Oct. 13, 2008
University Park, Pa. - Penn State women's volleyball sophomore middle hitter Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) has been named the Big Ten Player of the Week, conference officials announced. It is the third career honor for Wilson and the first this season. Her accolade brings Penn State's total Big Ten Player of the Week citations to 62 since joining the conference for the 1991 season, and it is the fourth honor of the year for the top-ranked Nittany Lions, as senior outside hitter Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio) has captured the award three times.
Wilson contributed on both the offensive and defensive ends to help No. 1 Penn State remain undefeated in both games and matches with wins at Iowa and No. 12 Minnesota over the weekend. Against the Hawkeyes, the sophomore recorded seven kills on .429 hitting with a season-high-tying nine blocks, a mark that also falls just short of her career high. Versus the Golden Gophers, Wilson equaled her season-high mark of 10 kills on .692 hitting, the second-highest kill total for the Lions, while also adding in three blocks to help Penn State outblock Minnesota 14.0 to 2.0.
For the weekend, Wilson recorded the highest kill total of a non-outside hitter with 17 for an average of 2.83 kills per game on a team-high .556 hitting, also adding in 12 total blocks for an average of 2.00 blocks per game.
Penn State returns home this weekend for Homecoming, hosting Michigan and Ohio State at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions and Wolverines meet on Friday, Oct. 17 at 8:00 p.m. before the Lions and Buckeyes meet on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 8:30 p.m.
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.