Jess Mruzik Records Season High 27 Kills

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 19 Purdue upset No. 11 Penn State 3-1 in their annual Dig Pink matchup on Sunday, Oct. 22.

Despite the loss, outside hitter Jess Mruzik tallied 27 kills in four sets which is a season high for the senior transfer from Michigan.

Mruzik made some big, Big Ten plays including a dive into the crowd at the end of the fourth set.

“When the game's tight, you never want to go down without a fight. And you know, it's for the people around me……But I think effort and defensive effort sets the tone for us as a team,” Mruzik said.

Mruzik fought to keep the Nittany Lions alive in all moments of the match as they struggled to gain steady momentum against the Boilermakers.

There is no doubt that Mruzik is a key asset to the Nittany Lions as she is arguably the heart and soul of this team. But what is most prominent about Mruzik is that she is a true class act and remains humble regardless of her performance.

Mruzik has been named Big Ten Player of the Week twice so far this season and is the first Penn State player to win the title twice in a season since 2017.

Aside from the loss, Mruzik had one of her best performances at Penn State and possibly in her entire career but Mruzik had a different outlook post-match.

“Obviously we want to come in here and win every match but like the expectations of ourselves, I don't think we lived up to tonight,” Mruzik said. “There are a lot of things we did tonight that are uncharacteristic for Penn State volleyball and obviously that's tough because a team like Purdue or any team in the big time is going to take advantage of that.”

The senior is a true team player and the difference maker for the Nittany Lions game in and game out.

Mruzik has been a stand-out player in the Big Ten for the past four years, but since transferring to Penn State her statistics have sky-rocketed off the charts.

Mruzik now sits just shy of 300 kills on the season with 297 with a third of the way to go in the regular season.

Mruzik looks to lead the Nittany Lions to victory against her old teammates and coaches at Michigan this upcoming Friday.

Gia Sabatino is a second-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email her at gms6168@psu.edu.