While Penn State football was on its Week 8 bye, the rest of the athletic department tacked on much-needed wins and got well-deserved recognition.
The women's field hockey team got a boost in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll. The 10-4 (4-1 Big Ten) Nittany Lions first found their way into the Top 20 ranking at No. 19 and improved on that placement in Week 9, slotting in at No. 14. This is the highest ranking the team has ever had in the last 33 polls and Penn State also had the biggest jump in votes from Week 8 to Week 9 with 38 additional points.
Here's other news around Happy Valley you may have missed.
Penn State volleyball tallies two critical Big Ten wins over the weekend
Penn State women's volleyball is on a three-game win streak after defeating both No. 10 Oregon and No. 18 Indiana over the weekend.
Opposite hitter Kennedy Martin led the team, once again, in nearly every category. She had 21 kills and only three errors on 35 attack attempts for a 0.514 hitting percentage against Indiana. Martin also had nine digs, five block assists, and two aces. She finished the afternoon with 25.5 points in the 3-1 win.
In the 3-1 victory over Oregon, Martin had 25 kills and three errors on 51 attack attempts for a 0.431 hitting percentage. She tacked on seven digs and four block assists as well. She had four service errors, though, that night.
Defensive specialist Jocelyn Nathan had herself a weekend as well. She had the second-most digs against the Hoosiers (seven) and led the team with 11 digs against the Ducks. Her getting more involved and having a stronger presence in the back row has panned out well for Penn State rather than relying on libero Ava Falduto to pick up all the weight.
The Nittany Lions take on Ohio State next at Rec Hall for their Military Appreciation Night. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 29. The game can be watched on Big Ten Network.
Penn State hockey finally gets its first pair of wins on the 2026-27 season
Though the college hockey season is still young, Penn State men's hockey has been in a drought to start the year. After going 0-4 with losses to UConn, Sacred Heart, Quinnipiac, and Robert Morris, the Nittany Lions swept Canisius at home. They beat the Griffins 5-1 in Friday night's contest then followed it up with an overtime, 3-2, victory in the second matchup at Pegula Ice Arena.
In the first game, Penn State had three goal scorers: Forward Dane Dowiak, forward Andrew Kuzma, and defenseman Jackson Smith. Dowiak opened scoring for the Nittany Lions with assists from forwards Justin Larose and Justin Poirier and had the third goal for the blue and white as well, assisted by forward Lev Katzin and Smith. Kuzma netted the second and fourth Penn State goals with assists from forward Kale Dach and Smith, and defenseman Casey Aman and Dach, respectively. Smith finished his night with the final goal, assisted by forward Reese Laubach and Larose.
A few other names got involved in night two. Defenseman Mac Gadowsky opened scoring with assists from forwards Kaden Pitre and Marco Mignosa. Poirier sent the second puck into Canisius' net, assisted by defenseman Nolan Collins and Pitre. The Griffins had scored two goals in the second period, so Poirier's goal tied it up. In overtime, Smith had the game winner with Poirier and goaltender Ryfer Fetterolf being credited with assists.
Up next for the Nittany Lions is their Big Ten opener, No. 18/18 Minnesota. Penn State faces the Golden Gophers on the road on Friday, Oct. 30 at 8 p.m. EDT and Saturday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. EDT.
Mitchell Mesenbrink lands role as Ben Peterson in new movie
Penn State wrestling senior Mitchell Mesenbrink is now a star on and off the mat.
The 2025 Hodge Trophy winner, 2025 National Champion, two-time Big Ten Champion, and two-time All-American landed a role as legendary wrestler Ben Peterson in director Jon Greenhalgh's new biopic about Iowa wrestling coach Dan Gable. The movie, Gable, does not currently have a release date.
Mesenbrink is also known for his talents on social media, where he posts content of him playing guitar and singing. According to Nate Cobler of Centre Daily Times, Greenhalgh reached out to a member of the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club for Mesenbrink's information and Penn State's star wrestler went through the audition process for the role.
The retired wrestler, Peterson, competed in the 1972 and 1976 Olympics. He won gold and silver medals, respectively. Peterson was also a two-time NCAA Champion at Iowa State (1971 and 1972). He was inducted as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1986.
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