No. 3 Women’s Volleyball Sweeps James Madison – Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 3 Penn State Women’s Volleyball opened the Penn State Classic with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-19) sweep over visiting James Madison in a non-conference match Friday night at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions upped their record to 9-1, while the Dukes dropped to 5-4.

The Nittany Lions hit .324 in the win, led by Jess Mruzik and Camryn Hannah with 13 kills apiece. Mruzik hit .393, while Hannah reached her kill total on .304 hitting. Caroline Jurevicius finished with eight kills. Izzy Starck set up the attack with 35 assists in addition to her four kills, five digs, and two blocks.

Penn State held James Madison to .139 hitting, which is the eighth time in 10 matches its opponent has been held under a .200 clip. The Nittany Lions had nine blocks, including five from Maggie Mendelson. Gillian Grimes led the back row with 13 digs, while Mruzik and Anjelina Starck each had seven.

James Madison, which was an NCAA Tournament team last season, saw its three-match winning streak come to an end. Annie Smith had a big night in a losing effort, hitting .500 with nine kills, two aces, and three blocks.

Penn State improved to 7-0 in the all-time series with James Madison.

Set 1
Izzy Starck dished out 15 assists as Penn State hit .314 while winning the opening set 25-20. Hannah had five kills, while Mruzik was right behind her with four. The Nittany Lions led 20-16 after a kill by Mendelson, but James Madison fought back to get within one at 20-19. It was still a one-point differential at 21-20 before the Nittany Lions closed the set with a 4-0 run. It started with back-to-back kills by Hannah. Taylor Trammell followed with a kill and then teamed with Izzy Starck on a block for set point.

Set 2
Hannah and Mruzik added five more kills apiece, Izzy Starck tallied 12 assists, and Penn State hit .484 in a 25-20 win in set two. Jurevicius had four kills on four swings. The Nittany Lions used a 4-0 run to go up 11-7 and led the rest of the way. Mruzik and Mendelson each had a kill and a block during that stretch. The Dukes didn’t get closer than two the rest of the set. The final point came on a sister connection as Izzy Starck came through with a kill off a set from Anjelina Starck.

Set 3
Grimes racked up eight digs to help hold James Madison to .000 hitting as Penn State won 25-19 in the third set. She also had two aces. It was a one-point score at 19-18 before the Nittany Lions went on a 3-0 run with a kill by Hannah, a block by Trammell and…