Penn State Women’s Volleyball NCAA Tournament Preview
After making it through the gauntlet that is the Big Ten, Penn State now has its sights on the NCAA Tournament which starts up this weekend.
The blue and white earned a No. 4 seed in the tournament after finishing the regular season with a 24-7 record including a 13-7 record in the Big Ten.
That’s not bad at all for Nittany Lions head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley who is in her first season in the role after taking over for the legendary Russ Rose. Rose won seven NCAA Championships in his career and Schumacher-Cawley will look to follow in his footsteps.
The Nittany Lions opened up the season with a 12-0 record which includes wins over No. 11 Stanford and No. 18 Oregon on back-to-back nights.
Penn State picked up three other victories against ranked opponents with two over Purdue and a big one against Minnesota who enters the tournament as a No. 2 seed.
Now, the blue and white will open up the NCAA Tournament against UMBC at Rec Hall on Friday.
They will do so without middle blocker Taylor Trammell who was lost for the season in late October. Trammell had recorded 98 kills and 140 points prior to her injury but the Nittany Lions still have a ton of talent making them candidates for a deep tournament run.
Outside hitter Kashauna Williams provided a spark to the group after she transferred over from Long Beach State. Williams leads the Nittany Lions with 380 kills this season which is more than 100 more than the next player in that category.
Outside hitter Zoe Weatherington also played a big role for the Nittany Lions this season after transferring from Utah. Weatherington finished with 272 kills and 84 blocks which were both second on the team.
She was second in blocks behind middle blocker Allie Holland who came away with 145 rejections.
Penn State faces off against a UMBC team which finished its regular season with a 17-8 record and an American East championship.
The Retrievers defeated New Hampshire in straight sets to win the conference title and only lost one set in the two tournament games played.
Should the Nittany Lions win, they will stay at Rec Hall where they will face the winner of the UCF-Yale on Saturday.
Logan Bourandas is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email lxb5412@psu.edu.
