No. 16 Penn State women's volleyball looks strong as the second half of the season is underway. The Nittany Lions (14-5, 6-3 Big Ten) took down the No. 10 team in the country, Oregon, on Friday night in four sets and have No. 18 Indiana next on the slate for Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.
Opposite hitter Kennedy Martin still leads the team in points (332.0) and kills (290). She has the second-most aces (16), second-most digs (141), second-most total blocks (50), and third-highest hitting percentage (0.381) as well. Martin was expected to be the powerhouse for Penn State, and she's delivering.
Last season, Martin was the only hitter with that sort of fire, but with middle blocker Gabrielle Nichols, setter Alexis Stucky, and outside hitters Whitney Lauenstein, Haley Burgdorf and Emmi Sellman, the offense in Happy Valley is buzzing. On top of that, the defense looks more sound midway through the season with Martin taking a step forward in that regard and libero Ava Falduto fitting nicely into her new jersey.
Even at 14-5, though, there's a ways to go before the Nittany Lions are considered real national title contenders. A Top 10 win is huge for them, but the top teams in the country are on a whole other level.
Penn State women's volleyball needs a signature win and it had a chance with No. 1 Nebraska
The Nittany Lions played No. 1 Nebraska as their third conference opponent of the season, and they looked like they had the ability to take away a set from the Cornhuskers. The 3-0 sweep Nebraska had at Rec Hall was indicative of how well Penn State actually played.
The three sets finished at 25-20, 25-17, and 25-18. At this point in the season, the blue and white hadn't figured out how to close out sets. That final stretch of points they lingered at, giving their opponents momentum. In the third set, Nebraska had a four-point run getting to match point while the Nittany Lions struggled to advance from 17 points.
Penn State has since figured out how to break the end-of-set stall, but in order to keep postseason hopes alive, it needs to face another top dog. It doesn't help that No. 15 Stanford dropped that far down the poll from No. 4, either.
No. 6 Wisconsin is the closest the Nittany Lions get to that big matchup. Things can change between now and their match on Nov. 8, though, but it's more than reasonable to think the Badgers will remain up there in the rankings. This match, especially since it's Penn State's fourth-to-last regular season game, will be a good indicator of how the blue and white can hold up in the NCAA Tournament.
The level of talent at the top of the AVCA Poll is still unreal, though. Pittsburgh, Louisville, Kentucky, and Florida (ranked second through fifth, respectively) are playing at such a high level, but the Nittany Lions don't get a chance to match up against them. There's no test, other than maybe Wisconsin at the end of the season, that shows exactly how good this Penn State team can be.
Nebraska was promising, but can the Nittany Lions actually win against a top team? Waiting until the postseason isn't an ideal time to find out.
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