Duke Travels to Penn State Invitational

DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke volleyball team will hit the road for the first time this fall as it travels to University Park, Pa., for the Penn State Invitational. The Blue Devils will face Princeton, the No. 3 Nittany Lions and St. John’s. The match against Penn State will be televised on FS1, while the other two matches will be streamed on B1G+.
 
Last Time Out

• Duke went 2-1 over the weekend, defeating Davidson (3-1) and FIU (3-0) after falling to LSU (1-3).
• Rylie Kadel paced the offense with 30 kills and just five errors as she posted a .476 hitting percentage against the Wildcats. Setter Grace Penn dished 99 assists while libero Mailinh Godschall tallied 58 digs. 
• Freshman Breonna Goss was named ACC Freshman of the Week following her performance over the weekend. She tallied 27 kills, including a career-high 13 against Davidson. In three matches, Goss added 11 total blocks.

A Closer Look at the Series
 
PRINCETON
Friday marks just the fourth time the two programs will meet as the Tigers lead the series, 2-1. The teams meet for the first time since 1982. 
PENN STATE
Duke and Penn State meet for the 11th time in program history as the Nittany Lions have won the past 10 matches. They last met in 2010 in the NCAA Tournament. 
ST. JOHN’S
Duke and St. John’s meet for just the second time in program history. The Red Storm took the lone meeting in 2019, 3-1.
 
Scouting the Opponents
 
PRINCETON
Princeton is 2-1 in the young fall season and most recently dropped a 3-0 decision at Villanova last weekend. Shelby Fulton leads the offense with 33 kills for a .333 hitting percentage, followed by Erin McNair with 31 kills. Setter Sydney Draper owns 87 dimes and 30 digs while Ava Harrington leads the blocking unit with 19.0 total blocks. As a team, the Tigers are hitting .238 percent through three matches while their opponents are posting a .240 clip. 
PENN STATE
Penn State enters Friday’s contest 5-0 as the No. 3 team nationally with three top-15 wins already this fall. Penn State is hitting .322 this season as the sixth-best hitting team in the nation. The Nittany Lions are led by Jess Mruzik with 69 kills and a .327 hitting percentage while Camryn Hannah owns 61 kills for a .350 clip. Taylor Trammell ranks 13th nationally with a .475 hitting percentage with 33 kills. Setter Izzy Starck has dished 191…