No. 5 Penn State Drops Home Opener to No. 4 Kentucky
Kennedy Martin reached double-digit kills for the 58th-consecutive match
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — No. 5 Penn State saw its Rec Hall winning streak come to an end Friday night with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-23) loss to No. 4 Kentucky in non-conference women’s volleyball action at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions fell to 2-3 overall, while the Wildcats improved to 2-1.
The night wasn’t all bad for the Nittany Lions. They celebrated the 2024 National Championship prior to the match with the raising of the program’s eighth championship banner. That ranks as the second-most national titles in the nation and the most of any Big Ten team.
Penn State received another big night from junior right side Kennedy Martin. She collected 18 kills, upping her double-digit streak to 58 consecutive matches. Caroline Jurevicius added seven kills, Maggie Mendelson and Emmi Sellman had five apiece, and Jordan Hopp chipped in with four.
Brooklyn DeLeye continued her excellent start to the season with her 19 kills, leading the Wildcats’ offensive attack. It marked her third-straight match with 18 or more kills, with 23 and 18 in both of the previous matches.
Set 1
Kentucky fought back against a late surge by Penn State to capture the first set, 25-21. Neither team could find a strong lead early in the action, with both sides trading points. That all changed when DeLeye rattled off three straight kills to generate a 4-0 scoring run to push the score to 18-15. DeLeye had an explosive first set with a total of nine kills and only one error. The Nittany Lions continued to fight back against the wave of momentum for the Wildcats with the combined 11 kills from Jurevicius and Martin, cutting the lead to 22-20. The efforts came a little too late and eventually led to the Wildcats capturing the first set with a kill from DeLeye.
Set 2
The Wildcats controlled the second set from start to finish, collecting a 25-16 win. They had two separate scoring runs of three or more points early on. The first came early in the second set to push the score to 8-4. After the Nittany Lions rallied to cut the lead down to two at 10-8, Kentucky immediately rallied with a 4-0 scoring run to push the score to 14-8. The Wildcats’ offense kept things rolling in the later part of the action, with the team hitting .516 in the set, and Penn State wasn’t able to recover.
Set 3
Kentucky came out on top in an exciting final set by a score of 25-22. The Wildcats had the initial momentum with a quick 3-0 scoring run to push the score to 5-3. The Nittany Lions responded with a 4-0 scoring run to grab a two-point lead of its own. Penn State led as late as 21-20 before Kentucky went on a 3-0 run. With the Wildcats leading 24-22, Martin stopped the first attempt at match point with a kill. The Wildcats followed with a kill by Hudson to end the match.
Up Next
Penn State hosts New Hampshire on Sunday at 2 p.m.