Jore Volk injury update: Will the Wyoming All-American wrestle at Penn State on Sunday?
No. 1 Penn State welcomes No. 26 Wyoming to the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday. The first meeting between the Big Ten and Big 12 schools starts at 1 p.m. ET. BTN+ will stream the match from State College. The Nittany Lions will be favored to win all 10 individual bouts that are set to take place. That’s because two weight classes that could have been viewed as toss-ups, 125 pounds and 197 pounds, will now tilt heavily toward the Nittany Lions.
In its match preview, the Cowboys say that seventh-ranked 125-pounder Jore Volk, a junior and returning All-American who punched his ticket to the podium at nationals last year by beating former PSU 125-pound starter Braeden Davis (who is now the Lions’ 133-pound starter) in the consolation bracket, is not making the trip face to Penn State freshman and 12th-ranked 125-pounder Luke Lilledahl due to injury.
Penn State associate head coach Cody Sanderson addressed the possibility earlier this week.
“We’ve had some communication with the program,” he said. “Hopefully he’s able to wrestle That’s probably the most exciting match for me coming up. But if we don’t get it, it’s still good opportunity to see Luke get out there and continue to develop.”
With Volk out, Lilledahl will now likely face sophomore Jack Braman. He is 1-4 on the year.
Additionally, Wyoming’s 13th-ranked 197-pounder Joey Novak is also not making the trip due to injury. He was set for a top 15 battle with Penn State redshirt freshman Josh Barr, who is the reigning Big Ten freshman of the week and ranked No. 7 after upsetting former Lion Michael Beard of Lehigh by major decision, 11-3, last Sunday. It is unclear who will start for Wyoming at 197 on Sunday.
You can watch this week’s Penn State wrestling show in the video player below and also on YouTube. Or, you can listen at your favorite destinations for audio like SPOTIFY and APPLE.
Cody Sanderson also discussed the thought process behind scheduling the Cowboys.
“Frankly, we were trying to find a date, and we just couldn’t find any other opponents,” he said. “An acquaintance said, ‘hey, what about Wyoming?’ We reached out and they got back to us right away and said, ‘yeah, let’s work it out.’ We’re really excited to get a team in here from out west, and we’re working on getting back out there next year to get a little road trip in. We don’t do them a lot, but it’s fun when we get an opportunity.”
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Added Wyoming coach Mark Branch to the school’s official website ahead of his team’s trip to Penn State:
“They have the formula for success, and they have patented that formula for the past 10 years. Their lineup is stacked from top to bottom, and they don’t have a weak weight.
“It’ll be a great test for our team. We are wrestling in a big environment against big-time opponents. This is a dual that’s really going to help our guys at the Big 12 Tournament and at NCAAs.”
