Penn State volleyball opens Big Ten play with top 10 road matchup

Penn State volleyball is off to a terrific start this season after finishing non-conference play with a 10-1 record. Starting the year ranked No. 7, the Nittany Lions have ascended to No. 4 nationally, earning quality wins over No. 5 Louisville, No. 12 Kentucky, and No. 20 Tennessee and only falling at No. 1 Pitt.

Now, head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley will focus her team’s attention to the Big Ten schedule, a league that has always been extremely competitive. Penn State will open the 2024 Big Ten slate with a trip to No. 10 Purdue on Wednesday evening. The Boilermakers are coming off a successful 2023 season that saw them earn a No. 3 seed and advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Purdue is off to another fast start in 2024 with a 9-2 record with a win over No. 12 Kentucky and their only losses to No. 6 Creighton and No. 9 Kansas.

Both Penn State and Purdue look to be two of the five contenders for the conference title in 2024, along with Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Oregon. A win for either side will go a long way in both the conference standings and strengthen the team’s RPI, the main metric used to seed the NCAA Tournament.

Penn State volleyball’s hot start led by instant impact freshmen

© Chris Eutsler / Basic Blues Nation, 2024.

There was an expectation that Penn State volleyball would improve this year thanks to its two top five nationally ranked freshman, Izzy Starck (ranked No. 1) and Ava Falduto (No. 5).

Starck has been as advertised, proving to be a dominant setter and is averaging a 10.68 assists per set, good for No. 15 in the nation. Her standout entrance to the college game all comes while playing against multiple ranked opponents to start the season.

Falduto has been excellent at the service line and already has 11 aces on the season, good for a .35 service aces per set and second on the team. More impressive is her 2.24 digs per set, also second on the team behind only libero Gillian Grimes.

Both freshmen will need to continue their fast start as the team enters the very competitive Big Ten schedule. If they do then the Nittany Lions could continue their ascent and become a serious National Championship contender in 2024-25.

Penn State volleyball will take on Purdue from West Lafayette, Indiana, at 7 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

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