Penn State pulls off huge upset over No. 2 Wisconsin

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Penn State Women’s Volleyball’s second Big Ten match of the weekend called for a Big Ten upset as the No. 19 Nittany Lions took down the No. 2 Wisconsin Badgers in four sets.

With this win, Penn State improved to 17-8 overall and 11-5 in the conference. This was their highest-ranked win since beating No. 1 Stanford 3-1 in 2017.

After their swift sweep of the Wolverines on Friday night, the Nittany Lions returned to Rec Hall on Saturday to take on No. 2 Wisconsin, one of their most challenging opponents of the regular season.

With a 23-1 overall record heading into the match, the Badgers were a team to beat in this conference, but the Nittany Lions are no strangers to holding their own against top-ranked teams. Just last week, they took the No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers to a five-set match, and although they lost, Penn State’s victories in the first two sets proved that they have what it takes to compete against a team of that caliber.

The first set against the Badgers was rapid-fire back and forth. The two teams stayed within one or two points of each other for the majority of the time.

Towards the end of set one, Wisconsin managed to pull ahead, building a four-point lead which led the Nittany Lions to take a timeout. This reset proved to be exactly what Penn State needed, and they earned seven straight to take the lead 22-20.

Despite Penn State’s unexpected comeback, the Badgers managed to claw their way back and take the first set 25-32.

In addition to all the talent on the court tonight, the Rec Hall crowd might as well have counted as a whole extra player for the Nittany Lions. Between the singing, the chanting, and the general noise factor, Penn State’s fans were a remarkable asset in motivating their own team and disrupting Wisconsin’s focus.

The second set began in the same back-and-forth manner as the first, but Penn State managed to pull ahead and consistently maintain a six or more-point lead.

At the end of the set, the Badgers made an impressive comeback effort. Neither team was willing to drop set two. A wild and hectic ending with a crucial kill by Camryn Hannah and an attack error by the Badgers led the Nittany Lions to succeed 29-27.

Hannah put on a fantastic performance not just in set two, but throughout the entire match, hitting .375 with 19 kills. She was the power that Penn State needed on the outside.

“I’m so happy that Cam went off tonight,” said graduate student setter Mac Podraza, “We’re going to need her to do that again next weekend, but we need to just do it every weekend too.”

Gillian Grimes also led the defense this set with six digs.

The third set was once again down to the wire. A strong offensive effort from Wisconsin’s Caroline Crawford and Sarah Franklin was matched with a combined 10 kills from Taylor Trammell, Camryn Hannah and Jess Mruzik. Penn State succeeded once again 25-23.

Fans were on the edge of their seats if not on their feet for the entirety of the fourth set. The score remained close early on with the Nittany Lions taking a 12-10 lead, but they eventually managed to pull ahead by seven making it 20-13. The final two points of the match were scored on a kill by Weatherington and an ace by Grimes to finish it off.

After dropping three straight matches last week, this two-victory weekend was as important as ever.

“I think the team came to practice every day with a purpose and willing to make changes. They’re working hard and I think everyone’s just putting in a little extra right now to help the team,” head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley said. “Even the players that didn’t get in at all have been challenging in practice and challenging the starting side and they’re making them better.”

Penn State will return to Rec Hall for its next two matches against Michigan State on Friday at 7 p.m., and Northwestern on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Anna Licastro is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email arl5942@psu.edu.