UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – Taylor Trammell had a big night, reaching 500 career blocks as he helped No. 3 Penn State defeat visiting Maryland 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-16) in the Big Ten Women’s Volleyball action Thursday evening at Rec hall.

Penn State improved to 13-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten, while Maryland fell to 9-5 overall and 0-3 in the conference. The Nittany Lions won their 12^egame in a row at Rec Hall and their ninth straight Big Ten regular season game.

Trammell hit .562 with 10 kills and eight blocks in the win. Her fifth block of the match came in the third set and gave her 500 for her career. It came on a night when she also achieved her first career topper.

Jess Mruzik recorded her second double-double of the season, hitting .312 with 17 kills, 14 digs and three aces. Izzy Starck delivered her fifth double-double of the season, finishing with 39 assists, 12 digs and six blocks. Gillian Grimes fell just short of giving Penn State three players with double-doubles, totaling 16 digs, nine assists and three aces.

Camryn Hannah joined Mruzik in double figures with 15 kills. Maggie Mendelson added nine kills and four blocks.

Maryland was led by Samantha Schnitta with 19 kills on .318 hitting and three aces. The Terrapins entered the match as the Big Ten leader in aces/sets, but lost the battle to Penn State by six compared to the Nittany Lions’ nine.

Set 1
Penn State hit just .053 in the first set in a 25-22 loss. Despite a six-block performance for the Nittany Lions, seven kills by Schnitta were too many to overcome. Penn State trailed 22-18, but used a 3-0 run to get within one at 22-21. The Terrapins countered with a 3-0 run and later secured the set after a Penn State attack error.

Set 2
Penn State earned the 25-20 victory behind five kills from Mruzik and four from Hannah. Starck totaled 10 assists and sealed the set for the Nittany Lions with a solo block. There were six lead changes before Penn State used a 4-0 run to go up 15-12 and never trailed again.

Set 3
Trammell totaled four kills on .667 hitting to lead Penn State to a 25-23 victory in set three. The Terrapins led 20-17 before Penn State went on a 5-0 run to go up 22-20. Hannah had two kills during the run, while Grimes had an ace. Trammell scored Penn State’s 22^i.e23^rd and 24^e points with kills. The set ended after a Maryland service error.

Set 4
Penn State won the fourth set 25-16, made possible by three kills on three swings from Mendelson. Starck added another 12 assists, while Mruzik and Hannah combined for eight kills. Hannah closed the set with a kill for match point. The Nittany Lions were never behind in the set.

Career highlights
Gillian Grimes – assists (9)
Taylor Trammell – aces (1)

Next
No. 3 Penn State hosts Oregon on Friday at 7 p.m. The Ducks have won 11 straight games after opening the season with a loss to Pitt, including a sweep of Ohio State on Thursday.