The 2024 Penn State Nittany Lions women's volleyball team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 2024 NCAA Division I women's volleyball season. The Penn State Nittany Lions women's volleyball team was led by 3rd-year head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley. They are members of the Big Ten Conference and play their home games at Rec Hall.

Season recap In 2024, Schumacher-Cawley led the team to its best season in seven years, going 29–2 in regular season play and won a share of the Big Ten title after defeating Nebraska in its final conference match. It was the program's 18th Big Ten title overall, and first since 2017. She was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for her efforts. She also coached several players who were recognized with conference awards: Izzy Starck (Freshman of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten, All-Freshman Team), Jess Mruzik (Unanimous First Team All-Big Ten), Camryn Hannah (First Team), Taylor Trammel (First Team), Gillian Grimes (Second Team), Caroline Jurevicius (All-Freshman Team), and Ava Falduto (Sportsmanship Award).

Penn State won its 8th NCAA national championship, after defeating Delaware State, North Carolina, Marquette, Creighton, Nebraska, and Louisville. It was the program's 11th championship appearance in program history, and first since their last win in 2014.

Offseason Outgoing departures Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Reason for departure Maddy Bilinovic 2 L 5'7" Senior Independence, OH Graduated Mac Podraza 5 S 6'2" Graduate Sunbury, OH Graduated Macy Van Den Elzen 7 MB 6'3" Senior Macungie, PA Graduated Cassie Kuerschen 12 L/DS 5'9" Junior Mansfield, TX Graduated Ally Van Eekeren 13 S 6'0" Graduate Naperville, IL Graduated Lina Perugini 15 DS 5'7" Graduate Bethlehem, PA Graduated Zoe Weatherington 17 RS 6'2" Graduate Charlotte, NC Graduated Allie Holland 20 MB 6'3" Senior Hilliard, OH Graduated

Outgoing transfers

The 2024 team did not have any pure outgoing transfers. Senior middle blocker Allie Holland and senior libero Maddy Bilinovic both graduated from Penn State and opted to play their fifth year of eligibility (granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 Pandemic) at College of Charleston and Creighton, respectively.

Incoming transfers Name Pos. Height Year Hometown Previous Team Source Jordan Hopp MB 6'2” Graduate Alliance, NE Iowa State Caroline Jurevicius OH/RS 6'2” Redshirt Freshman Cleveland, OH Nebraska Maggie Mendelson MB 6'5” Junior Ogden, UT Nebraska

Incoming recruits 2024 Penn State RecruitsName Pos. Height Hometown High School Ava Falduto L/DS 5'7" Elmhurst, IL IC Catholic Prep Izzy Starck S 6'1" Viera, FL Viera High School

Roster  Libero/Defensive Specialists 2 Ava Falduto – Freshman 3 Gillian Grimes – Junior 6 Kate Lally – Sophomore 11 Jocelyn Nathan – Sophomore

Setters 21 Izzy Starck - Freshman 24 Quinn Menger – Senior (also listed as a defensive specialist) Middle Blockers 1 Taylor Trammell - Senior 5 Jordan Hopp – Senior 23 Catherine Burke – Sophomore 44 Maggie Mendelson – Junior Outside Hitters 4 Karis Willow – Sophomore 8 Camryn Hannah – Senior 9 Jess Mruzik – Senior 10 Anjelina Starck – Senior

Opposite Hitters 8 Caroline Jurevicius – Redshirt Freshman 19 Alexa Markley – Junior

Coaches

Katie Schumacher-Cawley – head coach – 3rd year Brian Toron – assistant coach – 3rd year Megan Hodge Easy – assistant coach – 2nd year Michael Henchy – assistant coach – 1st year Tina Readling – director of operations Sydnie Mabry – performance analyst

Support staff

Scott Campbell – assistant athletic trainer Matt Dorn – assistant director of athletic performance

