No. 13 Women’s Volleyball Hosts Maryland Friday, Illinois Saturday

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 13 Penn State women’s volleyball begins its longest home stretch of the season (four matches) when it hosts Maryland on Friday at 7:30 p.m., and Illinois on Saturday at 4 p.m. Friday is the team’s THON match with fans encouraged to wear bright colors, while Saturday is Halloween Night, with fans encouraged to wear costumes.

Friday, Oct. 29

7:30 p.m. (ET) | Maryland (17-5, 5-5 B1G) at No. 13 Penn State (16-4, 7-3 B1G) | Live Stats | B1G+

Saturday, Oct. 30

4 p.m. (ET) | Illinois (14-7, 6-4 B1G) at No. 13 Penn State (16-4, 7-3 B1G) | Live Stats | B1G+

SERIES HISTORY – MARYLAND

• Penn State is 29-5-1 all-time against Maryland in a series that began in 1976.

• The Lions have won 26 consecutive matches in the series. The Terrapins last win came in 1979.

• Penn State is 13-0 against the Terrapins in matches played at Rec Hall.

• The current senior class is 4-0 against Maryland, but two of those matches went five sets. The Lions erased a 2-0 deficit on their way to a win in College Park earlier this season. Kaitlyn Hord had nine blocks in the win, while Penn State finished with 17 as a team.

SCOUTING MARYLAND

• Maryland is 17-5 overall and 5-5 in the Big Ten following three straight wins — Michigan State, Rutgers, Michigan State.

• Sydney Dowler registered her 1,000th career assist in the Terrapins’ most recent win over Michigan State,

• Maryland ranks first in the nation in blocks, averaging 3.18/set. Rainelle Jones leads the nation individually, averaging 1.81/set.

SERIES HISTORY – ILLINOIS

• Penn State is 49-11 all-time against Illinois in a series that began in 1981.

• The Lions have won four straight matches in the series, sweeping two-match series in 2019 and 2020. Two of those four matches went five sets.

• Penn State is 27-3 against the Illini at Rec Hall. The Lions have won five straight at Rec Hall, with the Illini’s last win there coming in 2014.

SCOUTING ILLINOIS

• Illinois is 14-7 overall and 6-4 in the Big Ten following back-to-back wins over Northwestern and Michigan.

• The Illini’s biggest win of the season came on the road over then-No. 4 Purdue in five sets.

• Illinois sits just outside the AVCA Coaches Poll, leading the other teams receiving votes with 44 points.

• The Illini lead the Big Ten and rank 17th nationall in aces/set…