'Preseason is done': How Penn State is looking ahead to Big Ten play after Penn State Classic sweep

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – It may not be technically referred to as “the preseason,” but with non-conference play in the books for the No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions women’s volleyball team, head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley and her players know that the real journey begins now.

Don’t get it twisted, just because it was non-conference play doesn’t mean that the 11 matches to this point in the season had no significance. The Nittany Lions won 10 of those, after all, and those victories still carry plenty of significance when it comes to seeding teams for December’s NCAA Tournament.

Moreover, the quality of opponents that Penn State played should have the Nittany Lions ready for the inevitable gauntlet that playing in the Big Ten Conference will be. Penn State played four matches against ranked opponents and won three of them.

The wins came over then-No. 15 Tennessee, then-No. 4 Louisville and then-No. 9 Kentucky. The only loss was a sweep on the road against top-ranked Pittsburgh.

The loss to that potent Panthers team was the first real sign of weakness for a squad that had established themselves as a true contender in the Big Ten – and perhaps even more than that. But the Nittany Lions got back on track at the Penn State Classic, picking up wins over James Madison and Yale – two teams that made the NCAA Tournament last year.

One of the storylines from Sunday’s matchup with Yale was an incredible defensive performance from libero Gillian Grimes, who had a career-high 27 digs and – along with the rest of Penn State’s defense – held Yale to just a .205 hitting percentage throughout the four-set affair.

Grimes’ defense compliments a Nittany Lion offense that has firepower just about everywhere you look. Camryn Hannah and Jess Mruzik have been dominant on the pins this season, and those two players combined for 31 kills and 28 kills, respectively, over the two matches of the Penn State Classic.

Penn State has gotten plenty of production out of its middles, as Taylor Trammell and Nebraska transfer Maggie Mendelson have formed a nice tandem for the Nittany Lions. Mendelson matched a career-high with 10 kills against Yale to go along with six blocks.

And through the first 11 matches of her collegiate career, freshman setter and top-recruit Izzy Starck has lived up to all of the hype. She’s already been named Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice with conference play yet to start. Starck has proved she can stuff the stat sheet, as she tallied a double-double against Yale. She even added in nine kills across the two matches from her setter position.

So with all this in mind, how do the Nittany Lions feel like they stack up entering their Big Ten opener on Wednesday?

“We want to get back to just playing a lot of good volleyball,” Mruzik said after Sunday’s win against Yale. “I think right now we have really high highs, and sometimes we have really low lows, so we want to meet in the middle. If we do that throughout Big Ten play, I think we’ll be in a pretty good spot.”

Penn State will face a tough test when its Big Ten season kicks off on Wednesday, Sept. 25. The Nittany Lions will travel to West Lafayette to battle a Purdue team that is ranked No. 6 in the AVCA Coaches Poll at the time of this writing. Purdue’s only two losses in non-conference play came to top-10 opponents, and the Boilermakers also have a win over Kentucky, just like the Nittany Lions.

“I told them we have 10 home matches, 10 away,” Schumacher-Cawley said. “It’s gotta be one match at a time now.”

“Preseason is done, and I’m happy where we’re at, but know that there’s a lot of work to still do.”

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