The Penn State women’s volleyball team advanced to the national semifinal for the 14th time in program history after defeating second-seeded Creighton, 3-2, on Sunday night at Rec Hall in University Park.
The Nittany Lions reached the NCAA final four for the first time since 2017 with the 25-15, 16-25, 25-22, 20-25, 15-7 triumph.
Penn State (29-2), under the guidance of third-year coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, will now head to Louisville to meet Nebraska (29-2) on Thursday night. Pitt (29-1) and Louisville (25-5) will play at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the other semifinal. The second match will begin 30 minutes after that match. All four teams were the top seeds in their bracket.
Graduate outside hitter Jess Mruzik had 20 kills on 54 swings in addition to eight digs to lead the Nittany Lions. She earned the MVP award of the State College Regional. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Caroline Jurevicius added 11 kills on 24 attacks.
Freshman setter Izzy Stark posted a .226 hitting percentage with 41 assists, six kills and 11 digs. Junior libero Gillian Grimes offered 17 digs, while also contributing five assists and a service ace.