Penn State and Stanford women’s volleyball faced off in an exhibition match at the Palestra on Friday to kick off the arena’s 100th birthday celebration.
Although the Palestra is known as the Cathedral of College Basketball, it isn’t exclusive to hoops. In 1990, Penn women’s volleyball team made the Palestra their home and has called it such ever since.
Penn hosted a marquee matchup that gave two of the biggest names in college volleyball a chance to face off: No. 4 Stanford vs. No. 12 Penn State. The top-12 contest meant most of the Palestra’s stands were filled by Penn State and Stanford fans.
Although Stanford was favored in the rankings heading into Friday night’s matchup, the Nittany Lions stunned the Cardinal 3-0 in an upset loss sure to mix up standings heading into the week of Sept. 14.
The faceoff was especially noteworthy because of both teams’ standout records. The Cardinal and the Nittany Lions are the two winningest programs in all of college volleyball.
Stanford holds the title for the most NCAA Division I national championships with nine, while Penn State trails just behind the Cardinal with eight.
Additionally, this matchup gave some of the most talented names in volleyball an opportunity to square off in non-conference play. With deep rosters full of heavily decorated players, the matchup had all the makings for a hard-fought battle on both sides.
Set 1 followed what you’d expect from two top-12 teams. Incredible defense defined a closely contested set that went down to the wire.
Penn State’s Whitney Lauenstein set the tone early on, notching several kills within the first few points of the set. However, Penn State setter Alexis Stucky was quick to spread the offense, giving teammates Ryla Jones and Kennedy Martin plenty of looks early on.
Although the Nittany Lions trailed Stanford halfway through the set, a late service run from Stucky flipped the switch for Penn State, putting them just ahead of the Cardinal to force a Stanford timeout. Ultimately, the Nittany Lions pulled through to claim the first set 27-25, a comeback that set the tone for the rest of the matchup.
Sets 2 and 3 played out in similar fashion, with Stanford’s receiving line struggling with Penn State’s service pressure, and their pin hitters failing to get into a consistent groove offensively. Penn State ultimately overcame the Cardinal in both sets 2 and 3 to claim the win over the 2025 ACC Champions.
This matchup was also a full-circle moment for Penn State coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, who led the Penn volleyball team for one year, donning the Red and Blue for the 2017 season before returning to her alma mater in 2018.
“I would just like to thank Penn for hosting this event for us. [The Palestra] is a historical place and it means a lot to me and the former players that I coached here,” Schumacher-Cawley said.
The arena is set to host the Nittany Lions once more this semester, when Penn State men’s basketball will face off against the Pitt Panthers in the Battle of Pennsylvania — a non-conference faceoff that is sure to emulate the same energy as Friday night’s match.
