No. 15 Penn State women’s volleyball swept Northwestern in its first Big Ten road match of the season Sunday afternoon at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois.

Jess Mruzik and Camryn Hannah led the Nittany Lions (8-3, 2-0 Big Ten) with a match-high 18 and 16 kills, respectively. Mac Podraza had 36 assists, six digs, three kills, and an ace, guiding Penn State’s offense to a .453 hitting percentage, including .471 in the first set and .485 in the third. Gill Grimes had a match-high 12 digs and two aces.

Hannah, Grimes, Ally Van Eekeren, Catherine Burke, and Katie Schumacher-Cawley are all from the Chicago area, and had large groups of friends and family in attendance to watch them play against the Wildcats. Northwestern out-blocked the Nittany Lions 6-3, but Penn State finished with a 41-29 advantage in digs and 5-4 advantage in aces.

Box Score

𝗔𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝟭𝗚 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗽#WeAre
🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/31DWgkt3u5

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) September 24, 2023

After sweeping Rutgers Wednesday at Rec Hall in its Big Ten opener and taking care of the Wildcats in straight sets in Evanston, Penn State is hitting .421 through its first two matches of conference play, as Podraza and her attackers appear to be rounding the corner in terms of their comfort level with each other after an up-and-down non-conference slate. Penn State improved to 57-9 in its all-time series against Northwestern.

Schumacher-Cawley and her staff again went with few substitutes Sunday, calling upon junior defensive specialist Cassie Kuerschen and sophomore outside hitter Alexa Markley as the only players to come off the bench. Kuerschen had the second-most digs on the team with nine, while Markley had six kills in the win, which saw Northwestern hit negative in the second set and above .300 in the first and third.

The Nittany Lions debuted blue Nike jerseys that featured white trim around the collar and seven stars on the players’ shooting sleeves to represent the program’s seven NCAA national championships. Penn State’s libero, Grimes, wore a new style of white sleeveless jersey that we haven’t seen the whole team wear yet.

Allie Holland and Taylor Trammell combined for nine kills after taking 10 swings apiece, showcasing their efficiency despite a relative lack of scoring opportunities against the Wildcats. Trammell led the Nittany Lions with two total blocks, while Northwestern’s Leilani Dodson had a match-high five. Mruzik took the most swings of any player Sunday with 29. Markley took 21 and Hannah took 20. Anjelina Starck had seven digs and three assists in her sixth start of the season.

Brought the 𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓽 today 🔥 #WeAre
🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/AMZmKWLQZe

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) September 25, 2023

After a few days of practice back at Rec Hall, the Nittany Lions will return to Illinois, this time traveling to Champaign, next Friday when they face the Fighting Illini (6-6) at 9 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network. Penn State plays No. 12 Minnesota (5-5) the following night in Minneapolis, also at 9 p.m. ET on BTN.

Penn State 2024 libero commit Ava Falduto, who hails from Elmhurst, Illinois, was in attendance Sunday. Schumacher-Cawley, Hannah, and Grimes handled post-match media responsibilities for the Nittany Lions following the win, which was Penn State’s fourth straight and second in a row to begin conference play. The transcript of questions and answers can be found below.

Katie Schumacher-Cawley

What do you think were some of the keys to today’s win?

“I think we settled down in passing. Our passing was a little tight when we started off the match, but I think Mac did a good job of spreading the ball around. I think, defensively, we were better getting tips and hustled on some balls. I’m happy with the team’s play. Any win in this conference is a great win. I think it’s hard to win on the road. I’m proud the team played well.”

What stood out about Jess and Cam today?

“They take big swings. They want the ball all the time. They take big swings and they’re aggressive.”

What are some things Northwestern did well, particularly in the first and third sets?

“I thought they served really well. They served us aggressively. They kept the ball in play. It’s a good team. I know they’ll get their wins.”

They held you guys to three blocks. Where do you think you can improve in that area?

