Penn State women's volleyball weekend preview

The No. 11 Penn State Nittany Lions have a slate of Big Ten matchups this weekend at Rec Hall, as the Iowa Hawkeyes come to town on Friday for a 7 p.m. first serve followed by the No. 19 Purdue Boilermakers at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

The last time the Nittany Lions and Hawkeyes squared off was just last Friday, where Penn State recorded its fourth road sweep of the season.

Alexa Markley had a game to remember with 17 kills and a stellar .469 hitting, which led everyone on the floor by far. Second was Jess Mruzik with nine. Markley has been sensational lately, as she beat her career-best 15 kills that she set just the match before against Ohio State.

The Nittany Lions are 13-4 on the campaign, and 7-1 against Big Ten competition. They were swept in the last match at No. 2 Nebraska, as Nebraska and Wisconsin are both still undefeated.

Iowa has been struggling immensely lately, as the Hawkeyes are on an eight-game losing streak with six of those matches being sweeps. Iowa holds an 8-12 record and is 0-8 in conference play.

Delaney McSweeney has been playing really well as of late, as she’s displayed the most consistency out of anyone on the team. McSweeney posted six kills and hit .500 against Penn State, and is certainly a player to look out for on the court.

Expect McSweeney and other Hawkeyes like Caitlan Buettner and Nataly Moravec to make some impactful plays here and there. But Penn State and its overall consistency and power should be able to soundly handle Iowa yet again, as the Nittany Lions are 43-0 all-time against the program.

Fast forward a couple of days, and you’ve got the first game of two this season with the Boilermakers. A Dig Pink match where Rec Hall will be donning pink attire to support funding and awareness for breast cancer.

Purdue is 12-6 this season and 6-3 with conference opponents. The Boilermakers hold back-to-back wins with 3-1 finals against Ohio State and Indiana.

Eva Hudson boasted 19 kills in each of those matches and has been the centerpiece of the Purdue attack. Her skill set paired along with Raven Colvin and Lourdès Myers has coalesced into one solid team.

The Boilermakers as a whole are 49th in Division I with .250 hitting, and the Nittany Lions are in similar territory with .254 hitting for the 44th best.

Within kills per set, Penn State averages 13.59 in the category while Purdue holds a 13.04 mark.

Upon observation of these squads, you could argue that the offensive play is fairly balanced with Penn State having the slight edge because of depth. A glaring difference though is the defensive consistency.

The Nittany Lions have been respectable with their opponent's hitting percentage, as a .169 is good for 41st in Division I. This has been the Boilermakers’ kryptonite though, as .227 hitting puts them at a woeful 258th ranking. This distinction can separate the good from the great.

Expect Penn State to take care of business against Purdue, with the Boilermakers possibly snatching a set if their playmakers all get hot at the right time. The Nittany Lions’ attack though will be too much for Purdue’s defense to handle, and the series history will bump to 42-4 from the Nittany Lions coming away with a clean weekend.

Jake Irwin is a fourth-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email jpi5089@psu.edu.