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UNIVERSITY PARK -- Camryn Hannah hit .476 with 24 kills to lead No. 2 Penn State to a 3-1 (25-15, 25-21, 24-26, 25-20) win over Marquette in the NCAA Regional Semifinal on Friday afternoon at Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions improved to 32-2 overall while advancing to the NCAA Regional Final for the 21st time in program history.
Penn State now turns its attention to Creighton as the two teams meet in the Regional Final at Rec Hall on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. The match, which will air on ESPN, determines who advances out of the State College Regional and heads to Louisville for the national semifinals.
The Nittany Lions had two players with 20-plus kills in the win as Jess Mruzik recorded a double-double with 20 kills and 13 digs. Taylor Trammell hit .417 with nine kills and four blocks, while Caroline Jurevicius and Maggie Mendelson added five kills apiece. The team hit .280 behind 43 assists by Izzy Starck.
Starck added 13 digs to her assist total to register her 15th double-double of the season. Gillian Grimes led all Penn State players with 15 digs, while Ava Falduto tallied 11 and Jocelyn Nathan chipped in with seven.
Falduto had a huge match at the service line with four of the team's seven aces. Quinn Menger, Hannah, and Mruzik each chipped in with one.
In the deciding game, Hannah added seven more kills on .778 hitting as Penn State closed the match with a 25-20 win in set four. Mruzik tacked on five more kills to her total. It was a close set early as Penn State held a slim 11-10 lead. The Nittany Lions then erupted for a 5-0 run to go up 16-10. Trammell started the run with a kill, while Mruzik had two kills during that stretch.
The Golden Eagles battled back to get within two at 22-20. Mruzik came through with back-to-back kills to give the Nittany Lions their first chance at set point. Falduto made it count with her fourth ace of the night to send Penn State to the Regional Final on Sunday at Rec Hall.
Marquette was in the NCAA Tournament for a fourth consecutive season and played in the Regional Semifinal for the second time in three seasons.
The Golden Eagles, who were led by Natalie Ring with 14 kills and Molly Berezowitz with 18 digs, closed the season at 25-9 overall.