Aug. 14, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's volleyball team will start the 2007 season ranked third in the country, according to the CSTV/AVCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. Defending national champion Nebraska received 53 of the 60 first place votes and the top slot in the poll while national runners-up Stanford collected the remaining seven first place votes and finished second in the voting. Texas (No. 4) and UCLA (No. 5) rounded out the top five.
"The preseason coaches poll is based on potential not performance," said head coach Russ Rose, who is beginning his 29th season in Happy Valley. "We have to work hard and see if the results on the court will match up to the goals of the team."
Penn State will face 11 teams listed in the initial CSTV/AVCA poll, including eight ranked in the top 20 in the nation. The Nittany Lions will square off against No. 1 Nebraska, No. 2 Stanford, No. 4 Texas, No. 9 Minnesota, No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 13 Purdue, No. 14 Cal Poly and No. 16 Ohio State while also facing Michigan, Michigan State and St. John's, who received votes in the poll.
The Nittany Lions return 11 letterwinners, including seven starters and four AVCA All-Americans, from last year's 32-3 NCAA Regional Final squad that became the first team in Big Ten history to capture four consecutive outright conference championships.
The Nittany Lions open the 2007 schedule hosting the fourth-ranked Longhorns on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 24 and 25 at 7:00 p.m. each night at Rec Hall. Penn State then takes to the road for the Nebraska Labor Day Tournament, competing against No. 14 Cal Poly in Lincoln on Friday, Aug. 31 before taking on the top-ranked Huskers on Sunday, Sept. 2 at 3:00 p.m. at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb.
Penn State brings back a majority of its starting lineup from last season, including 2006 AVCA National Freshman of the Year and First Team All-America sophomore outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.), who was also the first player ever to be named both the Big Ten Freshman and Player of the Year. Also returning for the Nittany Lions are two-time AVCA All-America junior outside hitter Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio), 2006 AVCA Second Team All-America junior middle hitter Christa Harmotto (Aliquippa, Pa.) and 2005 AVCA Second Team All-America senior middle hitter Melissa Walbridge (Yardley, Pa.), along with senior opposite Kate Price (Fraser, Mich.), junior libero Roberta Holehouse (Joppa, Md.) and sophomore setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.). Penn State will also gain the services of redshirt freshman opposite Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) along with incoming freshmen Alyssa D'Errico (Byron, N.Y./libero) and Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill./middle hitter).
For more information on the Penn State women's volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com. The entire CSTV/AVCA Coaches Poll can be found at http://www.avca.org/collegiate/dipoll/dipoll8-14-07.asp