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Oct. 1, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- No. 1 Penn State women's volleyball (13-0, 2-0) remains home for another week of Big Ten conference play, welcoming No. 4 Nebraska (11-1, 2-0) and Iowa (10-5, 0-2) to Rec Hall this weekend. The Nittany Lions take on the Huskers Friday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m., before squaring off against the Hawkeyes Saturday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m.
Friday's matchup against Nebraska will broadcast live on the Big Ten Network with Mike Wolf and Audrey Flaugh on the call. Saturday marks Penn State's annual Dig Pink event, benefitting the Side-Out Foundation.
Fans attending the match will receive pink shakers and are also encouraged to wear pink to the match. Pink Penn State Volleyball shirts will also be available for purchase. Additionally, the Nittany Lions will host a silent auction featuring Penn State volleyball game-worn pink warmup t-shirts. Proceeds from the auction will go directly toward Penn State's Dig Pink profile. To donate, click here.
QUICK SETS
* Penn State opened the first week of Big Ten conference play with a pair of wins last week, sweeping past No. 16 Wisconsin before outlasting No. 21 Minnesota in five sets.
* The Nittany Lion victory against the Gophers moved PSU to 4-0 this year against teams ranked within the Top 25 of the AVCA Coaches' Poll.
* The match against the Huskers marks Penn State's third consecutive outing against a Top 25 team and second top five matchup of the season.
* Sophomore Haleigh Washington was tabbed the Co-Big Ten Player of the Week for the second consecutive week. She had back-to-back double digit kill performances as well as a pair of multi-block performance against both the Badgers and the Golden Gophers.
* Four Nittany Lions powered the PSU offense with double figure kills against both Minnesota and Wisconsin. Additionally, Megan Courtney logged two consecutive double-doubles last week with 10 kills and 14 digs against the Badgers and 22 kills, 13 digs against the Gophers.
* The win against Minnesota extends the Nittany Lion stretch of consecutive wins to 33 straight matches, dating back to the first win in the streak against Purdue on the road Oct. 17, 2014. The stretch is the longest active DI women's volleyball streak in the nation.
* Penn State has earned 12 of its 13 victories this year by way of a 3-0 sweep, while also limiting its opponents to a .114 hitting percentage. The mark ranks third nationally and leads the Big Ten.
* Averaging 3.20 blocks per set on the year, Penn State has commanded a 131.0 - 57.0 advantage in the blocking margin against its opponents in 2015. The average ranks third nationally and leads the Big Ten. Individually, sophomore Haleigh Washington's 1.51 blocks per set ranks eighth nationally and also leads the Big Ten.
* Penn State's .319 hitting clip ranks second in the NCAA national standings and leads the Big Ten. Helped out by Haleigh Washington's team-high .527 hitting clip, her efficiency leads both the nation and the Big Ten.
* 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.
* PSU was voted No. 1 overall for the sixth consecutive week in the latest AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll. Penn State received 63 of a possible 64 first place votes.
* 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 third week in a row.
BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK ... AGAIN.
After helping Penn State to a pair of wins in its first week of Big Ten conference play, sophomore Haleigh Washington earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors, splitting the award with Northwestern's Maddie Slater. The award marks Washington's second consecutive Big Ten Player of the Week honor, as well as her third overall this season. In total, Washington's now garnered six career Big Ten Weekly awards.
Washington helped the No. 1 Nittany Lions to wins against two Top 25 opponents with back-to-back double digit kill performances, posting a team-high .488 hitting percentage during the week. She opened the week with 11 kills on 14 perfect swings for a .786 hitting efficiency in a straight set victory against No. 16 Wisconsin. Washington then tallied 13 kills in a five-set victory against No. 21 Minnesota. She also led the PSU blocking unit, averaging 1.25 blocks per set in the undefeated week. In both matches, she tallied five total blocks, including two solo stuffs in each outing.
