UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Taylor Trammell had a great night, reaching 500 career blocks while helping No. 3 Penn State defeat visiting Maryland 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-16) in the Big Ten Women’s Volleyball action on Thursday evening to defeat the leisure hall.

Penn State improved to 13-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten, while Maryland fell to 9-5 overall and 0-3 in the conference. The Nittany Lions won their 12th^Thgame in a row at Rec Hall and their ninth straight game in the Big Ten regular season.

Trammell hit .562 with 10 kills and eight blocks. Her fifth block of the match came in the third set, giving her 500 points for her career. It came on a night where she also scored her first career ace.

Jess Mruzik recorded her second double-double of the season, hitting .312 with 17 kills, 14 digs and three aces. Izzy Starck recorded her fifth double-double of the season, finishing the game with 39 assists, 12 digs and six blocks. Gillian Grimes barely managed to give Penn State three players with double-doubles, totaling 16 digs, nine assists and three aces.

Camryn Hannah joined Mruzik in double figures with 15 kills. Maggie Mendelson added nine kills and four blocks.

Maryland was led by Samantha Schnitta with 19 kills on .318 hitting and three aces. The Terrapins entered the game leading the Big Ten in aces/set, but lost the battle to Penn State with six compared to the Nittany Lions with nine.

Sentence 1
Penn State hit just .053 in the first set in a 25-22 loss. Despite a six-block performance for the Nittany Lions, Schnitta’s seven kills were too many to overcome. Penn State trailed 22-18 but used a 3-0 run to get within 22-21. The Terrapins countered with a 3-0 run and later clinched the set on an attack error by Penn State.

Sentence 2
Penn State earned the 25-20 victory behind five kills from Mruzik and four from Hannah. Starck provided a total of 10 assists and sealed the set for the Nittany Lions with a solo block. There were six lead changes early on before Penn State used a 4-0 run to take a 15-12 lead and never trail again.

Sentence 3
Trammell totaled four kills on .667 hitting and led Penn State to a 25-23 win in the third set. The Terrapins led 20-17 before Penn State went on a 5-0 run to take a 22-20 lead. Hannah had two kills during the run while Grimes had an ace. Trammell scored Penn State’s 22^nd23^approx and 24^Th Score with kills. The set ended with a Maryland serve error.

Sentence 4
Penn State won the fourth set 25-16, powered by three kills on three swings from Mendelson. Starck added another 12 assists while Mruzik and Hannah combined for eight kills. Hannah ended the set with a kill to match point. The Nittany Lions never trailed in the set.

Career highlights
Gillian Grimes – Assists (9)
Taylor Trammell – Aces (1)

Next
No. 3 Penn State hosts No. 11 Oregon on Friday at 7 p.m. The Ducks have won 11 straight games after opening the season with a loss to Pitt, including a win over Ohio State on Thursday.