Reflections From Penn State Volleyball’s Second Annual 7 Star Camp

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

The Penn State women’s volleyball program held its second annual 7 Star Camp Sunday at Rec Hall, welcoming approximately 100 prospects to campus, including 2024 Penn State commits Izzy Starck and Ava Falduto.

Starck and Falduto verbally committed to the Nittany Lions last June and have since seen their profiles continue to rise in the recruiting rankings. They recently helped USA volleyball win gold at the U19 Pan American Cup in Puerto Rico and are among 19 players selected to the training roster for the FIVB U19 World Championship later this summer.

Starck and Falduto will enroll a semester early at Penn State in January 2024 after their senior seasons of high school volleyball. The highly touted setter and libero, respectively, are finishing up their final club campaigns this spring. Falduto hopes to join Starck as an Under Armour All-American and will compete for a spot in the prestigious exhibition match at the July 7 UA Next camp in her home city of Chicago, Illinois.

Sunday’s busy schedule of events included individual skill work in the morning, which allowed the campers a chance to receive feedback from the coaches and current players, who served as counselors and helped ensure things ran smoothly. In the middle of the day, there was a campus tour and stop at the famous Berkey Creamery.

After returning to Rec Hall, the campers warmed up again before a Q&A panel with head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley and several Nittany Lions on the 2023 roster, including Jess Mruzik, Lina Perugini, Camryn Hannah, Ally Van Eekeren, and freshman Kate Lally. A few team members were still scattered around the country and unable to attend the camp, which wrapped up with some high-level scrimmaging.

Campers could also check out Penn State’s seven NCAA national championship trophies, jerseys of program greats who competed for USA volleyball, including Olympic gold medalists Micha Hancock and Haleigh Washington, and get a glimpse of the piles of team-issued Nike gear the Penn State players receive. At the end of the evening, campers took photos with the players and coaches and said their goodbyes to new friends.

It’s clear Penn State’s 7 Star Camp has become one of the premier stops for many of the country’s top prospects from the next few recruiting cycles, as scores of talented players competed under the watchful eyes of Penn State’s coaching staff. Assistant coaches Brian Toron and Dan Gwitt were constantly moving about the gym evaluating prospects and getting to know them better.

Izzy Starck prepares to serve during the scrimmage portion of camp.

Some of the standouts who participated in Sunday’s camp included a host of 2025 prospects in North Carolina pin hitter Ryan Hunter, Indiana pin Addison Tindall, New York pin Marin Collins, Virginia pin Lameen Mambu, Wisconsin pin Madison Quest, Indiana pin Charlotte Vinson, Indiana defensive specialist Lexi Gin, and South Carolina middle blocker Mia Clyburn, among others.

The 2026 and 2027 classes were also well represented at Rec Hall, as Illinois middle blocker Lynney Tarnow, Pennsylvania pin Gianna Reamer, Virginia pin Morgan Williams, and Michigan pin Gabby DiVita turned heads in their own right. New York pin Olivia Henry and Mississippi pin Carson Caraway, both rising freshmen, performed well against their older peers, too.

The opportunity for campers to learn from Penn State’s coaching staff and players what it takes to compete at one of the most successful programs in Division I volleyball will undoubtedly help them navigate the recruiting process, regardless of where they end up at the next level. The tips and lessons shared apply beyond improving their abilities on the court, as Penn State’s staff does a nice job capturing the bigger picture in these camp settings.

The list of Penn State women’s volleyball’s remaining camp dates this summer can be found here. There is a wide variety of single-day and overnight camps for different ages and skills levels, including, due to a high demand, 7 Star Camp II for grades 8-12 on July 30 — the final camp session of the summer before the staff and players shift their focus to preseason training camp in August.