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankArenaCity(Tournament)TelevisionScoreAttendanceRecord(Big Ten Record) Regular Season August 306:00 p.m. at #15 Tennessee #7 Food City CenterKnoxville, TN ESPNU W 3–1(22–25, 25–16, 25–15, 25–20) 6,193 1–0 September 15:30 p.m. at Temple #7 McGonigle HallPhiladelphia, PA ESPN+ W 3–0(25–16, 25–17, 25–15) 583 2–0 September 37:30 p.m. vs. #4 Louisville #7 Rec HallUniversity Park, PA BTN W 3–0(25–15, 25–19, 25–13) 3,865 3–0 September 67:00 p.m. at #9 Kentucky #7 Memorial Coliseum(Kentucky Invitational)Lexington, KY SECN W 3–2(19–25, 23–25, 26–24, 25–22, 15–8) 3,355 4–0 September 75:00 p.m. vs. Ball State #7 Memorial Coliseum (Kentucky Invitational)Lexington, KY Not televised W 3–0(25–22, 25–21, 25–21) 145 5–0 September 138:30 p.m. vs. Duke #3 Rec Hall(Penn State Invitational)University Park, PA FS1 W 3–0(25–9, 25–15, 25–15) 3,152 6–0 September 1410:30 a.m. vs. Princeton #3 Rec Hall(Penn State Invitational)University Park, PA BIG+ W 3–0(25–15, 25–16, 25–21) 2,827 7–0 September 146:30 p.m. vs. St. John's #3 Rec Hall(Penn State Invitational)University Park, PA BIG+ W 3–0(25–19, 25–22, 25–15) 2,827 8–0 September 187:00 p.m. at #1 Pittsburgh #3 Petersen Events CenterPittsburgh, PA ACCN L 0–3(15–25, 19–25, 18–25) 11,800 8–1 September 206:00 p.m. vs. James Madison #3 Rec Hall(Penn State Classic)University Park, PA BIG+ W 3–0(25–20, 25–20, 25–19) 2,408 9–1 September 222:00 p.m. vs. Yale #3 Rec Hall(Penn State Classic)University Park, PA BIG+ W 3–1(25–18, 25–16, 23–25, 25–13) 2,178 10–1 September 257:00 p.m. at #10 Purdue* #4 Holloway GymnasiumWest Lafayette, IN BTN W 3–0(25–14, 25–21, 25–20) 2,415 11–1(1–0) September 292:00 p.m. vs. Michigan State* #4 Rec HallUniversity Park, PA BIG+ W 3–1(23–25, 25–17, 25–21, 25–23) 2,605 12–1(2–0) October 36:00 p.m. vs. Maryland* #3 Rec HallUniversity Park, PA BTN W 3–1(22–25, 25–20, 25–23, 25–16) 2,209 13–1(3–0) October 47:00 p.m. vs. #11 Oregon* #3 Rec HallUniversity Park, PA BTN W 3–0(25–19, 25–19, 25–17) 4,606 14–1(4–0) October 116:00 p.m. at Michigan State* #3 Breslin CenterEast Lansing, MI BIG+ W 3–0(25–16, 25–22, 25–16) 4,170 15–1(5–0) October 131:00 p.m. at Indiana* #3 Wilkinson HallBloomington, IN BIG+ W 3–1(22–25, 25–22, 32–30, 25–22) 1,813 16–1(6–0) October 188:00 p.m. at Ohio State* #3 Covelli CenterColumbus, OH BTN W 3–2(20–25, 25–23, 25–16, 18–25, 16–14) 3,436 17–1(7–0) October 202:00 p.m. vs. #14 Minnesota* #3 Rec HallUniversity Park, PA BIG+ W 3–0(25–16, 25–20, 25–14) 4,316 18–1(8–0) October 249:00 p.m. at UCLA* #3 Pauley PavilionLos Angeles, CA BTN W 3–2(25–21, 19–25, 25–15, 19–25, 15–9) 721 19–1(9–0) October 2611:00 p.m. at #16 Southern California* #3 Galen CenterLos Angeles, CA BTN W 3–1(25–18, 20–25, 25–20, 32–30) 2,256 20–1(10–0) October 307:30 p.m. vs. Michigan* #3 Rec HallUniversity Park, PA BTN W 3–0(25–16, 25–15, 25–17) 2,320 21–1(11–0) November 16:30 p.m. vs. Iowa* #3 Rec HallUniversity Park, PA BIG+ W 3–1(25–19, 20–25, 25–17, 25–16) 3,215 22–1(12–0) November 