(Photo courtesy of GoPSUsports.com)
Co-Big Ten Champions! Now that has a very nice ring to it (pun intended). What made it possible was Penn State’s 3-1 win over Nebraska (25-21, 14-25, 25-22, 25-23) at Rec Hall, led by a career night from Caroline Jurevicius (18 kills, .414 hitting), and a crowd of 6597 (OK, a few were from Nebraska, but MOST were rooting for Penn State). Nice work, Penn State Volleyball, nice work.
From GoPSUsports.com:
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 4 Penn State Women’s Volleyball clinched at least a share of the Big Ten title for the 18th time in program history Friday night at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions took down No. 2 Nebraska 3-1 (25-21, 14-25, 25-22, 25-23) behind a career-high 18 kills from redshirt freshman Caroline Jurevicius.
Penn State wrapped up the regular season at 29-2 overall and 19-1 in the Big Ten. Nebraska fell to 28-2 overall and 18-1 in the conference. The Huskers can clinch a share of the title with a win over Maryland on Saturday. If they were to lose, the outright conference championship would go to the Nittany Lions.
Jurevicius, who spent a year in Lincoln on a redshirt season with the Huskers in 2023, racked up her career-high kill total on .414 hitting to help Penn State beat Nebraska for the first time since 2018. The win secured the Nittany Lions’ first Big Ten title since 2017. They now have nine more conference championships than any other team in the conference.
Camryn Hannah and Jess Mruzik joined Jurevicius in double-digits with 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Maggie Mendelson tallied eight kills, while fellow middle blocker Taylor Trammell finished with six. Freshman setter Izzy Starck guided the attack with her 46 assists and finished off a double-double with her 11 digs.
Penn State held Nebraska to .154 hitting, which was its lowest percentage of the season. The Huskers were held below .200 just two other times this year. Meanwhile, it was the 24th time the Nittany Lions held their opponent under .200 hitting, including 15 of 16 matches at Rec Hall. Opponents are hitting .148 at Rec Hall this season.
Mendelson and Starck were in on six blocks apiece as Penn State finished the match with 10. Trammell tallied four blocks. Gillian Grimes totaled 12 digs to lead a group of four Nittany Lions in double-digits. Starck had 11 to finish off her 14th double-double of the season, Mruzik also had 10 to register her 12th double-double. Ava Falduto also had 10 digs, while Jocelyn Nathan stepped up with a career-high nine as she made her fourth start of the season.
Andi Jackson led Nebraska with 10 kills on .667 hitting and was in on eight of the team’s 16 blocks. Harper Murray recorded a double-double with 13 kills and 13 digs.
Set 1
Penn State got the fans on their feet early with a 4-0 run to open the match and went on to take the opening set 25-21. Mendelson and Jurevicius went off against their former team. Mendelson hit .833 with five kills, while Jurevicius had five kills on .444 hitting. The Nittany Lions broke a 14-14 tie with a 3-0 run that included back-to-back kills by Mendelson and an ace by Mruzik. Nebraska battled back to tie it at 19-all before Penn State went on a 4-0 run. Hannah and Jurevicius had kills during that stretch. Set point was later scored on a kill by Mruzik.
Set 2
It was all Nebraska in set two as the Huskers piled up six blocks, including four from Rebekah Allick in a 25-14 win. Penn State was held to -.079 hitting in the set.
Set 3
Penn State bounced back strong with a 25-22 win in set three behind six kills on .625 hitting by Jurevicius. That helped the Nittany Lions hold off an outstanding individual effort by Nebraska’s Jackson, who had five kills on five swings. The Nittany Lions trailed 8-7 before going on a 3-0 run and never trailed again. Jurevicius started the run with a kill and followed it with a block alongside Trammell. Mruzik joined Trammell for a block to cap the run. Nebraska got within two numerous times during the set only to see Penn State side out. The final time was at 24-22 following a kill by Taylor Landfair. Hannah responded with a kill for set point for the Nittany Lions.
Set 4
Jurevicius added five more kills on .571 hitting, and Hannah tallied five on .444 hitting to lead Penn State to a match-clinching 25-23 win in set four. Starck had her best set of the night, totaling 16 assists as the Nittany Lions hit .351. Penn State used a 5-0 run that included two kills apiece from Hannah and Trammell to go up 16-12. Nebraska battled back to take a 19-18 advantage, but that would be its final lead of the night. The teams traded points all the way to a 21-21 tie before Penn State broke the pattern with a 3-0 run to go up 24-21. The run included a block by Trammell and Starck, as well as two Nebraska attack errors. The Huskers stopped Penn State’s first two chances at match point. The third time was the charm as Starck set Hannah for the final kill and a Big Ten title.
Career Highs
Caroline Jurevicius – kills (18)
Jocelyn Nathan – digs (9)