No. 8 Penn State volleyball's season came to an end in a 3-0 sweep by No. 1 Texas, but the Nittany Lions' shelf life in the postseason could've expired at any given moment. It was only a matter of time before a team knocked down the 2024 national champions.
On Saturday, Penn State shot itself in the foot with unforced errors. The almost-clean game from the First Round against South Florida disappeared, and the Nittany Lions went back to their bad habits against the Longhorns.
Penn State had 34 kills to Texas' 43. What set the Longhorns apart was setter Ella Swindle's ability to get different hitters hot early. Outside hitter Torrey Stafford led her team with 21 kills. Compared to the others at her position, Abby Vander Wal and Cari Spears, contributing 19 kills combined, it was Stafford's night on paper. On the court, though, any of them could've provided a spark.
Penn State hit .124 in the match, had 22 attack errors, and had eight service errors. Texas had just five attack errors service errors a piece throughout the three sets and had a .452 hitting percentage. Up at the net, the Longhorns had 16 blocks to the Nittany Lions six.
Penn State couldn't compete. It was an eighth seed for a reason and went toe-to-toe with an unseeded South Florida team for a reason. Lack of fight is an arguable excuse for the Nittany Lions' performance, but truly, it's inconsistency. Inconsistency wounded Penn State's season from the start, and the reason why it couldn't fully overcome that is very clear.
Penn State volleyball needed a growth period after winning the national title
The Nittany Lions were down their star setter Izzy Starck early in the season due to mental health issues. Setter Addie Lyon filled her shoes well enough, feeding right side hitter Kennedy Martin, outside hitters Emmi Sellman and Caroline Jurevicius, and middle blockers Maggie Mendelson and Jordan Hopp. Of that crew, Lyon, Mendelson, and Hopp won't return for 2026.
If Martin, Sellman, and Jurevicius stay at Penn State, they have a chance to develop, refine their all-around play, and come back stronger for the next season. In the back row, the Nittany Lions lose libero Gillian Grimes. They still have defensive specialists Jocelyn Nathan and Ava Falduto who take up a lot of space in the back-half of the court to handle business, though.
Nathan will be one of three seniors alongside Martin and outside hitter Karis Willow. Falduto will be one of five juniors (or redshirt juniors) with Sellman, Jurevicius, defensive specialist Kate Lally, and middle blocker Catherine Burke.
Outside hitters Alexis Ewing and Marin Collins, and middle blocker Gabrielle Nichols are all freshman. Ewing and Nicholas both saw time on the court in 2025 and proved they're reliable off-the-bench players. In 2026, they'll be ready to take on a larger role. As for defense, specialist Lexi Gin is a freshman who popped onto the court for some juice at the service line.
Needless to say, Penn State had a young team in 2025. It wasn't a reload of a full national championship roster. The Nittany Lions needed a season to get players experience at a high level, which is exactly what they did.
If head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley decides to hit the Transfer Portal for some veteran experience, it will likely be to claim a setter now that Lyon and Starck are moving on for their separate reasons.
Other than that, Schumacher-Cawley still has players on her roster with national championship experience. She also has younger players this season on the right track to lead the Nittany Lions moving forward. Aside from the obvious Martin, Sellman and Jurevicius stepped up in 2025 and shook off their inexperience as Penn State starters vey quickly.