June 18, 2008
Complete Schedule in PDF Format
University Park, Pa. -
Matches against 11 teams that competed in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, including five ranked in the season-ending AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, highlight the 2008 Penn State women's volleyball schedule.
Among its opponents, the defending national champion Nittany Lions will take on NCAA National Semifinalist UCLA and NCAA Regional Semifinalists Michigan and Michigan State along with NCAA Tournament participants Minnesota, Purdue, Ohio, Long Island, Illinois State, Hawaii, Louisville and Wisconsin.
Penn State holds a 383-66 (.853) record over opponents it will face during the 2008 regular season, including a 297-43 (.874) Big Ten record since joining the conference for the 1991 season. The slate also features first-time meetings with Ohio and Saint Louis in the sport of women's volleyball.
The Nittany Lions open the schedule on Aug. 29-31 at the Hawaiian Airlines Invitational, taking on the host and No. 18 Wahine, No. 7 UCLA and Ohio in Honolulu. Penn State then returns home to begin the Rec Hall season with the Nittany Lion Invitational on Sept. 5-6, welcoming Long Island, George Washington and Villanova.
For the third weekend of the season, Penn State will head to the Chicagoland area for the Chicago Classic hosted by Illinois-Chicago on Sept. 12-13, where it will face the host Flames along with Illinois State and Louisville. The Nittany Lions will close out the preseason with the Penn State Classic on Sept. 19-20, hosting Yale, New Hampshire and Saint Louis.
Penn State opens up Big Ten play with Purdue and Illinois at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions and Boilermakers will square off on Friday, Sept. 26 at 7:00 p.m. before the Lions host the Fighting Illini on Sunday, Sept. 28 at 1:00 p.m. The match was moved to Sunday to accommodate the Penn State-Illinois football game at Beaver Stadium on Saturday at 8:00 p.m.
The Nittany Lions return all seven starters from last season's 34-2 National and Big Ten Champion squad, including First Team AVCA All-Americans Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio), Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) and Christa Harmotto (Aliquippa, Pa.) along with AVCA Second Team All-American Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.), Big Ten Freshman of the Year Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.), Big Ten All-Freshman Team member Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) and team digs-leader Roberta Holehouse (Joppa, Md.). Also returning for the Lions will be Alyssa D'Errico (Byron, N.Y.) and Kelsey Ream (State College, Pa.).
New to the team will be 6-5 freshman outside hitter Katie Kabbes (Raleigh, N.C.), 5-8 junior setter Kim Hohl (DeKalb, Ill.), 5-6 freshman defensive specialist Megan Shifflett (Falls Church, Va.), 5-6 sophomore defensive specialist Cathy Quilico (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and 5-5 freshman defensive specialist Heather Tice (Allentown, Pa.).
For more information on the Penn State women's volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com.