Penn State hits the road to take on Michigan State and Indiana as Big Ten play continues

After defending their home court over the past three matches, it’s time for the Nittany Lions to hit the road, as No. 3 Penn State will begin a three-game road stretch with contests against Michigan State and Indiana.

The Nittany Lions will enter their road trip on the strength of a gritty, four-set win over Maryland last Thursday, followed by a sweep of No. 11 Oregon in the Wear White match the following night. That triumph marked Penn State’s fifth win over a ranked opponent this season.

The Nittany Lions are 4-0 in Big Ten play and one of only two teams that hold an undefeated mark in conference action so far this season. The only other unbeaten is No. 2 Nebraska.

Team captain Jess Mruzik has been a critical part of the Nittany Lions’ recent success, as her performances over the past four matches have allowed her to pick up back-to-back Big Ten Player of the Week awards.

The graduate hitter is averaging 4.48 kills/set, a mark that trails only Ohio State’s Emily Londot among players in the Big Ten.

Mruzik has also been active on the defensive end lately for the Nittany Lions and enters the weekend closing in on a career milestone.

Already well past 1,000 kills for her career, Mruzik enters the Michigan State match with 984 career digs, putting her 16 away from 1,000 in that category. It’s a mark that Mruzik could realistically attain this weekend, as she has had at least seven digs in each of the last six matches.

But Michigan State and Indiana will try to make things difficult for the Nittany Lions, and they have a recent history of doing so.

The Spartans’ signature win of last season was a 3-2 upset in East Lansing over a No. 13-ranked Penn State team. When the two teams met back on Sept. 29 in Penn State’s Big Ten home opener, it appeared as if Michigan State had its eyes set on making lightning strike twice, as the Spartans won the opening set of that matchup.

But Penn State eventually prevailed in four sets, and Mruzik was a big reason why. The three-time All-Big Ten selection chalked up 29 kills in the victory, her most in a Penn State uniform and the most by any Nittany Lion in a single match since 2018.

Part of the effort in slowing Mruzik down will come from Michigan State’s experienced libero Nalani Iosia, as the former Texas player anchors the defense for this Spartans team.

Iosia has been a pest for opposing offenses all season long, as she leads the Big Ten with 4.44 digs/set. In the first matchup against the Nittany Lions, Iosia led all Michigan State players with 14 digs but was outpaced by Penn State’s libero Gillian Grimes, who had 21.

Entering their long-awaited first Big Ten home match of the season on Friday night, the Spartans are looking to get on the right track, as they’ve kicked off conference play 0-4 during their extended road trip.

One of those losses came to the Indiana Hoosiers – the team that Penn State will face off with on Sunday afternoon.

The Hoosiers are 2-2 in Big Ten play this year. While this will be the first meeting of the 2024 campaign between these two teams, Penn State and Indiana put on some fireworks in their most recent matchup last October when the Nittany Lions triumphed in a five-set thriller.

Indiana’s setter Camryn Haworth was an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American in 2023 and was named to the Preseason All-Big Ten team for the Hoosiers.

Matching up with freshman phenom Izzy Starck for Penn State, it should be exciting to see which setter can better facilitate their respective offense, as the Hoosiers will look to blossom in Bloomington against a national powerhouse.

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