87:00 p.m. at Northwestern* #3 Welsh-Ryan ArenaEvanston, IL BIG+ W 3–1(23–25, 25–18, 29–27, 25–21) 4,908 23–1(13–0) November 97:00 p.m. at #7 Wisconsin* #3 UW Field HouseMadison, WI NBC L 0–3(23–25, 12–25, 13–25) 7,229 23–2(13–1) November 157:00 p.m. vs. Illinois* #4 Rec HallUniversity Park, PA BIG+ W 3–0(25–23, 25–18, 25–21) 3,425 24–2(14–1) November 172:30 p.m. at Maryland* #4 Xfinity CenterCollege Park, MD BIG+ W 3–1(25–13, 22–25, 25–13, 25–15) 1,938 25–2(15–1) November 216:00 p.m. vs. #8 Purdue* #4 Rec HallUniversity Park, PA BTN W 3–0(25–20, 25–23, 25–16) 2,610 26–2(16–1) November 242:00 p.m. vs. Washington* #4 Rec HallUniversity Park, PA BIG+ W 3–1(27–29, 25–9, 25–22, 25–19) 3,200 27–2(17–1) November 277:00 p.m. at Rutgers* #4 Jersey Mike's Arena Piscataway, NJ BIG+ W 3–0(25–12, 25–22, 25–20) 3,128 28–2(18–1) November 295:00 p.m. vs. #2 Nebraska* #4 Rec HallUniversity Park, PA BTN/FOX W 3–1(25–21, 14–25, 25–22, 25–23) 6,597 29–2(19–1) December 67:30 p.m. vs. Delaware State #2 Rec HallUniversity Park, PA(NCAA First Round) ESPN+ W 3–0(25–4, 25–20, 25–18) 2,516 30–2 December 76:30 p.m. vs. #19 North Carolina #2 Rec HallUniversity Park, PA(NCAA Second Round) ESPN+ W 3–1(25–21, 25–18, 20–25, 25–15) 2,470 31–2 December 133:00 p.m. vs. Marquette #2 Rec HallUniversity Park, PA(NCAA Sweet 16) ESPN2/ESPN+ W 3–1(25–15, 25–21, 24–26, 25–20) 2,914 32–2 December 158:30 p.m. vs. #6 Creighton #2 Rec HallUniversity Park, PA(NCAA Elite 8) ESPN/ESPN+ W 3–2(25–15, 16–25, 22–25, 25–20, 15–7) 3,558 33–2 December 199:45 p.m. vs. #3 Nebraska #2 KFC Yum! CenterLouisville, KY(NCAA Final Four) ESPN/ESPN+ W 3–2(23–25, 18–25, 25–23, 28–26, 15–13) 21,726 34–2 December 223:00 p.m. at #4 Louisville #2 KFC Yum! CenterLouisville, KY(NCAA National Championship) ABC/ESPN3/ESPN+ W 3–1 (25–23, 32–34, 25–20, 25–17) 21,86035–2 * Indicates Conference Opponent, Times listed are Eastern Time Zone, Source*Total 2024 Attendance: 161,494

Awards and honors

National Honors National Awards & Honors Player Position Class Award Ref. Jess Mruzik OH Senior 1st Team All-American Izzy Starck S Freshman 2nd Team All-American Taylor Trammell MB Senior Honorable Mention All-American Camryn Hannah OH Senior Izzy Starck S Freshman AVCA National Freshman of the Year AVCA East Region Freshman of the Year Jess Mruzik OH Senior 1st Team All-East Region Camryn Hannah OH Senior Izzy Starck S Freshman Taylor Trammell MB Senior Alexa Markley RS Junior NCAA Elite 90 Award

Conference honors

Player awards Conference Awards Player Position Class Team/Award Ref. Izzy Starck S Freshman Freshman of the Year Jess Mruzik* OH Senior 1st Camryn Hannah OH Senior Izzy Starck S Freshman Taylor Trammell MB Senior Gillian Grimes L Junior 2nd Caroline Jurevicius RS Redshirt Freshman All-Freshman Team Izzy Starck* S Freshman Ava Falduto L/DS Freshman Sportsmanship Honoree *Indicates Unanimous Selection

Coach awards

Conference Awards Coach Position Award Ref. Katie Schumacher-Cawley Head coach Coach of the Year

References