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No. 3 Penn State Women’s Volleyball Match No. 11 Oregon 3-0 in Dominant ‘Wear White’ Match

Vaseline October 5, 2024

No. No. 3 Penn State women’s volleyball (14-1, 4-0 Big Ten) controlled No. 11 Oregon (11-2, 3-1 Big Ten) in a 3-0 sweep Friday night in the annual “Wear White” match .

With an announced attendance of 4,606 fans at Rec Hall, the Nittany Lions dominated the Ducks at the net with 42 kills en route to a fourth conference win.

How it happened

Katie Schumacher-Cawley rolled out a starting lineup with Taylor Trammell, Jess Mruzik, Anjelina Starck, Caroline Jurevicius, Izzy Starck, Maggie Mendelson and Gillian Grimes.

Anjelina Starck served for Penn State to start the match, but a quick kill on a free ball from Mimi Colyer gave Oregon a 1-0 lead. Trammell responded before Noemie Glover found a hole on a soft kill, putting the Ducks up 2-1.

Oregon extended the series to 3-0, but a hard-hit Mruzik kill energized the crowd and cut the deficit to 4-2. Setter Izzy Starck followed it up with a kill before assisting Mruzik with another to tie the score at 4-4.

An attacking error by Michelle Ohwobete ended a long rally and gave the Nittany Lions their first lead of the set at 5-4. With the score even at 7-7, Ohwobete had another kill to put Oregon ahead, but Cristin Cline’s service error tied the score again.

Ohwobete also served the ball over the baseline, and Colby Neal and Colyer each committed an attacking error, making the score 12-9 in favor of the blue and white. Then Mruzik’s third kill of the opening set forced Matt Ulmer to call a timeout for Oregon.

A free ball sent by Izzy Starck led to an easy kill for Neal from the break, but an mid-air adjustment and a dig from Anjelina Starck set up a Trammell kill to make it 14-10. However, Grimes picked up a service error seconds later that gave Oregon a point.

Mruzik had three straight kills to give the Nittany Lions a 17-11 lead, forcing a second Oregon timeout and sending the crowd into a “We Are Penn State” chant. Immediately after the timeout, the Ducks committed two straight attacking errors, giving Penn State a lead of eight.

Mruzik’s solo block answered a Colyer kill before Onye Ofoegbu had a kill and Ohwobete had a block to cut the Oregon deficit to 20-14. Then Camryn Hannah moved the ball out of bounds and Penn State’s lead dwindled to five.

Hoping to get the momentum back, Mruzik had her seventh kill of the night, while Trammell had two more of her own, making it 23-17. After a net foul from Mruzik, Jurevicius made the set point with a kill. Ofoegbu got a kill after Cline’s assist, making it 24-19.

Mruzik ended the first set with a kill, her eighth of the frame, in the middle of the court, giving Penn State a 25-19 set, one win and a 1-0 match lead.

The second set started with a service error from Cline, but Grimes did the same on the subsequent serve. Then Ohwobete returned the favor again, making the score 2-1 Penn State. Ava Falduto had the first clean serve of the set, which ultimately culminated in a loud Mruzik kill off Izzy Starck’s assist.

Oregon’s ninth and 10th attacking errors were committed by Glover and Colyer, putting Penn State up 5-1, and Ulmer wanted to discuss matters with the Ducks. After the timeout, Falduto laid down a service ace, but Oregon responded with a pair of consecutive points.

Another service error, made by Mackenzie Morris, gave Penn State a 7-3 lead, but Oregon then stringed together two in a row. However, a review overturned that, as Sophie Gregoire made an attacking error and the score was switched to 8-4. Trammell and Izzy Starck then combined for a block, creating a five-point lead.

Gregoire had a quick kill, and after a pair of Ducks dove to the ground to keep the next play alive, Trammell put it out of bounds, putting Oregon back within three. Grimes then assisted Hannah on a kill, making it 10-6 Penn State.

