#1 Nebraska vs. #16 Penn State
When: Friday, October 3rd, 7:00pm (CT)
Where: Rec Hall, University Park, PA
Watch: FOX
Radio: Husker Radio Network
Live stats
The rivalry between the Nebraska and Penn State volleyball programs started a long time ago, and remains fresh with intense recent match ups, including of course the 2024 National Semifinals when Penn State reverse swept the Huskers, losing sets one and two before winning the next three. They eliminated Nebraska from the NCAA tournament, and they did it with two former Huskers transfers playing a significant role. If that doesn’t burn deep in your gut, you might need to check your pulse.
Now that
we are sufficiently fired up, let’s dig into the next chapter in this rivalry, coming this weekend. Nebraska enters the match firing on all cylinders and even when those on the court falter, those on the bench rev up and not only pick up the slack, sometimes they outperform the starters. Nebraska head coach Dani Busboom Kelly has multiple options at every position on the court. She can sub out a starter and have little to no impact on the play of the team. Nebraska looks sharp.
If the Huskers are a well-oiled engine at this point in the season, then Penn State is an engine still working on its’ tuning. The Nittany Lions were always going to need to replace last years’ starting outside hitters, Jess Mruzik and Camryn Hannah. But then last years’ starting setter and National Freshmen of the Year Izzy Starck determined she needed to take a break from volleyball for her mental health, and the whole season changed in its’ trajectory.
Penn State was a few matches into their season when the Starck decision occurred, and from that point on they have had to regroup with their back up setter, Addie Lyon. She is a 5’9” graduate student who transferred from St. Louis. Opposing teams, including Nebraska, will take advantage of her smaller size when she is in the front row. They will do that by hitting off her hands and at other times over her. If that is her weakness, then her strength is that she has a smooth connection with one of the most lethal arms in college volleyball, Kennedy Martin.
Martin is a 6’6” junior transfer from Florida. She plays on the right side of the court and stays in the match all the time. Martin receives about 35% of the sets for Penn State and earns about 40% of their kills until it comes down to the wire, then she receives almost every set. In Penn State’s most recent match, in which they lost in four close sets to UCLA, Martin was set 65 times and earned 29 kills to hit over .400. She is the biggest, most important threat for PSU. Nebraska must slow her down.
Typically serving tough will reduce a team’s offensive threat but with Martin, simply throwing the ball up in the air allows her to swing away. Anything short of an ace is still a danger for Martin to attack and terminate the ball. Nebraska will certainly serve strategically but that won’t be enough to slow Martin. She is just that good.
Penn State has three players probable for outside hitting time, Emmi Sellman, Caroline Jurevicius and Alexis Ewing. Sellman is a 6’4” sophomore transfer from Ohio State. She is second on the team in attack attempts and hits an excellent deep corner shot. Jurevicius is a 6’2” red shirt sophomore who transferred from Nebraska two years ago. She moved to the outside hitter position when Martin moved to Happy Valley this summer and hits the ball hard but not yet with the skill that left side hitters need. She doesn’t have enough shots to be effective all the time. She gets subbed out for Ewing, a 6’4” freshmen.
None of the outside hitters pass well so they are the strategic target for Nebraska servers. Penn State knows their passing skill, so they push the outside hitters to the very edge of the passing formation. Libero, Gillian Grimes, and defensive specialist, Ava Falduto, pass 90% of the court and leave the 10% sliver for the outside hitter who is in the backrow at the time. Servers risk serving out of bounds to the sideline when attacking that 10%.
Blocking and floor defense are essential to chip away at the Martin attacks. At 6’6”, Martin will be the tallest player on the court. But Nebraska will counter with some height of their own, the primary blockers in front of Martin being 6’3” Andi Jackson, 6’4” Rebekah Allick, 6’5” Taylor Landfair and 6’2” Harper Murray.
Along with their height, they must focus their hands pressing towards the point of attack so they can defend space. Doing this, they take away a whole pie piece of the court where Martin can’t hit. That allows the floor defense to play around the dead space created by the block.
Floor defense gets to that space just to the outside of the block and prepares to dig a ball hit with high velocity from Martin but then must also react to run forward when she tips over the block. This is the way defense works all the time in volleyball, but it must be executed at a very high level when playing someone as skilled as Martin. She can carve teams up with her shots.
Nebraska will have an advantage in the middle of the court. The two outstanding Husker middles, Allick and Jackson will carry a big defensive load in blocking but also must produce offensively. Across the net, Maggie Mendelson is a 6’5” senior who transferred from Nebraska two years ago. She is an offensive threat as well as a good blocker.
The second middle for Penn State will alternate between Jordan Hopp from Alliance, Nebraska and Gabrielle Nichols a 6’2” freshmen. When one of the second middles is front row, Nebraska has a clear advantage and whichever Husker middle is front row will capitalize on more hitting attempts.
The intense desire to win is the X factor in the gym this Friday night. These two teams always want to win but the intensity in which they feel it in this moment and in this competition should not be minimized. They will go for it in any way possible if it means scoring the point for their team. Check your pulse one more time as match time draws nearer, elevated? Yes, mine too.
#1 Nebraska Cornhuskers (12-0)
#1 Keri Leimbach 5’4” FR DS/L
#2 Bergen Reilly 6’1” JR Setter
#3 Allie Sczech 6’4” SR OPP
#4 Campbell Flynn 6’3” FR Setter
#5 Rebekah Allick 6’4” SR MB
#6 Laney Choboy 5’3” JR DS/L
#7 Maisie Boesiger 5’6” SR DS/L
#8 Kenna Cogill 6’4” FR MB
#9 Virginia Adriano 6’5” FR OPP
#10 Olivia Mauch 5’6” SO DS/L
#11 Teraya Sigler 6’3” FR OH
#12 Taylor Landfair 6’5” SR OH
#14 Manaia Ogbechie 6’3” FR MB
#15 Andi Jackson 6’3” JR MB
#18 Ryan Hunter 6’2” FR OPP
#21 Skyler Pierce 6’2” RS-FR OH
#27 Harper Murray 6’2” JR OH
#16 Penn State University (7-5, 1-1)
#2 Ava Falduto 5’7” SO DS/L
#3 Gillian Grimes 5’6” SR DS/L
#4 Karis Willow 6’4” JR OH
#5 Jordan Hopp 6’2” GR MB
#6 Kate Lally 5’9” RS-SO DS
#7 Addie Lyon 5’9” GR Setter
#8 Gabrielle Nichols 6’2” FR MB
#9 Lexi Gin 5’6” FR DS
#10 Ava Jurevicius 5’9” FR DS
#11 Jocelyn Nathan 5’6” JR DS
#13 Emmi Sellman 6’4” SO OH
#14 Caroline Jurevicius 6’2” RS-SO OH
#15 Marin Collins 6’3” FR OH
#18 Kennedy Martin 6’6” JR RS
#23 Catherine Burke 6’3” RS-SO MB
#27 Alexis Ewing 6’4” FR OH
#44 Maggie Mendelson 6’5” SR MB
