Halfway Home: Four takeaways from Penn State’s 10-0 start to Big Ten play

10 matches down, 10 more to go.

As the calendar prepares to turn to November, the No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions find themselves at a potential crossroads.

For the first time in several seasons, the blue and white look like a team fit to contend for not just a Big Ten title – but a national championship. After going 10-1 in non-conference play, Penn State has prevailed in all of its first 10 matches in the Big Ten.

The overall mark of 20-1 is the best record Penn State has had since 2017 when the Nittany Lions went onto the national semifinals.

But sometimes looks can be deceiving, and with at least three marquee-ranked matchups looming in November, the second half of the season is when the volleyball world will find out for sure if this Penn State team is for real.

With that said, before looking forward, it’s important to look back and remember how we got here. While it’s challenging to narrow the list down, here are four key takeaways from the first half of Penn State’s Big Ten conference slate.

1. Izzy Starck is as advertised

As the No. 1 recruit in the country heading into her freshman season with the Nittany Lions, Izzy Starck has had all eyes on her since her first day on campus.

It would be easy to crack under the pressure of being a starting setter for one of the nation’s premier programs, but Starck has done anything but.

Starck has won a remarkable eight Big Ten weekly awards, being named Freshman of the Week five times in addition to picking up Setter of the Week honors on three occasions.

As a setter, Starck averages 10.97 assists/set and has anchored the Nittany Lions to a .294 hitting percentage, good for third in the conference.

But Starck has taken advantage of her incredible athleticism to not just make some ridiculous sets but also to be a contributor in the passing, blocking and even attacking game.

As Starck continues to grow as a leader on this team, her continued improvement is something that will be a scary prospect for Big Ten opponents for not just this season, but years to come.

2. Penn State’s battle scars could help them down the stretch

Penn State may be 10-0 in conference play, but that doesn’t mean the road traveled to get to this point has been a smooth one.

The Nittany Lions have played four ranked opponents thus far. The ironic part is in those matchups, Penn State has looked at its best. The Nittany Lions swept Purdue, Oregon and Minnesota before taking a four-set thriller last week at USC.

It’s actually been some of the unranked matchups where Penn State has seemed vulnerable. In addition to USC, the Nittany Lions went to four sets three separate times against unranked opponents, and needed five sets to overcome both Ohio State and UCLA on the road.

“This year has been the toughest year of volleyball I’ve ever played,” said senior middle blocker Taylor Trammell at Penn State’s weekly media availability on Tuesday. “Every single night, I feel like we’re fighting for our lives almost against these teams.”

The Big Ten is notoriously competitive, but that could be something that helps give Penn State the mettle and determination necessary to compete with some of the nation’s best teams, not just in the crunch time of the Big Ten season, but in the NCAA Tournament as well.

3. Jess Mruzik will continue to relentlessly help the Nittany Lions score

At times throughout the 2024 season, senior team captain and Preseason All-Big Ten selection Jess Mruzik has looked unstoppable for Penn State.

Last year’s Second-Team All-American had two separate matches with 29 kills apiece against Michigan State and Ohio State. The outside hitter hasn’t scored less than 13 kills in a single conference match this season.

But last weekend’s road trip in Los Angeles was an example of how Mruzik can help the team earn points in other ways, too. Mruzik put up 16 kills in both matches but struggled with efficiency in both contests.

When the Michigan native was having a hard time putting the ball away, she turned to other aspects of her game to help Penn State’s cause – particularly her passing.

In 10 Big Ten matches this year, Mruzik has double-digit digs in seven of them and each of the last four. And even though she gets targeted when she rotates to the back row for serve-receive, Mruzik has shown the ability to both get solid first contact and to attack at a high level from behind the 10-foot line.

4. Penn State’s biggest question mark could also be one of its biggest X-factors

The biggest question mark that has cropped up in recent weeks surrounding Penn State has been the opposite hitter position, where both Caroline Jurevicius and Alexa Markley have drawn starts.

It’s a spot that coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley knows that Penn State has to get production out of, one way or another.

“It’s going to be rotating because we need to score points,” Schumacher-Cawley said on Tuesday. “Until someone can step up and consistently earn that spot, then that’s what it will be.”

But both Jurevicius and Markley have shown flashes this season. Jurevicius came to life in Los Angeles, as she racked up eight kills in each of the two matches out west while adding a career-high seven blocks against USC.

Meanwhile, Markley – a former All-Freshman selection in the Big Ten – had five kills and three blocks in a start against Minnesota on Oct. 20.

Both Jurevicius and Markley are strong, physical players who have the tools to take over a match if they can put it all together. With the aforementioned Mruzik and fellow superstar Camryn Hannah manning the other pin hitter spots, an emergence from one of the opposites into the second half of the season could make Penn State’s offensive attack almost unstoppable.

Kasey Kreider is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email kmk6865@psu.edu.