Kills, momentum lift Penn State women’s volleyball over James Madison.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 14 Penn State took down James Madison 3-1 at Rec Hall on September 3.

The Nittany Lions were coming off two wins in their home opener Penn State Invitational: a 3-1 win over Western Kentucky and a 3-0 sweep over Colgate, respectively.

The Dukes were also 2-0 in the Invitational: a 3-1 win over Colgate and a 3-0 win over Western Kentucky, respectively as well.

The Dukes had a lead in the first set, but the Nittany Lions came back after a service ace by Gillian Grimes and two kills by Allie Holland.

Penn State won the first set 25-18 with a monster kill by Taylor Trammell.

James Madison took the second set by storm, leading out of the gate, but Penn State ramped up the energy, going on a 6-1 scoring run alongside big blocks from Trammell and Zoe Weatherington.

Weatherington said that she “had to give them [James Madison] their flowers,” as she felt like the defense challenged her during the match, but she noted that “it’s more fun to play a game when you’re getting challenged like that.”

After being down by 10 at one point, the Nittany Lions tied the set at 19 due to an attack error on the Dukes.

However, after a James Madison timeout, the Dukes came back and won the second set 25-20.

The blue and white remained in control of the third set the entire time, though, and won 25-16 on a Jess Mruzik kill and James Madison service error.

The Nittany Lions pushed the match to a fourth set and won 25-16 on an attack error on James Madison.

Additionally, freshman Joce Nathan made her first collegiate appearance in the 23rd point of the fourth set, serving twice.

About her freshman class, head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley said she “expect[s] them to compete hard in practice.”

She also said that “[Nathan] has a great serve” and “thought it would be good to get her in there and see what she can do.”

The energy in Rec Hall was ecstatic, with the fan section The Wrecking Crew and Penn State fans cheering on the squad.

“It’s [the energy in Rec Hall] everything. I mean, we’re just so happy to be at home. We love The Wrecking Crew, we love the fans, and after a big moment with the floor vibrating and everyone screaming, it’s definitely awesome,” said Holland.

Jess Mruzik had a huge day with 26 kills and seven digs.

Her 26 kills were double anybody on both teams and surpassed her season-high 21 against Western Kentucky. Additionally, she had also recorded her 1000th career kill over the weekend against Colgate.

Maddy Bilinovic had 13 digs and Mac Podraza had 39 assists.

Penn State will travel to Philadelphia to play Temple on Sept. 8, then Kentucky to play Louisville and will come back home to play UMBC on Sept. 15 to kick off the Penn State Classic.

Adrianna Gallucci is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email amg7989@psu.edu.