Penn State Women's Volleyball Weekend Recap

No. 19 Penn State women’s volleyball team had a weekend full of bumps, sets, hits and upsets.

The Nittany Lions welcomed their two Big Ten matchups against Michigan and No. 2 Wisconsin at Rec Hall. The blue and white walked into their first match of the weekend ranked No. 19 in the NCAA but equipped to climb higher.

On Friday night Penn State faced off Michigan and finished with a critical 3-0 shutout win.

The Nittany Lions dominated in Kills this match committing 40 in comparison to Michigan who could only come up with 27 kills.

Jess Mruzik was a key offensive player in this match. Alone she racked up 13 kills and one ace which aided towards the victory. This is not uncommon for Mruzik in her senior year. She has been putting up these numbers all season and gives all of herself to every opponent.

Defensively, Gillian Grimes was a beast. She had 15 digs this match and made it very challenging for the Wolverines to surpass Penn State on the scoreboard.

The Wolverines got close to the Nittany Lions at the end of the first and second sets (25-23, 25-22), almost taking away their chance at clinching the sweep.

Regardless, Penn State came out on top with quality play and impressive efforts from all corners of the court.

Michigan is a struggling team at best. A loss against them would have been a devastating upset for Penn State. The shutout victory was exactly what the Nittany Lions needed to go into Saturday night confident; starving for more success against one of their biggest opponents.

No. 2 Wisconsin has built a strong reputation for themselves this season with their impressive roster and gameplay. They came to Happy Valley with a record of 23-1 overall and 14-1 Big Ten.

Neither team waited to kick off this match. The first set was back-and-forth scoring and kept the spirited crowd of over 5,000 fans on their feet.

The Nittany Lions never fell further than a couple of points behind the Badgers in the first period. From their first serve, they proved that they had every intention of winning this match.

Penn State dominated in every aspect of the match offensively with more kills, aces and assists than Wisconsin. Camryn Hannah was a huge offensive leader with 19 kills and one ace.

Just like Friday night, Gillian Grimes was all over the defensive side of the court. She put up 14 digs, two aces and five assists, an impressive statline for a key defensive player.

Mac Podraza had a shell-shocking 51 assists. Her efforts were a big part of the Nittany Lions leaving the court that night with a statement win.

Penn State had what it took to compete with the No. 2 team in the NCAA and finished out the rest of the match by pulling off victories in the second, third and fourth set.

With this groundbreaking upset, Penn State goes into this weekend against Michigan State at Rec Hall proudly sitting at No. 14 (17-8 overall, 11-5 Big Ten) and Wisconsin falls to No. 4 (23-2 overall, 14-2 Big Ten).

Sophia Monteforte is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email smm8954@psu.edu