Women’s Volleyball (2-2)
The No. 5 women’s volleyball team had a rough showing in Pittsburgh, falling to Arizona State in four sets and TCU in five sets. Kennedy Martin carried Penn State’s offense against the Sun Devils, recording 23 kills on .312 hitting percentage. The Nittany Lions were plagued by 27 attacking errors in the loss.
Penn State dropped the first two sets against TCU before fighting back in the third and fourth sets to force a fifth. The Nittany Lions held TCU to just two kills in the fifth set, but ten attacking
errors in the set allowed the Horned Frogs to put Penn State away. Kennedy Martin had 21 kills, the only Nittany Lion to have more than 10.
Penn State returns home to the friendly confines of Rec Hall for a collision with Kentucky tomorrow (8pm on FOX), followed by matches against New Hampshire on Sunday (2pm on Big Ten Plus) and against Bucknell on Tuesday (7pm).
Women’s Soccer (3-1-1)
The No. 9 women’s soccer team shut out Santa Clara 2-0 last Thursday before tying with James Madison 1-1 on Sunday. Aubrey Kulpa continued her meteoric rise in her sophomore campaign with her fourth and fifth goals of the season against Santa Clara. Penn State’s defense held the Broncos without a shot on goal in the game.
Bella Ayscue scored Penn State’s only goal of the game against James Madison shortly before halftime. The Dukes came back to tie the game in the second half, and the Nittany Lions could not find a tie-breaking goal.
Penn State travels to Charlottesville for a top-10 tilt with No. 8 Virginia tonight (6pm on ACC Network) before traveling to Lynchburg to take on Liberty on Sunday (1pm on ESPN+).
Men’s Soccer (1-2-1)
Men’s soccer tied with Syracuse 1-1 last Thursday before falling to No. 23 Missouri State 3-1 at home on Monday. Freddie Bell scored late in the first half against Syracuse to tie the game at 1. In the second half, Jonathan Evans made two spectacular saves, including one in the dying seconds, to secure a tie for the Nittany Lions.
Malick Daouda put Penn State on the board first against Missouri State, but the Bears tied the game before halftime. Missouri State controlled the second half and scored on all of its shots on target in the second half to seal a 3-1 victory over the Nittany Lions.
Penn State will host Marshall tomorrow (7pm on Big Ten Plus).
Field Hockey (0-1)
The No. 18 field hockey team fought hard but fell to No. 3 Virginia 5-1 in its season opener. The Cavaliers started hot, taking a 2-0 lead into the second period. Penn State managed to slow the game down in the second, with Natalie Freeman scoring the team’s only goal of the game. The Nittany Lions stayed within striking distance early in the second half, but Virginia pulled away with three unanswered goals to seal a 5-1 win.
Penn State returns home to take on Delaware tomorrow (5pm on Big Ten Plus) and Saint Joseph’s on Sunday (noon on Big Ten Plus).
