Penn State Sports Magazine
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D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 6 51 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M save percentage and a 1.62 goals-against average. "She's going to get better and better," Kampersal said of the St. Charles, Mo., native, who had 44 saves in her PSU debut against Ohio State. The Lions have also been buoyed by their returnees. Junior alternate captain Abby Stonehouse had totaled 14 points on 7 goals and 7 assists in 10 appear- ances, including her first collegiate hat trick in a 6-0 victory over RIT on Oct. 31. She was the AHA's Forward of the Month for September and October. Outwater has also been an offensive force with a team-high 8 goals. The season's next stretch will offer more evidence of how far this group can go. PSU visits Mercyhurst Nov. 13-14 before host- ing Delaware Nov. 19-20. Thanksgiving weekend brings neutral-site games versus Boston College and Minnesota. Penn State had been living danger- ously prior to the trip to Mercyhurst, often falling behind before rallying late. The Nittany Lions showed plenty of re- silience in those games, but it's certainly no way to mount another NCAA Tour- nament run. "We're better when we're down right now," Kampersal told Onward State. "We need to start out with that sort of back-against-the-wall mentality." ■ WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL: No. 11 Penn State rallied past No. 7 Wis- consin in five sets Nov. 8, winning the decisive fifth set 15-11 for its seventh consecutive victory. Senior right-side hitter Kennedy Martin delivered 28 kills and 12 digs, while redshirt senior setter Alexis Stucky contributed 55 assists in the road win. The Nittany Lions im- proved to 19-5 overall and 11-3 in the Big Ten. In the weeks leading up to the showdown in Madison, Penn State earned four-set victories over four ranked opponents — No. 10 Or- egon, No. 18 Indiana, No. 11 Purdue and No. 19 Minnesota — along with a 3-1 win against unranked Ohio State. Through 24 matches, Martin was leading PSU with 415 kills, while Stucky had amassed 893 assists and sopho- more middle blocker Gabrielle Nichols had 111 blocks. MEN'S ICE HOCKEY: Penn State fell to 2-7-1 overall and 0-3-1 in Big Ten play after Notre Dame swept the teams' Nov. 6-7 series at Pegula Ice Arena, win- ning 5-4 in overtime and 4-2. The Nit- tany Lions had opened their conference campaign the previous week against No. 18 Minnesota. The visiting Lions earned a shootout victory following a 1-1 tie in the series opener Oct. 30 be- fore dropping a 4-3 decision in overtime the next night. Sophomores Justin Poirier and Jack- son Smith shared the season scoring lead with 13 points apiece through 10 games. Poirier led with 5 goals and car- ried a seven-game point streak through Nov. 7; Smith was pacing PSU with 10 assists. MEN'S SOCCER: Penn State closed its first season under coach Rob Dow with a 2-0 loss at No. 11 Maryland on Nov. 4, finishing 3-9-3 overall and 0-7-3 in Big Ten play. Sopho- more goalkeeper Justin Ross made a career-high 7 saves in the finale. The Nittany Lions had tied No. 13 Wisconsin 2-2 on Oct. 24 before beating Duquesne 3-1 on senior day Oct. 28. Junior Etienne Reck, sophomore Joe Buckley and graduate student Grant McIntosh scored against the Dukes. Reck finished the season as Penn State's leader in goals (4) and points (9). WOMEN'S SOCCER: A 2-1 victory at No. 5 Michigan State Oct. 22 highlighted Penn State's late-season surge. Junior forward Aubrey Kulpa assisted senior Paige Kalal's opening goal, then scored the win- ner less than two minutes into the second half. The Lions followed with a 2-2 draw at No. 24 Michigan three days later and a 4-0 victory over Indiana on Oct. 30 at Jeffrey Field. At the Big Ten Tournament in St. Louis, the 21st-ranked Lions fell to No. 16 Purdue 2-1 in overtime, in the quarterfinal round. Kalal scored PSU's lone goal, giving her 7 for the season along with a team-best 6 assists. Kulpa was leading the team with 8 goals and 21 points. PSU stood at 9-4-5 overall and 7-2-3 in con- ference play while awaiting its draw in the NCAA Tournament. The field was set to be an- nounced Nov. 16. FIELD HOCKEY: Penn State stunned No. 1 Northwestern 2-0 on Oct. 30, closing the regular season with its signature victory under first-year coach Hannah Prince. Sophomore Cooper Cutchins broke a scoreless tie in the third quarter, while freshman Lilly Holmes added an insurance goal. Junior goalkeeper Aby Deverka made 7 saves to secure the upset, which ended Northwestern's 35-game Big Ten regular-season winning streak. The Lions fell 2-1 to No. 10 Iowa in the Big Ten quarterfinals Nov. 4 in Columbus, Ohio. They ended their season at 12-6 overall and 6-2 in conference play. Junior Ella Gaitan led PSU with 11 goals and 24 points, while gradu- ate student Sienna Dunn had a team-best 14 assists. CROSS COUNTRY: The Penn State women placed third and the men tied for eighth at the Big Ten Championships Oct. 30 in Madi- son, Wis. The women scored 92 points, just two behind runner-up Northwestern. Graduate student Katie Dallas led PSU in 12th place, covering 6 kilometers in a personal-best 20:09.7. Senior Claire Zubey finished 16th and graduate student Charlotte Costich took 18th, join- ing Dallas on the All-Big Ten second team. Senior Nick Sloff placed 18th to earn second-team all-conference honors for the men, who tied Illinois with 271 points. — Matt Herb O L Y M P I C S P O R T S N O T E B O O K Goalkeeper Aby Deverka was at the center of the celebration after making 7 saves to help the Nittany Lions shut out No. 1 Northwestern, 2-0, on Oct. 30 at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS