just being able to have this platform is really awesome. The THON game [is] coming up [against Illinois on November 15]. My sister has childhood cancer. Being able to support or show awareness for this is really awesome. It’s super cool that we get to do this while we’re playing the sport we love.”

Jess, you guys are singing the alma mater in the front of the student section now and you’ve been signing those [mini] volleyballs to toss into the crowd [during starting lineup introductions]. What do those things mean to you guys?

Mruzik: “It’s just a part of the tradition. That’s one of the big reasons why I wanted to come to Penn State was all the tradition, legacy, and history that comes with this program. Those little things that we do, even when we come in here for film and we do our stupid, little handclaps and stuff, it’s the little things that really make game days so special and fun. At the end of the day, when I’m done playing here, those are the things that I’m going to remember.”

Things got really loud at the end of the fourth set. Rec Hall was very explosive. How do you think that kind of environment prepares you guys for games and tough situations?

Mruzik: “I love our crowd and our student section. They’re super rowdy. I’ve been on both sides of that. Luckily, I’m on the good side now. They make a difference. Whether teams want to admit it or not, they rattle teams. It’s awesome to have them on our side.”

Maggie, what’s the energy like in those huddles during key moments?

Mendelson: “I think it depends on the play, but most of the time, we try to keep it pretty calm. If something good happens, Gill’s running in there, super excited. We all get really hype in there sometimes. It depends on the play, but always good vibes.”