|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Sept. 22, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Top-ranked Penn State women's volleyball (11-0) is set to open the 2015 Big Ten conference slate with a midweek matchup against No. 16 Wisconsin (8-2) Wednesday, Sept. 23. First serve between the Nittany Lions and the Badgers is set for 7 p.m. in Rec Hall.
The matchup will broadcast live on the Big Ten Network with Mike Wolf and Liz Tortorello-Nelson on the call.
PROMOTIONAL SPOTLIGHT: Penn State's Big Ten opener against Wisconsin marks the Nittany Lions' "White Out" match. White shakers will be provided at the door and fans are encouraged to wear white to the match to help Penn State white out Rec Hall!
QUICK SETS
* Following the matchup against the Badgers, the Nittany Lions will remain home for their second Big Ten conference match against Minnesota Saturday, Sept. 26 at 8 p.m. in Rec Hall.
* The Nittany Lions went 3-0 last weekend, beating Auburn, St. John's and South Florida to capture the USF Invitational crown. With the consecutive victories, Penn State has now won its last 31 straight matches, dating back to its first win in the streak on Oct. 17, 2014.
* Sophomore Haleigh Washington earned USF Invitational All-Tournament team honors, while redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney and redshirt freshman Bryanna Weiskircher joined her on the All-Tournament team.
* After guiding Penn State to a 3-0 mark at the USF Invitational, sophomore Haleigh Washington earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors. The nod is Washington's third career Big Ten Player of the Week laurel and second of the 2015 season.
* In the win against St. John's, Haleigh Washington led a group of five multi-block performers with a career-high 11 total blocks. Her tally is the second highest single-match total in a 3-set match in Penn State program history.
* Penn State has earned all 11 of its victories this year by way of a 3-0 sweep. The Nittany Lions have not dropped a set since surrendering the second set of the 2014 NCAA national semifinal match against Stanford, Dec. 18, 2014, winning the last 38 straight sets.
* Averaging 3.42 blocks per set on the year, Penn State has commanded a 113.0 - 39.0 advantage in the blocking margin against its opponents in 2015. The average ranks first nationally and leads the Big Ten. Individually, sophomore Haleigh Washington's 1.58 blocks per set ranks seventh nationally and also leads the Big Ten.
* Penn State's .336 hitting clip ranks second in the NCAA national standings and leads the Big Ten. Helped out by Haleigh Washington's team-high .538 hitting clip, her efficiency leads both the nation and the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions have limited their opponents to just a .090 hitting efficiency, which is tops nationally.
* PSU was voted No. 1 overall for the fifth consecutive week in the latest AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll. Penn State received all 64 first place votes to earn a unanimous selection for the second straight week.
* Including Penn State, more than half of the Big Ten teams in the conference are featured in this week's AVCA Top 25 poll, including a season-high eight in the top 25 for the second week in a row.
* Penn State and Wisconsin have met in the Big Ten season opener for the last two consecutive years, with the Nittany Lions claiming a win in each meeting. PSU and Wisconsin have met two more times in the two-year span with the Nittany Lions sending the Badgers home from both the 2013 and 2014 NCAA Tournament.
WEEK 5: AVCA TOP 25 COACHES' POLL UPDATE
Penn State remained atop the AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll for the fifth consecutive week. Penn State earned all 64 first place votes, as a unanimous No. 1 selection for the second straight week. Including PSU, this week's poll features more than half of the Big Ten conference teams with a season-high eight teams in the top 25.
WASHINGTON EARNS BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Following a 3-0 weekend on the road at the USF Invitational, sophomore Haleigh Washington earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors. The award is Washington's second Big Ten Player of the Week award this season, as well as her fifth-career Big Ten Weekly honor. Washington led the team with a .735 hitting percentage in an undefeated weekend on the road that featured wins against Auburn, St. John's and South Florida. Finishing second on the team with 27 kills, she highlighted the weekend with a pair of double figure kill performances. She also led the blocking unit with 1.56 blocks per week.
