Fall Sports Update: Women’s Volleyball Sweeps Big Ten Opener

Women’s Volleyball (11-1)

The No. 4 women’s volleyball team eased through the Penn State Classic with a 3-0 sweep of James Madison and a 3-1 win over Yale. Camryn Hannah and Jess Mruzik recorded double digit kills in both matches for the offense, which rebounded from its disastrous outing against Pitt.

Penn State hit the road last night for its conference opener against No. 10 Purdue. The Lions controlled the match from the get-go, winning the first set 25-14 en route to an easy 3-0 sweep of the Boilermakers. Setter Izzy Starck recorded 38 assists, 13 digs, and four kills to continue her sensational freshman season.

The Lions will return home to take on Michigan State on Sunday (2pm).

Women’s Soccer (8-2-1)

Scoring was optional in both women’s soccer games last week, as the team defeated Northwestern 1-0 before losing to new No. 1 Michigan State 1-0. Kaitlyn MacBean scored the only goal in the win over the Wildcats, her 10th of the season. Penn State largely outplayed Northwestern and outshot the Wildcats 8-2 in the second half.

Penn State put up 11 shots on goal against Michigan State but could not find the back of the net in a 1-0 loss. Amanda Poorbaugh made three saves, but a goal from the Spartans in just the third minute made all the difference in the contest.

The Lions fell to No. 15 in this week’s United Soccer Coaches’ poll. Penn State will continue conference play with a road game against Iowa tonight (8pm on Big Ten Plus), followed by another road contest against Nebraska on Sunday (1pm on BTN).

Field Hockey (4-3)

Phia Gladieux’s two-goal effort lifted Penn State to a 2-1 comeback win over Bucknell in overtime. The Lions trailed Bucknell 1-0 in the fourth period before Gladieux tied the game with 10:42 remaining. Both teams had great chances to win the game in regulation but were unable to capitalize.

In overtime, Gladieux scored unassisted just 1:22 into the extra session to give Penn State a much-needed win entering conference play.

Penn State will return home to take on Indiana in the conference opener on Friday (4pm on Big Ten Plus), followed by a game against Lafayette on Sunday (1pm on Big Ten Plus).

Men’s Soccer (4-5)

The men’s soccer team bounced back with a 2-1 win over Michigan State and a 2-1 win over St. John’s. In both games, Penn State trailed 1-0 at halftime before coming back to win.

Against Michigan State, Malick Daouda converted a free kick opportunity in the 86th minute to lift the Lions to a 2-1 win and snap the team’s three-game losing streak.

Penn State trailed 1-0 in the 75th minute against St. Johns before Matthew Henderson tied the game on a corner kick. Just five minutes later, Henderson set up Michael Hewes for the game-winning goal to end a rough non-conference slate on a high note.

Penn State is idle this weekend before a road game against Maryland next Tuesday (6pm on Big Ten Network).