Oct. 15, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State women's volleyball junior middle hitter Christa Harmotto (Aliquippa, Pa.) has been named the Big Ten Player of the Week, conference officials announced today. It is the fifth career honor for Harmotto and the third for her this season, bringing Penn State's total Big Ten Player of the Week citations to 56 since joining the conference for the 1991 season.
Harmotto's honor is the sixth for the Nittany Lions this year as she also earned the award on Aug. 27 and Sept. 24. Junior outside hitter Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio) nabbed the honor on Oct. 8, sophomore outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) picked up the accolade on Sept. 10 and freshman middle hitter Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) was named the Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 1.
Behind Harmotto's play, third-ranked Penn State remained undefeated in both games and matches in the Big Ten, sweeping both Ohio State and No. 15 Michigan. Wednesday night versus the Buckeyes, Harmotto recorded 10 kills on an errorless 14 swings to hit a match-high .714 with three digs and eight blocks, also a match-high mark. Against the Wolverines, Harmotto continued her hot streak, racking up 12 kills with only one error on 20 swings to hit .550 with a match-high two service aces and added in two digs and four blocks.
For the weekend, Harmotto averaged 3.67 kills per game, recording 22 kills on 34 swings with only one error, to hit .618 with 12 total blocks, good for an average of 2.00 blocks per game. She also added in two aces and five digs.
For the season, Harmotto is leading the Big Ten in hitting percentage (.490) and ranks fourth in overall blocks (1.56) while sitting first on the conference-only attacking list (.460) and fourth in league blocks per game (1.78).
Penn State takes to the road this weekend, visiting Illinois on Friday, Oct. 19 before facing No. 9 Wisconsin on Sunday, Oct. 21 in a contest that will air on a tape-delay basis on the Big Ten Network.
For more information on the Penn State women's volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com.