Thank Kennedy Martin for the PSU women’s volleyball victory against Princeton: Katie Schumacher-Cawley

Penn State women’s volleyball team closes their three-day Penn State Classic in a match against Central Michigan. Photo: Makenna Cameron

A women’s volleyball team is not made up of one person.

But, when one person shines during a five set match, and does her job, she ought to be thanked.

It took five sets, but Penn State women’s volleyball pulled out the win against Princeton on Friday.

With a chuckle, PSU Head Coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley said, “I thought we were just getting a little better as the match was going. And, you know, when you have someone who has 29 kills, you're thanking them after the match is over.” 

The Penn State Classic runs Sept. 19-21 in Rec Hall. The three squads are Penn State, Princeton, and Central Michigan. The opener featured Penn State vs. Princeton.

Emmi Sellman and obviously Martin were two reasons why Penn State stretched the match all the way to five sets and earned the 3-2 victory.

The Lions started off by making a handful of errors. Regardless of a few stumbles, home court has its advantages. The blue and white fans continued to show their spirited support.

Sellman and Martin seemingly fed off it. They went on a run to execute kill after kill and win the first set 25 to 15.

Princeton didn’t back down though. The second set was theirs to keep.

Erin McNair and Valerie Nutakor made Penn State sweat, as they dominated the court.

Nutakor’s hyper focus on her positioning could be seen throughout Rec Hall as she continuously tried to anticipate blocking Penn State’s service. McNair also began to slay her kills.

Princeton won the second set 20-25

The Tigers’ momentum carried into set three. Nutakor and Sydney Draper stymied Penn State’s attacks. Nutakor and Draper worked together seamlessly, which helped them block kills from their opponents, who were inches taller than they were. 

The Tigers won set three 25-22

However, something on the other side of the court switched. The Penn State Nittany Lions were quiet as they set up for the fourth set. This quietness did not last long, because right as the whistle blew, indicating the set had begun, the athletes upped their game. 

Martin was a machine, breaking her season high with 29 kills. With the help of Addy Lyon, Penn State’s setter, Martin was able to bring the house down. Penn State won the fourth set 25-16.

It was 2-2 with one more set to play.

Penn State burned through the fifth set reaching 14 points quickly, which caused their adoring fans to rise for match point.

As Penn State attacked the ball, the crowd leaned to the other side, eager to see if the ball would drop, and as the ball came down with a loud crack, Rec Hall began celebrating.

The final set was 15-8 Penn State.

With Penn State’s win, Schumacher-Cawley thanked Martin and added a few thoughts on Penn State’s performance.

“I thought we were passing better and served a little bit tougher,” Schumacher-Cawley said.

Princeton swept Central Michigan on Saturday 25-10, 25-17, 27-25. The final matchup of the Penn State Classic is Sunday, which is Penn State vs. Central Michigan.

Thank you for reading Female Athlete News. Lily Dorf is a student-intern at Penn State University.