Maya De Los Reyes entered the match for Oregon and immediately contributed a service ace, but it didn’t take long for Penn State to respond, as Hannah got her second kill of the set on the sideline. After Ohwobete scored a kill, Mruzik reached double figures with a kill on a free ball, making the score 12-9.

An Ohwobete kill, along with a kill and block by Glover, made it 12-12, and the Ducks extended their run to 4-0 via a Gregoire kill, assisted by Morris. Mendelson evened the score at 13-13 with a kill in the middle of the floor before getting a second straight on the ensuing possession as the ball trickled over the net.

Mendelson and Izzy Starck then teamed up for a block on the sideline, while Mendelson also had a solo block on the next play, making it a 4-0 Penn State run and causing an Oregon timeout with the Nittany ahead Lions at 16-13. .

After the break, Gregoire and Ohwobete silenced the crowd by getting a kill each, but Gregoire then made a mistake on the attack, putting the blue and white at 17-15.

The set continued to go back and forth, but Mruzik elevated for a solo block to give Penn State a 21-18 lead. Jurevicius was then killed while Cline made an attacking error to put Penn State ahead by four. Mruzik then had a kill on a free ball to make the set point.

With fans in attendance, Ohwobete’s attacking error gave the Nittany Lions a 25-19 victory in the second set as they extended their match lead to 2-0.

The third set started tight as the two teams shared the first four points, but a pair of offensive errors by the Ducks left the score tied at 4-2 Penn State early on, forcing Oregon to call a timeout. After breaking the pack, Grimes committed a service error, while after the next long rally, Mruzik had a diving dig that led to a Mendelson kill.

Anjelina Starck led a long kill to float out of bounds, and it worked out in her favor, she went just past the end line, and Mendelson got her fourth block, giving the Ducks their second timeout of the set with Penn State’s lead at 8-3.

During intermission, a “We Are Penn State” chant broke out among the cheerleaders and fans, but Ofoegbu quickly calmed them down with a light tap kill. Mendelson moved from left to right and had another kill to answer. Hannah followed it up with another kill at Penn State, and after a failed challenge attempt from Oregon it was 10-4 blue and white.

The Nittany Lions claimed four of the next five points as they went up 14-5, but the final point was reversed as the score was set at 13-6. It didn’t take long for Penn State to get its 14th point, though, as Mruzik nailed her 14th kill with authority.

Oregon picked up a few points, but Penn State extended its lead to 17-11 on a Jurevicius kill, to which Neal responded, but Mendelson followed with another kill for the blue and white. Mruzik then poked the ball into an Oregon blocker, but it hit the ground to make it 19-12.

Hannah nailed her fifth kill of the night to give the Nittany Lions a 21-14 lead, but after a dig from Quinn Menger that popped up over the net, Ofoegbu had her seventh kill. Hannah then answered with another kill to make the lead seven again.

Izzy Starck and Roberta Pusharaj then went back and forth with service errors, making it 23-16. An attack error by Glover then resulted in a set and match point at 24-16.

After Oregon got one point off an Ohwobete kill, Starck set up Mruzik for the match-winning kill. The kill was Mruzik’s 16th of the night, and after winning the third set 25-17, Penn State handed Oregon its first conference loss. of the year with a 3-0 victory.

Takeaways

After averaging 23 kills in the team’s previous two matches, Mruzik didn’t slow down on Friday, with eight kills on a .375 hitting percentage in the first set.
Mendelson’s play in the second set, in which she had a kill or a block on four straight points, proved crucial for Penn State. The spurt not only stopped a 4-0 Oregon run, but gave the Nittany Lions one as Mendelson brought the energy back to Rec Hall.
Penn State’s hitters were very efficient throughout the game, hitting .284 as a team, compared to Oregon’s .075 hitting percentage.

What’s next?

The Nittany Lions are off for the week until they travel to East Lansing to face Michigan State on Friday, October 11 at 7 p.m.

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