No. 13 Penn State women's volleyball had an in-state rivalry matchup against No. 5 Pittsburgh on Wednesday night. The Nittany Lions (4-4) were seeking a third consecutive win, but couldn't push the match to five and fell 3-1 to the Panthers (8-3).
The game was more than a heated in-state battle historically, it was a contest between two of the best players in the country: Penn State right side hitter Kennedy Martin and Pittsburgh right side hitter Olivia Babcock. Martin was a First-Team All-American in 2024 and Babcock was honored as the AVCA National Player of the Year last season. Going head-to-head, it was more than who tallied the most kills. It was up to what front row and back row defense responded better to the star athletes, and which team played smarter overall.
Both players led their respective teams. Martin finished with a .340 kill percentage with 16 kills and nine errors. Babcock recorded a .410 kill percentage with the same number of kills, but with one less error on fewer attempts.
Olivia Babcock outperformed Kennedy Martin in back row defense
The star Panther hitter adapts within the game, which is what made her such a challenging opponent to play against. For the Nittany Lions, figuring out how to block her attacks, answer kills with some of their own, and get around her blocks up at the net are only pieces of the puzzle. While crucial to figure that out, stabilizing back row defense and outperforming all-around players is a completely different task.
Head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley attempted to do so, putting four players back in serve-receive at times to answer tough Pittsburgh serves. Outside hitter Caroline Jurevicius also came out of the game after the Panthers exploited her on defense and stuffed her attacks consistently.
However, the Nittany Lions can't pull their star.
Taking Martin out of the game wasn't the answer regardless. Her defense wasn't anything jarring, but it was definitely weak in comparison to Babcock on the other side of the net. At six-foot-six-inches, the Florida transfer as a huge reach when blocking or attacking, but it's difficult to respond quickly and get digs up for setter Addie Lyon.
Martin had five digs on the night while the reigning National Player of the Year finished with 13. Though Martin outperformed her up at the net blocking, four to two, Babcock was all over the back row and answered the Nittany Lion's explosive attacks without Martin answering on defense in return.
Emmi Sellman lit up the Nittany Lion offense, but Pittsburgh utilized hitters more to its advantage
Martin and Babcock weren't going to win it all themselves either way. Penn State found a spark in outside hitter Emmi Sellman and occasionally middle blocker Maggie Mendelson on overpass gifts from the Panthers.
Sellman went on a a three-point scoring run in the second set when she came alive. She exploited a late block on the Panthers' side and found a deep corner in the back row to tally a kill and tie the score, 9-9. The outside hitter then stuffed Blaire Bayless' attack, giving the Nittany Lions a one-point lead. Extending it further, Pittsburgh couldn't contain libero Gillian Grimes' difficult serve and sent an overpass over that Sellman easily turned into a Penn State point.
Serve-receive was critical for both teams. Those overpasses were lethal, and though Sellman got the point on that one, it all started at the service line. Both teams went in with the intention of sending over tough serves, whether it was deep floats, tape hits, or explosive slices straight into the floor of the court. Grimes and Kennedy sent fiery serves over, but Ava Falduto also flashed at the service line and forced Pittsburgh to get out-of-system.
Even exploiting the Panthers libero was possible, but Pittsburgh answered with tough serves of its own. Babcock had three aces, but that wasn't indicative of how challenging it was for the Nittany Lions to receive when she was back at the service line. Siding out and getting the ball back as soon as possible was critical with the pressure she put on them.
Penn State stays home for its next match. First serve against Princeton is slated for 7 p.m. ET and the game can be watched on Big Ten+.