Penn State women's volleyball sweeps Michigan to continue Big Ten dominance

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The costumes were out at Penn State's Rec Hall as the No. 3 Nittany Lions took on Michigan in the annual youth and Halloween match.

After coming off two wins last weekend in California against USC and UCLA, Penn State looked to keep their undefeated Big Ten season alive.

In the first set, Penn State's star Jess Mruzik started off her incredible game earning the Nittany Lions the first point of the set. Great service play and key defensive moments from Taylor Trammell allowed Penn State to take the first set 25-16.

Camryn Hannah led the way with four kills including three straight to close out the first set. Hannah’s play was not the only thing that helped Penn State get the first set win, it was also the eight service errors committed by Michigan.

Penn State also won the second set 25-15, although it was more back and forth including three long rallies to begin the set.

Both Caroline Starck and Caroline Jurevicius came in huge as Starck continuously set up Jurevicius with kill opportunities and those opportunities were successfully taken. Mruzik showed command of the court scoring four straight points for the Nittany Lions and leading the team in kills with seven through two sets.

Michigan through two sets was led by the play of No. 17 Jacque Boney who led the team in hitting percentage connecting on 46.7 percent of her hits and kill percentage connecting on 60 percent of her kills.

In the final set Michigan fought hard, taking multiple leads and taking advantage of the many attack errors committed by Penn State.

However the Nittany Lions rode on the back of Mruzik again. She had four kills including one that put Penn State up 24-17 and an early ace that kept her team in the set.

Penn State got the 3-0 sweep of the Michigan Wolverines at home winning the third 25-17 and extended their undefeated Big Ten record to 11-0.

Hannah had 10 total kills and followed behind her were Trammell and Mendelson who each had seven apiece.

Head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley talked about Penn State’s successes against a strong Michigan team when she spoke to the media after the game.

“I think it’s, you know, just having a relentless attitude and going for every ball. Everyone has been flying around and putting in 100 percent not only on the court but in practice too,” Schumacher-Cawley said.

Trammell was also available to talk to the media after the game and she discussed the team's chemistry.

“I think going into this match we were all pretty confident. I think that the entire team's confidence is at an all time high. That's one of the things coach focuses on during practice is our ability to work together so when we are out there we can just play our game,” said Trammell.

The Wolverines will look to get back on track Sunday against Minnesota, while the Nittany Lions will play Iowa on Friday at home.

Gavin McCue is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email him at gbm5327@psu.edu.