Dec. 1, 2007
Behind a school-record .602 hitting percentage, the top-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team pounded Albany in three games (30-15, 30-9, 30-19) Saturday night in NCAA Second Round action to advance to the NCAA Regional Semifinal match on Friday, Dec. 7 at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions, who improved to 30-2, will face Michigan in the 7:30 p.m. contest on Friday, with Middle Tennessee State and BYU squaring off in the 5:00 p.m. contest. The winners of each of the Regional Semifinal matches will face off on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 6:30 p.m.
"Tonight's match was similar to last night's in that the physical nature of some teams causes other teams some problems," said head coach Russ Rose. "I thought our serving was better tonight and I'm very pleased to have hosted these first two rounds and am appreciative of the University for giving us this opportunity. We look forward to playing at home next weekend. This tournament is one-and-done and you have to be focused and concentrate, even if you have seen the team before, because it's an entirely different situation."
Junior outside hitter Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio) led all players with 17 kills on .538 hitting as junior middle hitter Christa Harmotto (Aliquippa, Pa.) collected 13 kills on .750 hitting and sophomore outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) provided 11 kills without an error to hit .550. Redshirt freshman opposite Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) notched six kills on an errorless nine swings to hit .667 as sophomore setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.), freshman middle hitter Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) and senior middle hitter Melissa Walbridge (Yardley, Pa.) recorded four, three and two kills, respectively. For the match, Penn State set a new rally-scoring-era hitting percentage record, attacking at a .602 clip, including hitting a combined .660 through the first two games.
Glass dished out 40 assists and did not have an attacker below .500 in the match as Hodge and junior libero Roberta Holehouse (Joppa, Md.) both tallied 12 digs in the contest. Glass added in eight digs while Fawcett, senior Kate Price (Fraser, Mich.) and freshman Alyssa D'Errico (Byron, N.Y.) each provided four digs.
The Nittany Lions dominated the serving game, racking up nine aces, with Fawcett producing three, Hodge and Price adding in two and Holehouse and sophomore Kelsey Ream (State College, Pa.) recording one apiece.
Penn State produced five blocks in the match while allowing Albany only one. Harmotto led the Lions with three stuffs as Hodge tallied two and Fawcett, Glass, Wilson, Walbridge and Brown all added in one block.
Valerie Sourbeer paced the Great Danes with six kills as Kate Eckhardt, Amanda Cowdrey and Kamisha Kellam all notched five kills. Brooke Stanley provided 20 assists and Tawny Dahmes notched a team-high nine digs. Ashley Crenshaw led the team with one solo block.
Three Harmotto kills, one from Fawcett and a Hodge service ace put Penn State up 15-8 to start the match and the teams traded points five times, with a Harmotto kill making it 22-14. The put-away sparked the team as it claimed the next seven points to go ahead 28-14 on a Price ace before a Fawcett kill ended the game, 30-15. Fawcett recorded seven kills in the game as Harmotto posted six kills on an errorless seven swings to hit .857. As a team, Penn State attacked at a .692 clip.
The Nittany Lions roared out from the gates in the second game, taking the 13-4 lead on consecutive Fawcett service aces. Two Harmotto kills and another by Fawcett made it 18-5 and Hodge and Harmotto put-aways extended the score to 21-6. A Hodge ace pushed the score to 25-7 and a Ream ace made it 27-8 before a Fawcett kill ended the game, 30-9. Penn State hit .630 in the game and sided out at 100% for the stanza.
Kills from Harmotto, Glass and Fawcett put Penn State ahead 10-4 in the third game before four straight kills  by Walbridge, Brown, Holehouse and Hodge  pushed the lead to 18-9. Two more Harmotto kills coupled with put-aways from Brown and Hodge made it 24-11 and a kill by Glass from sophomore setter Jessica Yanz (Bolingbrook, Ill.) gave the Lions the 25-14 lead. Three straight Fawcett kills put Penn State up 28-17 before an Albany attack error ended the game, 30-19. The Nittany Lions attacked at a .514 clip in the game as Glass and Hodge each had six digs in the game.
The Nittany Lions earn their 20th overall NCAA Regional Semifinal berth and the 16th in the last 18 seasons. Penn State has reached the Regional Final contest on 10 occasions, with the last coming last season at Washington. The Nittany Lions have an overall record of 50-25 in the NCAA Championship, including five trips to the NCAA Semifinals (1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999) and one National Championship (1999). Penn State is 32-3 in NCAA Tournament matches at Rec Hall and has won its last 35 consecutive contests within the friendly confines.
The winners of each of the four NCAA Regionals on Dec. 7-8 travel to Sacramento, Calif., for the National Semifinals on Thursday, Dec. 13, with the National Championship match scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 15.