Fall sports update: Women’s volleyball wins again

Women’s volleyball (22-1)

In their only game of the week, the No. 3 women’s volleyball team defeated Iowa 3-1 on Friday night. Jess Mruzik and Camryn Hannah led the offense with 15 kills each. Gillian Grimes was sensational, recording a career-best 16 digs and four aces. The Nittany Lions have never lost to Iowa in women’s volleyball.

Penn State will hit the road this weekend for games against Northwestern on Friday (7 p.m. on Big Ten Plus) and Wisconsin on Saturday (3:30 p.m. on NBC).

Women’s soccer (12-6-3)

The women’s soccer team reached the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament with a 1-0 win over Minnesota before falling 1-0 to UCLA in the quarterfinals. Mieke Scheimann scored the decisive goal against Minnesota in the 88th minute from a free kick.

Penn State will await its fate in the NCAA Tournament at-large pool. The Nittany Lions are almost certain to make the tournament, but they won’t know who they’ll play until Monday’s selection show.

Women’s hockey (9-3)

The No. 12 women’s hockey team defeated Syracuse with a 3-2 overtime win in Game 1 and a 5-2 win in Game 2. Penn State largely outplayed the Orange in Game 1, but strong goaltending from Allie Syracuse’s Kelley took the game to OT. Brianna Brooks was the hero of overtime with her fourth goal of the season. In Game 2, the Nittany Lions never trailed, outscoring Syracuse 35-18. Maddy Christian scored two power play goals for Penn State in the win.

Just like the men’s team, Penn State will be idle this weekend.

Men’s soccer (5-9-2)

The men’s soccer team ended a dismal 2024 season with a 4-1 loss to Northwestern. It was a tough battle all day for the Nittany Lions as the Wildcats took a 2-0 lead at halftime and added a third goal before Penn State’s Malick Daouda scored the only goal of the game for the Lions. The Wildcats scored four goals on five shots on goal.

Field hockey (8-9)

The field hockey team also ended the 2024 season with a 4-2 home loss to Maryland. Phia Gladieux ended her remarkable Penn State career with a goal in the second period. The game was tied at halftime, but the Terrapins broke through with three straight goals in the third period to defeat Penn State 15-8 in the game.