TAMPA, Fla. – No. 8 Penn State women’s volleyball came out fast with a convincing win in the first set but came up short in the match in a 3-1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-17, 26-24) loss to No. 11 Florida in front of more than 6,000 fans Friday at the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Amalie Arena.
The Nittany Lions’ season opener was a part of the Road 2 Tampa Bay Invitational, which brought four teams to the city that will host this year’s National Championship. Penn State continues play in the event with a match against No. 20 Georgia Tech on Saturday at USF’s Yuengling Center.
Led by 10 blocks from Allie Holland, Penn State racked up 15 blocks in a losing effort. Zoe Weatherington added seven in addition to her eight kills. Holland tacked on six kills and a pair of aces.
Jess Mruzik recorded a double-double in her Penn State debut, finishing with a team-high 15 kills while matching Gillian Grimes with a team-high 14 digs. Anjelina Starck was next with nine kills, while Taylor Trammell had five kills on .500 hitting and chipped in with five blocks. Setter Mac Podraza also made her debut for the Nittany Lions and tallied 39 assists.
Florida was paced by Kennedy Martin with 18 kills, 11 digs, and five blocks. Alexis Stucky, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Year, piled up 55 assists in addition to seven digs and three aces.
Set 1
Weatherington started strong with five kills on .375 hitting to lead Penn State to a 25-18 win in the opening set. The Nittany Lions pulled away early with a 6-0 run to go up 10-4. Mruzik had three aces during that stretch, while…
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