Penn State Volleyball Beats Purdue 3-2 On Emotional Senior Night

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

No. 11 Penn State women’s volleyball finished the regular season with a clutch 3-2 win (23-25, 27-25, 25-17, 15-25, 15-8) over No. 19 Purdue on senior night Friday at Rec Hall.

Box Score

Katie Clark and Zoe Weatherington led the Nittany Lions (24-7, 13-7 Big Ten) with 14 kills apiece in the win, while Leisa Elisaia had a match-high 50 assists and 15 digs for her 12th double-double of the season. It was Clark’s best offensive output in her two seasons at Penn State.

Despite not tallying a single service ace and being outblocked 17-13 against the Boilermakers (20-10, 11-9 Big Ten), Penn State battled to the end and came away with a decisive performance in the fifth set, rattling off seven straight points to close things out. The Nittany Lions hit .177 to Purdue’s .109.

Eva Hudson had 17 kills and 14 digs, but Penn State’s defense held her to a .150 hitting percentage on 60 swings — 18 more than Kash Williams and Alexa Markley, who took 42 attempts Wednesday night. Williams and Markley combined for 23 kills. Williams tied Allie Holland, who had nine kills of her own, with five total blocks — one behind Clark.

Maddy Bilinovic had 14 digs and seven assists and was one of four Penn State players with double-digit digs, including Anjelina Starck and Cassie Kuerschen, who had 10 digs each. Freshman defensive specialist Gillian Grimes added eight digs, two assists, and her first career kill for Penn State’s first point of the third set.

A key moment came with Penn State leading 5-2 in the deciding 5th set, right after a Purdue timeout, when the Nittany Lion defense went other-worldly with this sequence of fantastic digs:

The Nittany Lions also beat Purdue 3-1 earlier this season on November 12 in West Lafayette, Indiana. They now own a 60-9 lead in the all-time series against the Boilermakers.

After the match, Penn State honored its four seniors and their families at midcourt with flowers, a varsity S blanket, and a framed jersey to commemorate their time with the Nittany Lions. Elisaia, Clark, Williams, and Anastasiya Kudryashova were recognized by the program, which means Weatherington is likely to return for her fifth collegiate season next fall.

Kudryashova and her teammates were visibly emotional when a message from Kudryashova’s mom, who was back home in Russia,  played on the video board. It was a touching moment that shows just how close Penn State’s coaches and players are as a team. Holland’s parents and Katie Schumacher-Cawley’s daughters accompanied Kudryashova.

Williams celebrated senior night with a big surprise of her own. Her sister, who she hadn’t seen since she was 11, was in attendance at Rec Hall for the win. Elisaia’s family gave the seniors and coaches a lei to wear around their neck for the ceremony.

The Nittany Lions will await their NCAA tournament seeding and first-round opponent during Sunday’s selection show at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU. They won seven of their last eight matches to head into the tournament with plenty of momentum. Penn State has a good chance to be one of the 16 hosts for opening weekend.

Schumacher-Cawley and Bilinovic answered questions following the match. The transcript of their responses can be found below.

How would you assess your senior class and their importance to the program?

KSC: “All of them have made an impact. I think that’s something that we’ve talked about, being involved in the program. You always want to leave it better. I think each of them have made a difference on the team this year.”

What are your thoughts on that fifth set? What did you tell your team to get them motivated?

KSC: “I think we started serving tougher and playing as a unit. We talk about everyone doing their job well and we win. I thought we were aggressive. I thought we were taking some good swings. I thought Leisa and Cassie’s serving kind of separated us a little bit in that set.”

How would you describe Katie Clark’s performance with a season-high 14 kills? 

KSC: “Katie Clark, that’s who she is. She works hard all the time. I think I’ve said that in all of my other interviews that I’m not surprised at how well she’s playing. She works hard, she has a great attitude, she’s a great teammate. I’m so happy for her and all the success.”

Heading into the postseason, what kind of momentum does a win like this bring?

KSC: “I think it’s huge. If we have an opportunity to host, there’s nothing like playing in Rec Hall. I’m happy for this group if we can host the first two matches.”

What was that moment like after the match with Nasta and your daughters?

KSC: “My kids love Nasta. She’s been here for three years. It’s been tough on her, but we were so happy to be able to connect with her mom. We talk back and forth on WhatsApp. I wanted to make it special for her. I think it was really nice.”

How important is that connection between Leisa and Kash to the team’s success?

KSC: “It’s really good. They both have been working hard on that. I know sometimes Kash is up and down, but I think she finds a way to score points and get kills. I’m happy for both of them. We’ll get some things done this week and be ready to go for the weekend.”

What were some of the keys from tonight’s win?

KSC: “Purdue’s a great team. I’m proud we came out with a W. I thought we battled back on defense and kind of regathered ourselves and didn’t get too wild out there. I’m thrilled for the seniors.”

Bilinovic’s opening statement:

“I think it was awesome to get a win on senior night. All four of those seniors bring so much to this program and to this team. Obviously, they’re awesome volleyball players, but they’re even better people, so it’s really special to celebrate them tonight.”

Maddy, what was that moment like with Nasta after the match when everyone embraced her?

Bilinovic: “I think that definitely surprised us all. By the looks on Nasta’s face, she had no idea that she was going to get that special message from her mother. I think that means so much. We think that volleyball, at the end of the day, is the biggest thing, but there’s family, there are friends, there is more to the sport. I think that we just saw that out there. It was really awesome to be able to be here for Nasta, as well as Nasta having some love from home on senior night.”

Maddy, what are some things you think the team did well in that fifth set to bring home the win?

Bilinovic: “I thought we were finally consistent in that fifth set. I thought that, all night, we were a little too up and down. I thought in that fifth set, even when we had the lead at the beginning, they came back, and we were steady. I thought our communication was steady as well, so that goes really far.”

What are your thoughts on Katie Clark’s impact this season as she’s transitioned to a more prominent role in the lineup? She set a new season high tonight with 14 kills.

Bilinovic: “That’s awesome. I didn’t know she did that. I’m so happy for Katie Clark. I think that she’s filled the shoes that we needed her to fill. Before Taylor [Trammell’s] unfortunate injury, every day she was in the gym, no matter if she had a starting spot or not. She worked her butt off every single day before she earned her starting spot, so I think that that just shows the competitor who she really is. I’m happy that she can contribute so much to our team and am really proud of her for reaching a [Penn State] career high tonight.”

What stands out to you about Leisa and her impact on the team?

Bilinovic: “I think Leisa’s awesome. I think that she has the ability for us to be aggressive and be a part of our offense, as well as run our offense. I think that she has stepped into her role here as a captain on this team.”

You guys have won seven of your last eight matches. Heading into the tournament, how important is it to be playing your best volleyball right now?

Bilinovic: “We’ve said all year, ‘It’s a long season.’ Obviously, like you said, we’re inching to tournament time. Every night, it’s going to be a battle. Every day at practice, it’s going to be a battle. But coach Katie tells us every day, ‘The teams that come into the gym and want to get better are the teams that are going to succeed.’ We just try to keep that mindset.”