Nov. 18, 2008
University Park, Pa. - A day after she was named the Big Ten Player of the Week, Penn State women's volleyball junior setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) has been named the Sports Imports/AVCA National Division I Player of the Week, AVCA officials announced.
It is the first of the season for the top-ranked Nittany Lions and third national honor of Glass' career as she was also recognized on Nov. 19, 2007 and Sept. 11, 2006. It is also the sixth honor in Penn State history as Syndie Nadeau was honored on Nov. 8, 2004, Sam Tortorello on Oct. 3, 2005 and Megan Hodge on Sept. 10, 2007, in addition to Glass' three nods.
Behind Glass' play, Penn State (28-0, 16-0 Big Ten) picked up a pair of road sweeps over top-20 opponents as the Lions set a new NCAA record for consecutive matches won and also clinched at least a share of its sixth consecutive Big Ten title. At No. 17 Illinois on Friday, Glass dished out 40 assists and directed the offense to a .400 hitting percentage while also tallying two kills, three blocks and a match-high nine digs. At No. 18 Purdue on Saturday, Glass led the offense to a .412 hitting percentage while recording 41 assists and 10 digs for her first double-double of the season.
For the weekend, Glass averaged 13.50 assists per game while leading the offense to a combined .406 clip. All five of her hitters reached double-digit kills and none hit lower than .218 for the weekend. Individually she led the squad with 19 digs and chipped in five blocks and three kills on an errorless six swings to hit .500.
Penn State returns home to host its final regular-season weekend on Nov. 21 and 22 when it welcomes Northwestern and Wisconsin to Rec Hall. Penn State could clinch its sixth straight outright Big Ten title on Friday when the Nittany Lions and Wildcats face off at 7:00 p.m. ET. A football pep rally will also be held at the conclusion of the women's volleyball match. Penn State and Michigan State meet on Saturday at Beaver Stadium and the winner will earn no worse than a share of the Big Ten Championship. With a win, the football squad would earn the Big Ten's automatic berth into the Bowl Championship Series and become the fourth Penn State team to win the conference this fall, joining field hockey, women's soccer and women's volleyball.
Penn State volleyball team then meets the Badgers on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET in a contest that will be tape-delay broadcast on the Big Ten Network. Saturday night will also be Senior Night, honoring Nicole Fawcett, Christa Harmotto and Roberta Holehouse prior to the match for their contributions to Penn State and the women's volleyball program.
Tickets for the volleyball matches 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. Tickets for both matches will be available at the door of Rec Hall until capacity is reached.
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.