No. 3 Women’s Volleyball Rallies for 3-1 Win at No. 16 USC – Penn State

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – No. 3 Penn State Women’s Volleyball erased a late five-point deficit in the fourth set on its way to a 3-1 (25-18, 20-25, 25-20, 32-20) road win over No. 16 USC in a Big Ten match Saturday night at the Galen Center.

The Nittany Lions improved to 20-1 overall 10-0 in the Big Ten with their 12^th-consecutive win. The Trojans fell to 14-6 overall and 6-4 in the conference.

Penn State trailed 23-18 in the fourth set. The deficit was cut to two with a 3-0 run that started with a kill by Taylor Trammell. USC then scored on a kill by Jadyn Livings, only to see the Nittany Lions go on another 3-0 run to tie it up at 24-24. The tying point came on another kill by Trammell. The Trojans had three additional chances at set point, the last of which was denied with a kill by Izzy Starck to tie the score at 27-all.

It was the Camryn Hannah show from that point on. She put Penn State up 28-27 with a kill, 30-29 with a kill, and 31-30 with a kill. She then clinched the match with an ace that found the end line. A USC challenge that the ball was out was unsuccessful.

The final set included 17 ties and seven lead changes.

Hannah hit .273 with 14 kills for the match. Fellow outside hitter Jess Mruzik tallied 16 kills and added 10 digs to record her fourth-straight double-double. Caroline Jurevicius finished with eight kills and seven blocks, Trammell had six kills in addition to her seven blocks, and Maggie Mendelson contributed six kills and five blocks.

Setter Izzy Starck contributed in all facets of the game. Her 43 assists and 16 digs were good enough for her ninth double-double of the season. She also hit .636 with a career-high seven kills, served for one ace, and was in on one block.

Gillian Grimes totaled 11 digs to give her a 10^th-straight match in double-digits. Anjelina Starck did her part with eight digs.

Ally Batenhorst led USC with 16 kills and nine digs, but it was Leah Ford with the most efficient night as she hit .583 with nine kills and four blocks.

Penn State improved to 3-2 in the all-time series with USC. The teams met for the first time since 2011.

Career Highs
Caroline Jurevicius – blocks (7)
Izzy Starck – kills (7)

Up Next
Penn State heads back to Happy Valley, where it will host Michigan on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., and Iowa on Friday at 6:30 p.m. The Wolverines are 16-5 overall and 6-4 in the Big Ten after a 3-1 loss to No. 2 Nebraska. The Hawkeyes are 9-12 overall and 3-6 in the conference following losses to No. 10…