Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1540433
8 N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 5 OPENING SHOT KILLER INSTINCT Kennedy Martin (18), Addie Lyon (7) and their Penn State women's volleyball teammates were dominant in a sweep of seventh-ranked Wisconsin on Oct. 10 at Rec Hall. Martin, a junior right-side hitter, had 23 kills while hitting .474, helping the defending national champions pull off their most impressive win of the season to date. Martin had 10 kills in the first set alone, more than Wisconsin amassed as a team. The Nittany Lions took that set handily, 25-20, and followed with 25-21 and 25-16 victories to finish off the Badgers in a battle of perennial Big Ten powers. Penn State had gone into the match hav- ing lost two of its previous three outings. But as coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley told The Daily Collegian, her players were pre- pared to turn the page. "This conference is relentless," the Lions' fourth-year head coach said. "You have to flip it fast and put work in during the week to get better. I think they're doing the right things off the court that are helping them be successful." Wisconsin was playing without standout setter Charlie Fuerbringer, who suffered a shoulder injury against Michigan in early October. Fuerbringer's absence showed, with Wisconsin hitting .151 as a team. Penn State has had some upheaval of its own at the setter position. In September, sophomore All-American Izzy Starck an- nounced she was stepping away from the team for the rest of the year to focus on her mental health. In her absence, Penn State has turned to Lyon, a graduate trans- fer from Saint Louis. Against the Badgers, Lyon had 32 assists and 5 digs. The Lions also had a boisterous crowd of 5,311 supporting them in their clash with Wisconsin. Penn State's annual volleyball White Out is one of the signature events of the year, and the team's home-court advantage has been especially pronounced when the Badgers are in town. In 31 home matches against Wisconsin, Penn State has won 28. "Rec Hall is just a super special place, and it's really cool that people are here to show up for us," senior middle blocker Maggie Mendelson told The Collegian. "It says a lot about what Penn State is, not only as a vol- leyball program but as a school. Everybody supports us." — Matt Herb PHOTO BY BEN BURRELL/PENN STATE ATHLETICS