PENN STATE EARNS USF INVITATIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT NODS
Sophomore Haleigh Washington earned USF Invitational All-Tournament team honors. Redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney and redshirt freshman Bryanna Weiskircher joined her on the All-Tournament team. In addition to back-to-back double figure kill performances, Washington also logged her first double digit dig performance of the season with a career-high 11 total blocks. Her 11 blocks in the win against St. John's is the second highest single match total in a 3-set match in Penn State program history.
KENDALL'S GOT CLASS
Senior Kendall Pierce has been selected as a candidate for the 2015 Senior CLASS Award. Pierce is one of 30 women's volleyball student-athletes to be named a candidate, along with one other from the Big Ten conference. The Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. A health policy and administration major, she was honored as a 2014-15 Big Ten Distinguished scholar. Pierce also earned back-to-back Academic All-Big Ten selections from 2013-14.
BEST ON THE BLOCK
Penn State's commanded the advantage in the blocking margin against its opponents this year. To date, Penn State has out-blocked its opponents 113.0 - 39.0, averaging 3.42 blocks per set, which ranks first nationally and leads the conference. Individually, sophomore Haleigh Washington's 1.58 blocks per set ranks seventh nationally and also leads the Big Ten. Sophomore Heidi Thelen's 1.36 blocks per set ranks within the top 35 nationally, at No. 33, while also coming in at third in the league.
TOUGH DEFENSE
Penn State has limited its opponents to .090 hitting this season, which ranks first in the Big Ten standings and first nationally. PSU has held eight of its 11 opponents to .097 or lower hitting efficiency. The Nittany Lions have limited two squads to hitting clips between .210-.267. Only one team (Stanford/.267 has posted a .250 or better hitting percentage. At the Golden Dome Invitational, Penn State held back-to-back teams to negative team hitting clips. Eastern Kentucky hit -.012, while Mississippi State hit -.010.
A CLEAN SWEEP
Penn State has earned all 11 of its victories this season by way of a 3-0 sweep. The Nittany Lions have now won their last 38 consecutive individual sets, since dropping the second set of the 2014 NCAA national final match to top-ranked Stanford. Penn State has limited Eastern Kentucky, Mississippi State and St. John's to less than 45 total points in a single match, as the Colonels totaled 41. The Red Storm had 43 and Bulldogs had just 42.
AN ARRAY OF OFFENSIVE OPTIONS
Redshirt freshman setter Bryanna Weiskircher has directed the Nittany Lions to a .310 hitting percentage, which ranks sixth nationally and second in the Big Ten. Weiskircher has also paced a trio of her top attackers to .307 or better hitting, led by sophomore Haleigh Washington's .477 hitting clip, which is slotted eighth nationally and first in the conference. Senior Megan Courtney's .318 hitting percentage is second on the team, while redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney's .307 clip is third.
HOLCOMB HAS CAREER-HIGH WEEKEND
Freshman libero Keeton Holcomb had a career-high weekend at the Golden Dome Invitational. Holcomb averaged 5.33 digs per set during the weekend that featured three consecutive 3-0 wins. She highlighted the weekend with back-to-back 20-dig performances in the same day against both Mississippi State and Notre Dame. On the year, Holcomb's leading the team with 3.74 digs per set, which ranks 11th in the Big Ten standings.
RECORD BOOK WATCH: MEGAN NEARING MILESTONE
Penn State senior Megan Courtney is nearing the 1,000 career kills/1,000 career digs plateau. With 944 career kills and 934 kills, she needs just 56 more kills and 66 more digs to reach the mark. Courtney would join an elite group, as just the eighth Nittany Lion in program to reach the milestone and the first since Deja McClendon in 2013.
A WINNING TRADITION AT HOME
Including a 5-0 mark in 2015, Penn State owns a 569-31 (.948) all-time record at home in Rec Hall. With the Big Ten home-opener approaching, Penn State enters the matchup with a 258-17 all-time record in conference matches on the court at Rec Hall. Only Ohio State has defeated the Nittany Lions on their home court more than three times, having topped PSU five times.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Penn State remains home for the rest of the week. The Nittany Lions close out the week with a match against Minnesota Saturday, Sept. 26. First serve between the Nittany Lions and the Golden Gophers is set for 8 p.m. in Rec Hall.