The Nittany Lions take their 3rd win in the B1G against Northwestern: 25-18, 25-17, 25-19. Kennedy Martin led all scorers with 17.5 points (15 kills, 0.560 hitting percentage, 3 blocks, 1 ace). Kendall Northern scored 14 points (12 kills, 0.923 hitting percentage, 3 blocks) led the team in scoring.

After a disappointing loss to the Wildcats in football last week, the Nittany Lions had a score to settle. Penn State is also looking to snap a 4-match streak of losing the first set. In the media availability earlier this week, Coach Schumacher Cawley spoke about how important starting well is and the team did just that.

Kennedy Martin led the team in scoring with 15 kills, 3 blocks and 1 ace. Martin earned a milestone 300 career blocks in this match. She was also highly efficient hitting a 0.560 hitting percentage. Only Kendall Northern who had her breakthrough match was more efficient than Martin. The freshman middle blocker had 12 kills and 3 blocks with a blistering 0.923 hitting percentage. The freshman was dynamic on the slide and was always available on the quick sets.

Much credit can also be given to Alexis Stucky who was also spectacular this match getting 45 assists, 2 kills and 2 aces. Stucky looks much more comfortable this match and taking much more creative decisions with the setting. Stucky set the team to a season-high 0.421 hitting percentage with all 5 starting hitter earning at least 6 kills and four of the hitters hitting north of 0.460 hitting percentage.

Whitney Lauenstein added 10.5 points to the effort. She had 9 kills, 1 ace and 1 block. She hit an efficient 0.500 hitting efficiency, her season high. Gabrielle Nichols also had an excellent night with 8 kills and 4 blocks.

Penn State led in almost every category. Particularly the Nittany Lions led in kills (52-31), blocks (7-3) and digs (33-25). The Nittany Lions however gave up more service errors (8-0). An impressive stat is that the Nittany Lions earned 65 of their 75 points (about 87% of their points) by a scoring. This will be crucial for Nittany Lions to maintain in the coming matches.

The Nittany Lions go up 11-4 in the season and 3-2 in the B1G. The Nittany Lions will have a good test with #20 Washington.

Post-Match Press Conference

After the match, Coach Katie, Kendall Northern, and Whitney Lauenstein answered questions from the media.  Below is a transcript of the questions and answers, lightly edited for length and clarity.

Opening Statement from Coach Schumacher-Cawley

Thanks for being here. It’s great to win at home, and it’s hard to win in this league. I thought we did some nice things tonight. I thought our middles played well, found ways to score, thought Whit did a great job, and it’s nice to see the team compete hard.

Question: Kendall, just talk about the last couple weeks. Obviously, twelve kills tonight against Northwestern. Talk about how you’ve settled in since you got here at Penn State.

Kendall Northern:  We’ve been working all spring through everything. It was a bit of an adjustment to the college game. It’s a lot faster than I was playing, in high school. But I think I’ve settled in pretty well. All my teammates are so helpful, just building my confidence and trust in me and all that stuff. So I know that they’ve got my back.

Question: Kendall, can you talk about the connection you have with (Alexis) Stucky, especially on the slide?

Kendall Northern: We’ve been working that for a while. The slide’s always been one of my favorite runs. So I think that whenever I get the opportunity to run it, I will. She puts me in pretty good situations to score.

Question: Whitney, I’m curious what your perspective is on Stucky. It seems like she’s really improved the last couple matches.

Whitney Lauenstein: I think as we get better at passing and getting the ball to her, she gets her confidence up a little bit. And that comes with all of us. So doing anything we can to help her in the back row, to make her feel more confident that the ball is going to come right to her. And then also just killing the ball, getting her confidence, telling her after you get that kill, “That was all you,” and just feeding her some more confidence because everyone needs confidence.

Question: Coach, zero blocks in the first set, and then you guys go up with seven in the last two. What was working better in those second and third sets?

Coach Katie: I think we were putting ourselves in a better position and being a little quicker to our hitters. I think we can be a great blocking team, and we were getting some good touches. But I think in the second set, we were finally closing and doing a great job.

Question: You guys ran the 6-2 there at the end. What was the reasoning behind that?

Coach Katie: Danielle (Whitmire) and Alexis (Ewing) have been doing a great job in practice and wanted to get them in. Unfortunately, we weren’t passing well at that time, and so it got a little rough running around. But I know they’re ready to go, and they’ll have another opportunity.

Question: Whitney, what have you learned about THON since you’ve been here? And what was it like having those kids out on the court for introductions?

Whitney Lauenstein: It makes me kind of emotional to think about because I have a daughter of my own. So it’s a little bit of a different perspective, but I’m just really grateful that I get to learn about it and be a part of it. I think it’s one of the coolest things I’ve probably ever been a part of. It’s something greater than just what you play for every single day, seeing Margo and Maren there. I get emotional thinking about it. But I think it’s really cool.

Question: Kendall, what have you learned from Whitney and the other seniors this year?

Kendall Northern:  I think I’ve learned a lot from them. I think they show a lot of leadership on and off the court. I can always look to them after a point, or maybe if the other team’s scoring a lot. I can look to them and I know, “Hey, they’ve got us,” and I just kind of rely on them for leadership in those tougher moments. We all love our seniors, so it’s nice to play with them and gain this opportunity for this year.

Question: Coach, how does the team keep composure after that 8-0 run from Northwestern in that third set?

Coach Katie: Found a way to win and to win in three. I think we passed a few balls, and I thought Ava served well, trusted their skills, dug in, and finished.

Question: Lexi Gin’s had a career-high six digs. How have you seen her continue to improve this year?

Coach Katie: I think she had a great spring and summer, and I know she’s always ready to go and focused and is aware of what’s going on. I think she’s made some huge strides.

Question: Whitney, how have some of the challenges so far this season helped prepare you guys and have you moving forward?

Whitney Lauenstein:  I think the Big Ten Conference is a really hard conference. If any of you have been watching volleyball, there have been a lot of upsets, so a win is really hard in this conference. So just take this one and enjoy it for a hot minute, and then we have a game against Washington in a day. Just take it with happiness, but move on and get ready for the next game.