For the second time this season, Penn State women’s volleyball tangoed with Perdue at Rec Hall, sweeping the Boilermakers in a nationally-ranked top 10 and Big Ten matchup.
The Nittany Lions are 25-1 on the season. They are ranked No. 4 and Perdue is ranked No. 8. The Boilermakers are 22-6.
In the first meeting, Penn State swept Purdue (25-14, 25-21, 25-20) in West Lafayette. Camryn Hannah hit .393 with 14 kills, and Jess Mruzik tallied 13 kills and nine digs. The Nittany Lions hit .369 behind 38 assists by Izzy Starck, according to Penn State Athletics.
Before the matchup, the Nittany Lions were 3-2 against Purdue under the leadership of PSU Head Coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley. Penn State won Thursday’s match 25-20, 25-23, and 25-16.
“I’m proud of the team and how we competed today,” said Schumacher-Cawley, who earned her 200th career win. “I thought everyone contributed and did their job well.”
Penn State will host its senior night on Sunday in their matchup against Washington.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a coach that cared as much, on the court and off the court,” Maggie Mendelson said about Schumacher-Cawley. “She’s always checking in, making sure I’m okay and making sure my family’s doing good.”
Hannah, Mruzik, Ava Falduto, and Mendelson had commanding performances. The first two sets showcased a tight volley back and forth that allowed both teams to take the slight edge over the other throughout them.
The Nittany Lions were able to push for the final points needed to capture set one. A kill by Mruzik made the score 20-19, but an error seized the win to even the score at 20 apiece. Mruzik and Mendelson each then tallied kills to put the Nittany Lions up 21-19 and forced a Boilermaker timeout.
Mruzik extended Penn State’s lead with her fifth kill, but then a kill by Perdue’s Lourdes Myers made it 23-20.
It was a one-two punch to end the set. A kill by Mendelson and Izzy Starck ended the set giving the Nittany Lions the advantage.
Purdue struck first in the second set after an error was made by the Blue and White. Penn State went on a 6-0 scoring run, giving them an 11-6 lead off a string of kills.
The Boilermakers went on their own 5-0 scoring run to tie it up at 13 with blocks and kills by Eva Hudson and Raven Colvin, as well as other players.
Purdue took the 20-18 lead with a kill by Chloe Chicoine, but a kill by Hannah made it 20-19. Penn State then tied the set up at 20 with an error by the Boilermakers.
Another error put the Nittany Lions down by one, but it got tied up again at 21 with Hannah’s 11th kill on the night.
Penn State took the 22-21 lead with an ace served by Hannah. They didn’t lead long as Purdue then made it 22-22 off of a kill by Myers. The Nittany Lions went back on top with a kill by Taylor Trammell, but it got tied up at 23 with a kill by Hudson.
The points went back and forth until Mruzik put the Nittany Lions back on top making it 24-23, and then Mendelson ended the set with a kill to put Penn State up two sets to none.
The beginning of the third set was even in the beginning until Penn State began to dominate at the net. The Nittany Lions went on a run and widened the lead to 20-15.
It was 21-16 after Trammell got a kill and then Hannah got her second ace of the night to make it 22-16. It became 23-16 with a block by Trammell and Caroline Jurevicius and set point after a kill by Mruzik
Penn State won the set 25-16 after a block by Trammell and Mruzik to send them to their sweeping victory over Purdue.
Hannah had 14 kills to get her 9th straight match with double digit kills. The team also got their 17th straight win at Rec Hall.
Kassie Vasellas is a Female Athlete News student-intern at Penn State University.
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