Penn State Defeats #16 USC with Dramatic 5-point Rally in 4th Set

Posted on by DigNittany Staff

(The Galen Center)

Penn State won in dramatic fashion, pulling out a 3-1 win over USC (25-18, 20-25, 25-20, 32-30) at USC’s Galen Center.

Leading USC 2 sets to 1, but trailing 23-18 in the 4th set, things looked a bit grim for Penn State.  But the Nittany Lions rallied in dramatic fashion, outscoring USC 14 to 7, to pull out a 32-30 victory and win the match 3-1  (25-18, 20-25, 25-20, 32-30) at USC’s Galen Center.

Jess Mruzik pounded 16 kills for Penn State, while Camryn Hannah chipped in with 14 kills (including some critical swings in the fourth set), and Caroline Jurevicius added 8 kills.  Izzy Starck posted 43 assists, with Gillian Grimes adding 7, and Ava Falduto chipping in with 2. 

Caroline Jurevicius and Taylor Trammell led the  Nittany Lions with 7 blocks each, while Maggie Mendelson totaled 5 blocks.  Izzy Starck’s 16 digs led Penn State, with Gillian Grimes adding 11 digs, and Jess Mruzik scooping up 10.

Complete match stats are below the match videos.

Box Score

Match Details

Penn St. Southern California
Set K E TA % K E TA %
1 14 2 36 0.333 9 8 34 0.029
2 11 6 33 0.152 15 6 34 0.265
3 15 5 43 0.233 14 7 39 0.179
4 18 12 41 0.146 16 8 44 0.182
Total 58 25 153 0.216 54 29 151 0.166
Penn St. Southern California
Points 74 71.5
Kills 58 54
Aces 3 5
Blocks 13 12.5
Assists 54 51
Digs 57 50

Match Leaders

Penn St. – Leaders
Kills Jess Mruzik (16), Camryn Hannah (14), Caroline Jurevicius (8)
Aces Izzy Starck (1), Gillian Grimes (1), Camryn Hannah (1)
Blocks Caroline Jurevicius (7), Taylor Trammell (7), Maggie Mendelson (5)
Assists Izzy Starck (43), Gillian Grimes (7), Ava Falduto (2)
Digs Izzy Starck (16), Gillian Grimes (11), Jess Mruzik (10)
Southern California – Leaders
Kills Ally Batenhorst (16), Jadyn Livings (13), Adonia Faumuina (10)
Aces Jadyn Livings (1), Gala Trubint (1), Megan Verbiest (1), Tyrah Ariail (1), Ally Batenhorst (1)
Blocks Tyrah Ariail (8), Ally Batenhorst (5), Jadyn Livings (4), Leah Ford (4)
Assists Mia Tuaniga (43), Gala Trubint (5), Grae Gosnell (2)
Digs Gala Trubint (11), Mia Tuaniga (11), Jadyn Livings (9), Ally Batenhorst (9)

Penn State Stats

# Player SP K E TA % A E SA SE BS BA BE DIG BHE RE Pts
9 Jess Mruzik 4 16 9 49 0.143 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 10 0 0 17
8 Camryn Hannah 4 14 5 33 0.273 0 0 1 2 1 1 0 3 0 0 16.5
14 Caroline Jurevicius 4 8 5 24 0.125 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 1 0 0 11.5
1 Taylor Trammell 4 6 2 15 0.267 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 1 0 0 9.5
44 Maggie Mendelson 4 6 4 19 0.105 0 0 0 1 1 4 0 2 0 0 9
21 Izzy Starck 4 7 0 11 0.636 43 1 1 1 0 1 0 16 0 0 8.5
10 Anjelina Starck 4 1 0 2 0.500 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 2 1
3 Gillian Grimes 4 0 0 0 0.000 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 11 0 0 1
5 Jordan Hopp 1 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
24 Quinn Menger 4 0 0 0 0.000 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
2 Ava Falduto 4 0 0 0 0.000 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 1 0
Total 58 25 153 0.216 54 1 3 8 2 22 0 57 0 3 74

Southern California Stats

# Player SP K E TA % A E SA SE BS BA BE DIG BHE RE Pts
14 Ally Batenhorst 4 16 9 49 0.143 0 0 1 2 0 5 0 9 0 2 19.5
42 Jadyn Livings 4 13 5 34 0.235 0 0 1 2 0 4 0 9 0 0 16
13 Tyrah Ariail 4 6 4 15 0.133 0 0 1 0 0 8 1 2 0 0 11
1 Adonia Faumuina 4 10 8 38 0.053 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 11
7 Leah Ford 4 9 2 12 0.583 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 11
91 Mia Tuaniga 4 0 1 3 -0.333 43 2 0 2 0 2 1 11 0 0 1
4 Megan Verbiest 4 0 0 0 0.000 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
16 Gala Trubint 4 0 0 0 0.000 5 0 1 1 0 0 0 11 0 1 1
18 Grae Gosnell 4 0 0 0 0.000 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 7 0 0 0
23 Madison Pietsch 1 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
17 Paisley Douglas 1 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 54 29 151 0.166 51 2 5 10 0 25 4 50 0 3 71.5

Box Score