Penn State Volleyball’s Mruzik, Hannah, Trammell Returning In 2024

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

The Penn State women’s volleyball program announced Monday that seniors Jess Mruzik, Camryn Hannah, and Taylor Trammell are all returning to the Nittany Lions for their fifth and final season of collegiate eligibility in 2024.

Trammell participated in Penn State’s senior night festivities following the team’s sweep of Northwestern on November 18 at Rec Hall, but ultimately decided to use her bonus season granted by the NCAA to all players who were on rosters during the COVID-19-altered 2020 campaign.

Mruzik and Hannah assisted their younger teammates in handing out bouquets of flowers, framed jerseys, and varsity S blankets to Penn State’s senior night honorees, indicating they were likely leaning toward a return in 2024, but Monday’s graphic released by the program confirmed the news.

Mruzik and Hannah received All-Big Ten recognition the day of Penn State’s opening-round match against Yale in the NCAA tournament, a 3-1 win over the Bulldogs. Mruzik earned a unanimous spot on the first team, while Hannah landed on the second team. Trammell was among the Big Ten’s top-10 most efficient offensive performers this fall, tallying a .358 hitting percentage.

Mruzik led the Nittany Lions (23-9, 15-5 Big Ten) with 519 kills in 2023 and added 270 digs, 61 total blocks, 24 aces, and 22 assists, showing why she’s one of the conference’s most well-rounded players. Her veteran presence will be extremely beneficial to Penn State’s two incoming freshmen, Izzy Starck and Ava Falduto, who will join the team for spring practice as early enrollees.

Hannah finished second on the team with 325 kills in her first season as a Nittany Lion, hitting a particularly heavy ball and showing off her impressive vertical leap. She also tied Mruzik with 61 total blocks, added 54 digs, and eventually forced her way into the serving rotation, recording 19 aces by season’s end.

“I think they’re both extremely talented left-sides and aren’t afraid to take big swings. They have the green light to go for it,” Katie Schumacher-Cawley said of Mruzik and Hannah before Penn State’s appearance in the regional semifinals, an eventual 3-1 loss to Wisconsin.

Trammell was third on the team with 190 kills during the 2023 season and trailed only Allie Holland in total blocks, posting 131 to Holland’s 160. Holland announced on Instagram Sunday that she’s stepping away from sport and will not use her bonus season of eligibility, making Trammell’s decision to return all the more important.

“Taylor works hard. I’m happy for her and her success,” Schumacher-Cawley said last season. “I think Taylor is a really caring person. I think she’s a great teammate. She’s one who is really helpful and wants to see people do well.”

The trio of Mruzik, Hannah, and Trammell will be crucial to Penn State’s success in 2024, as the Nittany Lions will be breaking in a new starting setter, expected to be Izzy Starck, following the graduation of first-team All-Big Ten honoree Mac Podraza. Starck will have a nice core of fifth-year seniors to rely upon as she acclimates to the college game, as Mruzik, Hannah, and Trammell accounted for 64 percent of Penn State’s kills in 2023.