Penn State was in the Lone Star State on Friday, taking on South Florida in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The teams met in Austin at the Gregory Gymnasium, home of the Texas Longhorns women’s volleyball team.
This wasn’t the first time the Nittany Lions and the Bulls have met; however, it was their first time in tournament play, but the blue and white have a 3-0 record over USF.
Penn State took out the Bulls 3-1 after a tight match with challenges and back-and-forth play to thank for that.
Middle blocker Maggie Mendelson opened up the scoring for the Nittany Lions, and right-side hitter Kennedy Martin went up over the net to make it two.
Outside hitter Maria Clara Andrade got the Bulls their first point of the night and USF’s first point in NCAA tournament play since its last appearance in 2003.
USF kept good coverage in the first set to keep the Nittany Lions at a distance, as well as landing kill after kill, which put it ahead of the Nittany Lions 15-10 halfway through the first set.
The blue and white came back with a crucial ace by libero Gillian Grimes, and Martin sent kills through USF’s defense, which tied the Nittany Lions 16-16. Setter Addie Lyon backed up Grimes and made good digs that kept the ball in play, which allowed the Nittany Lions to get to set point and take the first set 25-23.
Andrade kept the Nittany Lions on their toes, and she was there to give the blue and white a back-and-forth first set.
The second set started off strong for USF with outside hitter Addy Brus adding two kills to the Bulls’ score, both landing in the center of the Nittany Lions’ side of the court. Middle blocker Iyanna Garvin continued to get up over the net, as well, and Laila Ivey delivered a housed block, which shut down Penn State and kept a lead.
A crucial point that would close the gap between USF and Penn State was called a service error on Brus, but after it was challenged by the Bulls, the point was given to them as an ace. This put USF 15-10 halfway through the second set.
The Bulls reached set point 24-12 and took the second set 25-12.
The third set saw the blue and white take control by capitalizing on USF’s errors, getting it ahead of the Bulls. Outside hitter Caroline Jurevicius had a strong kill that gave the Nittany Lions some wiggle room, but that was closed by Ivey with a kill of her own.
Lyon kept racking up assists and setting up her offense for multiple kills to keep up with USF, which led halfway through the third set 16-14.
The Nittany Lions tied with the Bulls, 18-18, after an attack error by Brus. The point was challenged by USF, but the call remained the same after further review.
Penn State reached set point after the point was challenged by USF. Penn State took the third set 25-21.
Penn State continued its string of errors early in the fourth set, which the Bulls used to get a lead early on. Outside hitter Emmi Sellman delivered an important ace that closed a previously narrow gap between the Nittany Lions and the Bulls, and a kill by Jurevicius as well as an attack error by Andrade, tied the teams 10-10.
Penn State advanced to match point after it pulled away late in the fourth set, and took the fourth set 25-19, winning the match and moving on in the NCAA tournament.
Up next
Penn State will face the winner of No. 1-seed Texas and Florida A&M at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Austin, Texas.
MORE VOLLEYBALL COVERAGE

No. 25 Penn State closed their regular season with a 3-1 win on the road, against Iowa last …









