Through 4 1/2 sets, Princeton gave Penn State all it could handle (and in sets 2 and 3, more than it could handle), but Penn State fought back to take a 3-2 win vs. the Tigers (25-15, 20-25, 22-25, 25-16, 15-8).
No. 13 Penn State women’s volleyball (5-4) rallied from a 2-1 deficit to beat an undersized-yet-scrappy Princeton team on night one of the Penn State Classic Friday at Rec Hall.
Kennedy Martin had a season-high 29 kills, hit .480, and added nine digs, while Jordan Hopp also had an outstanding match against the Tigers. Hopp tallied 13 kills (one shy of her career-high), a red-hot .684 hitting percentage, and zero attack errors. Gillian Grimes reached 20 digs for the first time this season and dished out eight assists.
While the NCAA tournament is still a couple months away, Friday’s match felt like a must-win for the Nittany Lions in their quest to extend their postseason streak to 45 years straight. Princeton did some really nice things in the second and third sets, hitting .323 and .394, respectively, but Penn State came up clutch and turned its fortunes around, relying on Martin to claw its way back.
Addie Lyon (51 assists) led the Nittany Lions to a .533 hitting percentage and zero attack errors in the fifth set. Maggie Mendelson had eight kills and a match-high six total blocks, while Emmi Sellman added seven kills and six digs. Freshman Alexis Ewing had five kills in her second collegiate start, including a pair of impressive tip shots that found the court during a crucial stretch for the Nittany Lions.
Caroline Jurevicius had an efficient performance coming off the bench, delivering four kills on nine swings (.333). The competition for playing time between her and Ewing will be interesting to keep an eye on moving forward. With Penn State leading 8-7 in the fifth set, Ava Falduto had back-to-back aces to send her teammates into a frenzy, part of an 8-1 run by the Nittany Lions to close out the win.
Kennedy Martin, Ava Falduto, and Katie Schumacher-Cawley represented the Nittany Lions in the media room after their win over last year’s Ivy League champions. The full transcript of questions and answers can be found below.
Post-Match Press Conference
Opening statement:
KSC: “Since it’s your first time [in the Penn State media room], Kennedy, you want to do the opening statement?”
Martin: “Hi, guys. Nice to be here. That’s all I’ve got [laughs].”
KSC: “These two found a way to score some points there and pull us out of this match. Swings that Kennedy took, and Ava’s focused serving, and digs at the end were crucial to getting this win.”
Any of you, did Princeton surprise you tonight with how determined they were?
KSC: “Not at all. I told these guys before, I think Sabrina [King] is an excellent coach, and that’s a team that will compete for an Ivy League championship. And I knew that going into this. These guys knew that. They played really well.”
Kennedy, you had 29 kills and hit .480. What was going right for you throughout the match?
Martin: “Addie and I have been working really hard in practice to figure out my angle of approach and the location of the ball. And I felt like, tonight, I could really see the block in front of me and make a good decision from there. And I knew I could swing away, because I knew I had people behind me to cover.”
Speaking of, Addie led in assists [with 51], beating out Sydney Draper. Coach, how has she settled into the role as the main setter?
KSC: “She’s in it. She’s doing well and moving the ball around well. When we can serve and pass, we will have options. So, I thought Addie did a really good job, was focused, and knew that she should give the ball to Kennedy at the end there.”
Question for Ava. You and Gillian [Grimes] were great servers last year. Now, of course, you stepped up in set five. How do you improve on an already great serving game from you and the rest of the littles, and the rest of the team?
Falduto: “Yeah, I think serving is really important, especially for the littles, just because it’s one of the few things that we can do to score points on our side. So, I think we work on it every single day, and just working on hitting different zones. The coaches do a good job scouting to give us people to target, and just really being aggressive and getting over the net to give us an opportunity.”
KSC: “Good job, Ava.”
Coach, do you think that the team did something different the last [two] sets that helped them come back?
KSC: “I thought we were passing better and served a little bit tougher. I thought we just were getting a little better as the match was going. And when you have someone who has 29 kills, you’re thanking them after the match for that.”
Coach, Jordan [Hopp] was one kill shy of her career-high, and Maggie [Mendelson] had some points down the [stretch]. What can you say about the improvement of the middle-blocking unit, especially on the attack?
KSC: “Again, when we’re passing well and can run the middles, they can score. So, first contact for us is crucial. I thought the middles did a good job, and Jordan was available and scored.”
Ava, what are your thoughts on Kennedy’s performance tonight?
Falduto: “I mean, she’s a machine. She’s unstoppable. Truly, every single time she gets it, I know she can put the ball away, but I also know that she does have a team behind her. I know she’s very dependable, and it’s so fun to watch her play. Anytime she touches the ball, it’s like magic. It’s just so fun to watch and play with [her].”
Kennedy, how would you assess Jordan’s play tonight? What’s it like playing with her in general?
Martin: “Oh, my gosh. Well, she’s my roommate, for one, so getting to know her off the court really well this summer, it makes me so happy to see her succeed. She’s a great player, a great leader on our team. So, just to see that reflect itself on the court, and how hard she works in practice, it’s really exciting to watch.”