No. 2 Women’s Volleyball Opens Season with AVCA First Serve – Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- No. 2 Penn State Women’s Volleyball, the defending NCAA Division I champion, opens the 2025 season with a pair of matches on the AVCA First Serve. The Nittany Lions play No. 12 Creighton at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. They then make the journey to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to tackle No. 14 Kansas on Monday at 6:30 p.m. ET on the Sanford Pentagon.

Saturday’s match in opposition to Creighton, a rematch of final yr’s NCAA Regional Final at Rec Hall, will air on FS1, whereas Monday’s match in opposition to Kansas is scheduled for B1G Network.

HOW TO FOLLOW
Saturday, Aug. 23 | 5 p.m. ET
#2 Penn State (0-0) vs. #12 Creighton (0-0) | Live Stats | FS1

Monday, Aug. 25 | 6:30 p.m. ET
#2 Penn State (0-0) vs. #14 Kansas (0-0) | Live Stats | B1G Network

OPENING NOTES
• Penn State, the defending NCAA Champion, is about to open the fiftieth season in program historical past with the AVCA First Serve occasion, wherein it should play Creighton at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Kansas at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
• The Nittany Lions are 39-9-1 all-time in season openers. They are 2-1 in season openers underneath present head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, together with a 3-1 win at No. 15 Tennessee final season.
• Saturday’s match in opposition to Creighton marks the tenth time Penn State has opened a season in opposition to a nationally-ranked opponent. It is the third season opener in a row in opposition to a nationally-ranked workforce after not taking part in one within the opener since taking down No. 12 Hawaii to begin the 2008 season.
• The Nittany Lions open the common season away from Rec Hall for the third-consecutive season.

AVCA FIRST SERVE
• Penn State will compete within the AVCA First Serve for the seventh time in program historical past. The Nittany Lions beforehand performed within the occasion in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2005, and 2011.
• The AVCA First Serve was held yearly from 1995 to 2011 after which for one yr in 2014. The occasion relaunched final season.
• Penn State is 7-5 all-time within the AVCA First Serve.
• Head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley performed within the AVCA First Serve in each 1999 and 2000.

DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPION
• Penn State is coming off a season wherein it received this system’s eighth nationwide title and 18th Big Ten title.
• The Nittany Lions went 35-2 general and 19-1 within the Big Ten.
• Katie Schumacher-Cawley turned the primary feminine head coach to steer a workforce to an NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball title.
• Penn State beat Nebraska within the common season to clinch a share of the Big Ten common season title. The Nittany Lions then beat the Cornhuskers once more within the National Semifinal after erasing a 2-0 deficit.
• Playing Louisville in its residence enviornment, the Nittany Lions defeated the Cardinals in 4 units to safe the National Championship.
• Penn State libero Gillian Grimes was named to the All-Championship Team, becoming a member of teammates Jess Mruzik (MVP) and Camryn Hannah.

SERIES HISTORY – CREIGHTON
• Penn State is 1-0 within the all-time sequence with Creighton.
• The groups performed for the primary time in program historical past in final season’s NCAA Regional Final. The Nittany Lions prevailed in 5 units to advance to the semifinal spherical in Louisville.
• Gillian Grimes racked up 17 digs in final season’s win over the Bluejays and landed a spot on the All-Regional Team. Izzy Starck additionally made the All-Regional Team after ending with 41 assists, 11 digs, six blocks, and three kills in opposition to the Bluejays. Caroline Jurevicius hit .292 with 11 kills, Ava Falduto had 10 digs, Jocelyn Nathan contributed 9 digs, and Jordan Hopp chipped in with 4 blocks whereas taking part in within the remaining three units.

SCOUTING CREIGHTON
• Creighton went 32-3 final season and superior to the NCAA Regional Final earlier than falling to eventual nationwide champion Penn State in 5 units.
• The Bluejays had been an ideal 18-0 within the Big East within the common season and went on to win the convention match for the fifth-consecutive season.
• Creighton is underneath new management after the retirement of Kirsten Bernthal Booth, who was the workforce’s head coach for 22 seasons. Brian Rosen takes over in 2025 after spending three seasons on Bernthal Booth’s workers, together with final yr because the affiliate head coach.
• The Bluejays return outdoors hitter Ava Martin, a third-team All-American final season, and center blocker Kiara Reinhardt, an All-Big East honoree final season.

SERIES HISTORY – KANSAS
• Penn State is 2-0 within the all-time sequence with Kansas. The groups final met in 2023 when the Nittany Lions went on the street to win in 5 units within the NCAA Second Round.
• Gillian Grimes is the one present Penn State participant to play within the Nittany Lions’ final match in opposition to Kansas. She had 14 digs.
• Kennedy Martin, a junior proper facet hitter that joined Penn State as a switch this season, has additionally performed one match in opposition to Kansas. She hit .310 with 33 kills in Florida’s five-set win over the Jayhawks within the NCAA Second Round final season.

SCOUTING KANSAS
• Kansas went 25-5 final season and superior to the NCAA Second Round earlier than falling to Florida in 5 units.
• The Jayhawks are underneath new management after the retirement of Ray Bechard, who was the workforce’s head coach for 25 seasons. Matt Ulmer takes over in 2025 after spending the previous eight seasons as the top coach of Oregon.
• Kansas was picked second out of 15 groups within the Big 12 Preseason Poll. The Jayhawks had 4 gamers — sophomore setter Cristin Cline, sophomore center blocker Reese Ptacek, freshman pin Jovana Zelenovic, and redshirt junior outdoors hitter Aniya Clinton — named to the Big 12 Preseason Team.

STREAKS TO WATCH

Ava Falduto
· 7 straight matches with a minimum of one ace

Gillian Grimes
· 10 straight matches with double-digit digs
· 3 straight matches with a minimum of one ace

Caroline Jurevicius
· 3 straight matches with double-digit kills

Kennedy Martin
· 53 straight matches with double-digit kills

Izzy Starck
· 4 straight matches with double-doubles

Team
· 12 straight wins

UP NEXT
• Penn State heads to Pittsburgh for the State Farm Women’s Volleyball Showcase at PPG Paints Arena on Aug. 31-Sept. 1. The Nittany Lions play No. 13 Arizona State and No. 25 TCU on the occasion.