Penn State Volleyball Earns No. 5 Seed, Will Play Yale In NCAA Tournament Opener

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

Penn State women’s volleyball earned a No. 5 seed and will play Yale in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament in Lawrence, Kansas, on Thursday, November 30 at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Penn State (21-8, 15-5 Big Ten) is the only program to make all 43 NCAA tournaments since its inception in 1981. No. 4 seed Kansas and Omaha, which is making its NCAA tournament debut, will square off in the other Lawrence regional matchup. The Nittany Lions are in the upper-right quadrant of the bracket, which also features No. 1 seed Wisconsin and No. 3 seed Purdue.

Yale head coach Erin Appleman, who spent eight seasons as an assistant coach at Penn State from 1993-2000, has led the Bulldogs (21-3) to a record 12 Ivy League titles after going 14-0 in conference play this season. Appleman helped the Nittany Lions win their first NCAA national championship in 1999, coaching then-outside hitter Katie Schumacher-Cawley and her teammates as part of Russ Rose’s staff.

The Nittany Lions won six matches in a row to wrap up conference play, sweeping Maryland and Ohio State last week, but it wasn’t enough to earn one of the top 16 seeds in the tournament and host opening weekend at Rec Hall. Instead, Penn State will travel to Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena. The Jayhawks finished second in the Big 12 this season after going 23-5 and 14-4 in conference play.

Penn State setter and co-captain Mac Podraza discussed the team’s mindset heading into the tournament following the Nittany Lions’ win over Ohio State last Friday at the Covelli Center in Columbus. Podraza is in the running to repeat as Big Ten Setter of the Year when the conference announces its individual awards and All-Big Ten teams on Thursday.

“It’s the postseason,” Podraza said. “Every game is important, so I think it’s just taking it day by day, focusing on what we can control and getting better at that serve-and-pass game to carry our offense and defense through.”

Five Big Ten teams made the tournament this season, as Nebraska and Wisconsin joined Stanford and Pitt as No. 1 seeds. Purdue, which went 2-0 against the Nittany Lions in 2023, will host a regional in West Lafayette, Indiana, after finishing with an identical record as Penn State. Minnesota (16-12, 12-8 Big Ten) also squeaked into the tournament in Keegan Cook’s first season as head coach of the Golden Gophers.

Senior outside hitter Jess Mruzik leads the Nittany Lions with 464 kills so far this season, while sophomore libero Gill Grimes and senior middle blocker Allie Holland are pacing Penn State’s defense with 386 digs and 145 total blocks, respectively. Grimes also has a team-high 27 aces. Podraza has 1,104 assists in 2023 and surpassed 5,000 for her career in Penn State’s 3-1 win over Michigan State on November 17.

Senior defensive specialist Maddy Bilinovic spoke about Penn State’s mentality heading into the postseason after its sweep of the Buckeyes. Bilinovic and the Nittany Lions held opponents to the second-fewest service aces among Big Ten teams during the regular season, surrendering just 0.79 per set.

“Just sticking to what we know and working hard, competing at practice like we always do,” Bilinovic said. “I would say just serve receive, always. If we can serve and pass, then we’ll win games.”