No. 2 Girls’s Volleyball Rallies for Win Over No. 14 Kansas – Penn State

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 2 Penn State beat a nationally-ranked opponent for the second time in three days because it rallied for a 3-2 (25-22, 24-26, 16-25, 30-28, 15-12) win over No. 14 Kansas in non-conference ladies’s volleyball motion Monday on the Sanford Pentagon.

The Nittany Lions improved to 2-0 to begin the season, successful every of their two matches on the AVCA First Serve Showcase. The different win was a 3-0 sweep over No. 12 Creighton on Saturday at Nebraska’s Pinnacle Bank Arena. The Jayhawks went 1-1 on the occasion, together with a five-set win over Vanderbilt.

Caroline Jurevicius was named the match MVP by the AVCA after hitting .393 with 14 kills, displaying she will excel on the left facet. Meanwhile, Maggie Mendelson had an enormous match within the center with 13 kills on .650 hitting.

Penn State had 4 gamers with double-digit kills. Kennedy Martin led the way in which with 18 along with 5 digs and three blocks. Emmi Sellman was proper behind her with 16 kills. The sophomore recorded her first double-double of the season with 12 digs to associate with her kill complete. Jordan Hopp contributed eight kills and 4 blocks.

Izzy Starck, who had 18 double-doubles as a freshman final season, posted her first of this season with 53 assists and 16 digs. She was one in all three Nittany Lions with double-digit digs, becoming a member of Gillian Grimes and Ava Falduto, who had every had 12. Jocelyn Nathan chipped in with 4.

Penn State overcame a robust blocking night time by Kansas, which racked up 15. Jovana Zelenovic fueled that effort with 10 blocks to associate with her 13 kills. Selena Leban led the Jayhawks’ assault, hitting .395 with 20 kills.

Set 1
Penn State rallied late within the set to open the match with a 25-22 win. The Nittany Lions trailed 17-12 earlier than slicing the deficit to at least one with a 4-0 run. Martin and Jurevicius every had a kill throughout that stretch. They later used a 3-0 run to go up 20-19, their first lead since 7-6. Martin triggered the run with a kill after which an ace. Starck adopted with a kill to power a Kansas timeout. The groups battled shut till attending to a 22-22 impasse. Penn State scored the ultimate three factors to shut the set. Sellman began the run with a kill, which was adopted with a kill by Falduto from her defensive specialist spot. Starck and Mendelson teamed up for a block for set level.

Set 2
Leban and Rhian Swanson mixed for 11 kills and only one error on 17 assaults to guide Kansas to a 26-24 win within the second set. The Jayhawks led huge at 17-11 solely to see Penn State struggle its means again to a 19-19 tie after a block by Hopp and Martin. The Nittany Lions appeared poised to take a 2-0 lead within the match because it went up 24-22 after a block by Hopp and Sellman after which a kill by Mendelson. Those have been the final factors scored within the set by the Nittany Lions. Kansas completed the set with a 4-0 run that was capped by a kill from Reese Ptacek.

Set 3
Kansas rolled to a 25-16 win in set three behind eight kills from Leban. The Jayhawks hit .609.

Set 4
Penn State stayed alive with an exciting 30-28 win within the fourth set that was sealed with an ace off the tape by Grimes. That ace got here on the Nittany Lions’ fifth likelihood at set level. It adopted a kill by Jurevicius. This time it was Penn State that had an enormous lead earlier than having to rally for the win. The Nittany Lions led 19-14 earlier than the Jayhawks chipped away on the lead and ultimately took a one-point benefit at 26-25 with a kill by Zelenovic. That was the group’s first lead since scoring the primary level of the set. It was additionally the Jayhawks’ solely likelihood at set level, which was denied with a kill by Mendelson.

Set 5
Sellman was good with 4 kills on 4 swings, together with the ultimate one for set level, to guide Penn State to a 15-12 win in set 5. The Nittany Lions fell behind 4-1 however rapidly bounced again with a 3-0 run. Martin received it going with a kill. Hopp then teamed with Jurevicius on a block and adopted it with a kill to tie the rating at 4-4. The groups fought pretty even for many of the set. Penn State referred to as timeout with a 13-12 lead after an assault error. The Nittany Lions got here out of the timeout with back-to-back kills by Jurevicius and Sellman, each off units from Starck.

Career Highs
Ava Falduto – kills (1)

Up Next
No. 2 Penn State performs two extra ranked opponents when it heads to Pittsburgh for the State Farm Volleyball Showcase at PPG Paints Arena. The Nittany Lions play No. 13 Arizona State on Sunday, Aug. 31, and No. 25 TCU on Monday, Sept. 1.