Sept. 24, 2008
University Park, Pa. - The top-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team begins its run for a sixth consecutive Big Ten title this weekend at Rec Hall when it hosts No. 19 Purdue and No. 20 Illinois. On Friday, Sept. 26 at 6:00 p.m., the defending national champions face the Boilermakers, and prior to the match, will have their 2007 NCAA Championship banner raised to the Rec Hall ceiling in a ceremony. After the contest will be a "Rally In The Valley" football pep rally. On Saturday, Sept. 27 at 3:00 p.m., Penn State will face off with Illinois before the Nittany Lions and Fighting Illini face off on the gridiron across campus at 8:00 p.m.
Gametracker will be available for both matches at www.GoPSUsports.com, and the Penn State-Purdue contest will be streamed live online.
Tickets will be on sale at the door and are $5 for adults, $3 for youth and $2 per person for groups of 10 or more. Penn State students are free with their PSU ID. Fans are encouraged to get to Rec Hall early on Friday as the doors will be closed once capacity is reached.
Previewing Penn State
The Nittany Lions enter the weekend with a 12-0 overall record and a 36-0 record in individual games after sweeping Yale (25-7, 25-13, 25-16), New Hampshire (25-10, 25-14, 25-15) and Saint Louis (25-17, 25-12, 25-15) last weekend at the Hampton Inn Penn State Classic. Senior outside hitter Nicole Fawcett, who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, leads the team for the season with an average of 3.85 kills per game and junior outside hitter Megan Hodge adds in 3.83 kills per game while senior middle hitter Christa Harmotto chips in 2.73 kills per game on a nation-leading .552 hitting percentage. Junior setter Alisha Glass directs the offense with a Big Ten-leading 12.39 assists per game and senior libero Roberta Holehouse tops the defense with 3.36 digs per game. Harmotto and sophomore middle hitter Arielle Wilson head the blocking list with 1.27 and 1.19 blocks per game, respectively. As a team, Penn State is hitting a national-best .398 with 14.81 kills per game, 1.67 service aces per game, 12.53 digs per game and 2.85 blocks per game.
Scouting Purdue
The Boilermakers come into the match with an 11-1 record after defeating Dayton (25-17, 24-26, 8-25, 25-23, 15-11), Louisville (27-25, 25-18, 25-22) and Miami (25-16, 25-15, 25-15) last weekend. Senior outside hitter Danita Merlau and senior middle hitter Stephanie Lynch lead the squad with 3.60 and 3.59 kills per game, respectively, while sophomore middle hitter Kristen Arthurs adds in 2.11 kills per game. Sophomore setter Jaclyn Hart directs the offense with 9.69 assists per game and senior libero Kelli Miller tops the defense with 4.60 digs per game. Lynch heads the blocking list with 1.34 blocks per game as Arthurs chips in 1.09 blocks per game. As a team, Purdue is hitting .227 with 12.82 kills per game, 1.13 service aces per game, 14.40 digs per game and 2.68 blocks per game.
The Series: Penn State vs. Purdue
Penn State leads Purdue, 39-5, in a series that began in 1981. The Nittany Lions have claimed the last 38 consecutive meetings, including a three-game sweep (30-24, 30-14, 30-28) on Nov. 2, 2007 at Rec Hall.
Scouting Illinois
The Fighting Illini enter the weekend with a 9-2 mark after defeating Gardner-Webb (25-11, 25-12, 25-9), Illinois State (18-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-23) and SIU-Edwardsville (25-18, 25-13, 25-13) in their last three matches. Sophomore outside hitter Laura DeBruler leads the team with 4.43 kills per game as junior outside hitter Kylie McCulley chips in 2.82 kills per game. Sophomore setter Hillary Haen and senior setter Lizzie Bazzetta run the 6-2 offense with 6.05 and 5.17 assists per game, respectively, while junior libero Ashley Edinger tops the defense with 4.76 digs per game. Sophomore middle hitter Abby Nelson leads the blocking list with 1.17 blocks per game. As a team, Illinois is hitting .221 with 13.38 kills per game, 1.29 service aces per game, 16.52 digs per game and 2.63 blocks per game.
The Series: Penn State vs. Illinois
Penn State leads Illinois, 32-6, in a series that began in 1981. The Nittany Lions have claimed the last nine meetings, including a three-game sweep (30-27, 30-22, 30-18) on Nov. 17, 2007 at Rec Hall.
Next Up
The Nittany Lions have a split week, traveling to Indiana on Wednesday, Oct. 1 for a 7:00 p.m. ET contest before returning home to host Michigan State on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 7:00 p.m. Both matches will be aired live on the Big Ten Network. The match with Michigan State will be the "Dig Pink" match, as Penn State volleyball teams with the Sideout Foundation for the fight against breast cancer. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the match and click HERE to donate to the cause.
For more information on the Penn State women's volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State women's volleyball 2008 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets and The Outlets At Hershey.