WEEK 6: AVCA TOP 25 COACHES' POLL UPDATE
Penn State remained atop the AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll for the sixth consecutive week. Penn State earned 63 of a possible 64 first place votes. 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.
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 131.0 - 57.0, averaging 3.20 blocks per set, which ranks third nationally and leads the conference. Individually, sophomore Haleigh Washington's 1.51 blocks per set ranks eighth nationally and also leads the Big Ten. Sophomore Heidi Thelen's 1.22 blocks per set ranks second on the team and sixth in the league.
DEFENSIVELY SPEAKING ...
Penn State has limited its opponents to .114 hitting this season, which ranks first in the Big Ten standings and third nationally. PSU has held nine of its 13 opponents to .097 or lower hitting efficiency. The Nittany Lions have limited three squads to hitting clips between .210-.267. Only one team (Stanford/.267) has posted a .250 or better hitting percentage against the Nittany Lions. 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 12 of its 13 victories this season by way of a 3-0 sweep. Penn State has also limited Eastern Kentucky, Mississippi State and St. John's to less than 45 total points in a single match, holding the Colonels to a season-low 41 total points. 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 .319 hitting percentage, which ranks second nationally and first in the Big Ten. Weiskircher has also paced a trio of her top attackers to .297 or better hitting, led by sophomore Haleigh Washington's .527 hitting clip, which leads both the nation and the conference. Redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney's .324 hitting percentage is second on the team while senior Megan Courtney's .297 clip is third.
DEFENDING THE HOUSE
Including a 7-0 mark in 2015, Penn State owns a 571-31 (.949) all-time record at home in Rec Hall. With the Big Ten wins last week, Penn State is 260-17 all-time 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. Illinois, Minnesota and Michigan State are the only three teams to beat Penn State at home more than once.
LAST TIME OUT ...
Nov. 29, 2014 - (25-20, 25-15, 25-16)
PSU 3, NEB 0 - University Park, Pa. - Rec Hall
Then-No.4 Penn State closed out the 2014 regular season with a straight set victory against then-No. 10 Nebraska on Senior Night. Ali Frantti led the offense with a match-high 17 kills on .536 hitting, adding five digs and one solo stuff. Megan Courtney followed close behind with eight kills, while also tallying nine digs. Haleigh Washington had six kills and a match-high four blocks.
Penn State split the 2014 series against the Huskers, ending the 2014 regular season with a 3-0 victory against Nebraska in the most recent outing. The straight set victory marked the first 3-0 win against the Huskers in Penn State program history, while also moving PSU to 3-1 in the all-time series against Nebraska in matches played at home in Rec Hall. The Huskers hold a 14-10 advantage in the overall all-time series.
Nov. 12, 2014 - (25-14, 25-12, 25-21)
PSU 3, IOWA 0 - University Park, Pa. - Rec Hall
With a match-high 16 kills on .714 hitting, Aiyana Whitney helped then-No. 6 Penn State to a straight set victory against Iowa. Haleigh Washington added double figure kills with 12, posting a .667 hitting percentage. Ali Frantti finished fourth on the team with nine kills, two digs and two blocks.
Penn State swept past Iowa in both meetings a year ago, to stretch the Nittany Lion winning streak to 47 consecutive matches against the Hawkeyes. Penn State has never lost to Iowa in program history, having captured a straight set win against the Hawkeyes in each of the last four meetings.
MILESTONE WATCH: Megan Courtney
Penn State senior Megan Courtney is nearing the 1,000 career kills/1,000 career digs plateau. With 976 kills and 961 digs she needs just 24 more kills and 39 more digs to reach the mark. Courtney would join an elite group as just the eighth Nittany Lion in program history to reach the milestone and the first since Deja McClendon in 2013.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Penn State hits the road next week for the first portion of a two-week road trip. The Nittany Lions travel to Illinois to take on the Illini Friday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. ET, live on the Big Ten Network. Penn State rounds out the weekend on the road at Northwestern, squaring off against the Wildcats Saturday, Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. ET.