National champions Penn State volleyball return to action vs in-state rival

A little over four months after hoisting a trophy in Louisville, Penn State volleyball returns to action this week against an in-state foe. The reigning national champion Nittany Lions will host Pitt inside Rec Hall on Wednesday evening.

Penn State has been riding high since capturing the program’s eighth title in December. The Nittany Lions went 35-2 in 2024, with one of those two losses coming to the Panthers in September. Ranked No. 3 at the time, Penn State suffered its first loss of the year on the road to then-No. 1 Pitt 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-18).

The Panthers also finished as one of the top teams in the country last year, going 33-2 before falling to Louisville in the National Semifinal. The two in-state rivals faced off in a pair of scrimmages last spring, with each program earning the win on their home court.

Penn State volleyball setter Izzy Starck. © Chris Eutsler / Basic Blues Nation, 2024.

In February, Penn State signed head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley to a contract extension that will keep her in Happy Valley through 2030. Schumacher-Cawley became the first female head coach to win an NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship. She also helped the program win its first national title as a player in 1999.

Penn State volleyball returns AVCA National Freshman of the Year Izzy Starck, as well as Big Ten All-Freshman team recipient Caroline Jurevicius and second-team All-Big Ten honoree Gillian Grimes.

The match begins at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Admission to Rec Hall is free, and the match will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

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