UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – For the 14th time in the history of the Penn State women’s volleyball program, the Nittany Lions advanced to the national semifinals of the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship with a 3-2 (25-15, 16-25, 25-22, 20). :25). , 15-7) wins over second-seeded and sixth-seeded Creighton to secure their ticket to Louisville.

Penn State competed in the NCAA Tournament regional final for the 21st time in NCAA Tournament history at Rec Hall on Sunday night and recorded its 14th victory in this round of the national postseason. The Blue and White also appeared in their 76th all-time national postseason game at Rec Hall and improved to 73-3 on those occasions. Sunday also marked Penn State’s first appearance in the NCAA Regional Finals under head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, who is in her third season as Penn State’s head coach. The regional final win over the Bluejays was the 10th overall NCAA Tournament game with Schumacher-Cawley as head coach, with PSU improving to 8-2 in the postseason during that time.

Senior outside hitter Jess Mruzik led the Nittany Lions in their victory in the national semifinals, recording 20 kills on 54 hits and eight digs in an all-around dominant individual performance. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Caroline Jurevicius was the only other Nittany Lion with double-digit kills in the kill column, recording 11 kills on 24 attacks.

Freshman setter Izzy Stark helped lead the Nittany Lions to a .226 hitting percentage while collecting 41 assists, six kills and 11 digs in a hard-fought regional final. Junior libero Gillian Grimes led the way on defense with a game-high 17 digs and also contributed five assists and a service ace on the offensive side.

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