AUSTIN, Texas – The Penn State women’s volleyball team, the defending national champions, opened the NCAA Division I women’s volleyball tournament with a 25-23, 12-25, 25-21, 25-19 win over South Florida on Friday night at Texas’s Gregory Gymnasium.

The Nittany Lions moved to 19-12 overall with their seventh-straight postseason win dating back to last season, while the Bulls close the season at 17-13.

Penn State advances to the second round where it will play host Texas, the No. 3 overall seed, on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.. The match will stream on ESPN+. The matchup features the teams responsible for each of the past three national titles with the Longhorns winning back-to-back in 2022 and 2023 and the Nittany Lions taking home the trophy in 2024.

Kennedy Martin, an AVCA National Player of the Year semifinalist and recent first-team All-Big Ten selection, paced Penn State’s attack as she hit .341 with 22 kills and added five blocks, four digs, and three aces. Emmi Sellman tallied nine kills, Maggie Mendelson hit .375 with eight kills, and Caroline Jurevicius contributed six kills. Addie Lyon finished with 41 assists and eight digs.

Lady Panthers roll

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt volleyball team swept UMBC 25-10, 25-17, 25-13 on Friday night in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at the Petersen Events Center.

The Panthers (27-4) set a program NCAA Tournament record with a .518 hitting percentage, and Olivia Babcock broke the single-season program kills record with her 546th of the year, surpassing Wendy Hatlestad’s mark from 2003.

With the sweep, Pitt advanced to its 10th straight Round of 32. UMBC finishes at 13-12.

Pitt returns Saturday to face Michigan (22-10) at 7 p.m. at home. The match will stream on ESPN+.