“Yeah, we have to have more blocks than that, but I thought Gill did a nice job digging. Cassie came in and got some digs. We kept the ball alive, but yeah, for sure, I think we’re going to need some more blocks to compete in this conference.”

What was it like having a big turnout of family and friends here?

“It was great. I’m so lucky. I have great family and friends who all came to see me. Chicago’s a great place. I’m blessed to have the group I have.”

How would you describe the Penn State volleyball family and how well you guys travel?

“It’s amazing. Carrie Schonveld, one of my former teammates, was here with her son. I think Penn State volleyball, because of Coach Rose and what he did, it has that following. I’m just happy we’re able to continue that and get some wins and continue to get the people to come.”

What do you want to work on in practice heading into Friday’s match against Illinois?

“I’ll always say the same thing. We need to serve more aggressively and we need to be able to pass tougher. We’ll do that. And, obviously, defense.”

Camryn Hannah

It was a great match for you today. What were some of the highlights of it for you?

“Thanks. We’ve been working a lot on shot selection and not swinging into the block, just picking the right swings in the right situations, so I think that was really what I focused on today.”

How has your relationship with Mac grown so far this season?

“It’s grown extremely well. I think, in the beginning, we were both kind of skeptical of what each other could do, and now, we’ve had a lot of conversations about different situations and what we can run, just the limits that we can push each other to. I think it’s only going to keep getting better.”

What do you like most about playing with Jess?

“The fact that I don’t have to cover very much. No, I just like how competitive she is. It drives me to be more competitive, and it keeps our team in check a lot of the time. She’s just a fun player to be around.”

You guys held Northwestern to a negative hitting percentage in the second set. What do you think was going well on defense today for you?

“I think defense-wise, we were setting up pretty good blocks. I know the middles were working really hard to close, and that was a big thing for us, letting our defenders be able to work around that.”

What impressed you about Gill’s performance?

“Oh, my goodness, her defense was impeccable. Her out-of-system sets were crazy, her serve receive, I mean, she’s just a great player. I love her.”

What does it mean to you to have a lot of family and friends here to watch you play?

“This is home, so it’s fun to be here. It’s obviously nerve-wracking, because I want to play well for them. I want to put on a show. My teammates kind of let me ride on their backs for a little bit, and we all worked well together.”

Are you close with any of the Northwestern players?

“I played with Leilani Dodson and Natalie Chizzo in club, so we know each other pretty well.”

Gill Grimes

What do you think were some of the keys to today’s win?

“I think our offense did a really good job. The block touches that we got made it a lot easier on defense, so we could score a lot of points.”

What did you see Mac doing well today in terms of dishing the ball out?

“Mac was dishing the ball, like you said. A lot of butter on her hands. I thought she gave a lot of one-on-ones for our hitters, so we could just pound the ball.”

How important were Cam and Jess’ performances today?

“Oh, my gosh. I knew every time they would go up, they would get a swing, so even when we weren’t passing, if we dished them the ball, I knew we would get the point.”

What were some things that Northwestern did well, especially in the first and third sets?

“I thought they served really well, so our passing was a little off today. I thought they did a really good job serving.”

Are you close with any of the Northwestern players?

“I’m really close with No. 21, Rylen Reid. We played, I want to say, two years of club volleyball together [with Adversity VBC]. She’s one of my best friends, so it was good to see her on the other side of the net.”

What was it like being back in Chicago, playing in front of a bunch of friends and family?

“I love playing in Chicago. It’s home, so it feels very comfortable to play [here]. We did our job, so it was fun.”

What are some things that you want to focus on in practice heading into the Illinois match?

“I think definitely focusing on our passing, so we can run the great offense that we have.”

What are some things that you think the team is doing well so far this season?

“I think our hitting is really pushing us far ahead in this conference.”

How do you think those early-season losses helped motivate the team to turn it around?

“Yeah, like you said, it’s basically motivation, and we don’t want that feeling of those losses again, so that’s what we used.”