Takeaways from Penn State women’s volleyball’s unbeaten start
The Penn State kicked off its season the only way that a team would want it to start off: undefeated.
Led by first-year coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, the Nittany Lions dominated right out of the gates in the Penn State Invitational against Connecticut, winning their first two sets, 25-13 and 25-15. UConn put up more of a fight in the third set, but the blue and white still finished strong, winning 28-26.
After an impressive start to the season, Penn State struggled early on against Loyola-Maryland, losing its first set 22-25. However, it would not take long for the Nittany Lions to bounce back and win three straight sets to take the match.
Penn State’s final match of the weekend would come against West Virigina. After an impressive 2-0 start, Penn State shot themselves in the foot and lost the third set, 20-25. The Nittany Lions cleaned up their mistakes and won the fourth set, 25-19.
After a perfect weekend, here are some takeaways from the start of the season:
Penn State’s offense is no joke. The team outscored its opponents 194 to 140. The offense was led by outside hitter Allie Holland and Utah transfer Zoe Weatherington, combining for 70 total points.
The Nittany Lion serving game was on another level over the weekend. Penn State had 18 aces throughout the tournament, compared to their opponents’ six, while keeping their number of errors low. Junior Maddy Bilinovic led Penn State with six aces.
The Nittany Lions looked good when communicating to set the ball up for the attack. CSU-Bakersfield transfer Seleisa Elisaia racked up 112 assists, making an immediate impact with her new team.
Penn State’s front row put up a solid defensive show, blocking more attacks than anyone else from the tournament. Lead by Allie Holland’s 18 blocks, the team averaged 2.8 blocks per set compared to their opponents' 1.6.
The Nittany Lions were effective on both offense and defense, but errors still affected the team. There weren’t many, but when there were, they came back-to-back and made it difficult for the Penn State to win the set. Keep an eye on how the team tries to fix these self-inflicted errors.
The team's endurance looked great — it really looks like the team put in the work in the offseason to be able to play long, exhausting sets. They showed teams that they are able to compete all night long.
Penn State managed the momentum swings well, rallying back late in a couple of sets and bouncing back from a few hiccups to win all three of its matches
The Nittany Lions will travel to compete in the Tiger Challenge against LSU, Iowa State, and Troy on Sept. 2 and 3, as they look to keep their undefeated start to the season going.
Micheal Bolger is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email mpb6233@psu.edu.
