Nov. 21, 2008
University Park, Pa. - The top-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team clinched its sixth consecutive outright Big Ten title with a three-game sweep of Northwestern (25-15, 25-18, 25-11) Friday at Rec Hall in front of 5,799 fans, a title streak that is unprecedented in the Big Ten in women's volleyball. The Nittany Lions improve to 29-0 and 17-0 in the league while the Wildcats fall to 8-20 and 2-15 in the conference.
"First of all, I'd like to congratulate the women's volleyball team on their sixth straight Big Ten title," said legendary Penn State football head coach Joe Paterno at a pep rally following the match. "I've said this before, I'm the coach that gets the publicity, but the best coach on this campus is Russ Rose."
The Nittany Lions have now captured 12 Big Ten titles in the 18 years since joining the Big Ten for the 1991 season. With the win, Penn State pushed its NCAA-record winning streak to 55 matches and also moved its consecutive-games won streak to 88 dating back to the game-five win in last season's NCAA National Championship.
"There was a great energy in the gym tonight and the crowd was great," said head coach Russ Rose, who claimed his 20th overall conference title with the win, including the eight straight his teams captured while competing in the Atlantic 10. "I didn't think we played great but it was a nice for the players to win the Big Ten title at home. It's a special thing for the players, parents and fans. I left Christa (Harmotto) in to serve at the end of the match because I wouldn't want anyone else to serve championship point. She's a special player and a special person."
Senior outside hitter Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio) led all players with 12 kills as junior outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) contributed 10 kills on .643 hitting. Senior middle hitter Christa Harmotto (Aliquippa, Pa.) posted nine kills on .400 hitting while sophomore opposite Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) tallied seven kills without an error on 10 swings to hit .700. As a team, Penn State attacked at a .443 clip while holding Northwestern to hitting .038.
Junior setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) dished out 36 assists and added a match-high eight digs while Hodge notched seven and senior libero Roberta Holehouse (Joppa, Md.) added in five digs. The Nittany Lions outdug the Wildcats, 35-22, and also recorded eight service aces in the match, with three from Fawcett, two each from Holehouse and sophomore defensive specialist Alyssa D'Errico (Byron, N.Y) and one from junior Kelsey Ream (State College, Pa.).
Penn State outblocked Northwestern, 6.0 to 5.0, led by Glass with five stuffs, Harmotto with three blocks and sophomore middle hitter Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) with two blocks to go along with her four kills on an errorless six swings.
Penn State jumped out to the 9-4 lead to start the match behind two D'Errico aces and kills from Harmotto, Fawcett and Glass. A service ace from Ream pushed the score to 15-7 and a Fawcett kill and ace pushed the lead to 18-9. A Harmotto kill gave Penn State the 20-11 advantage before a Hodge kill made it 22-14 and kills from Fawcett and Hodge along with a Northwestern attack error ended the game, 25-15. Fawcett led the squad with four kills as the Lions hit .500 in the set.
The Nittany Lions again took the early lead in the second game, going up 9-2 aided by Fawcett and Holehouse aces and a Harmotto and Glass block. Kills from Fawcett, Brown and Wilson moved the score to 14-8 before a Fawcett put-away and a Brown solo block gave Penn State the 17-11 advantage. A Hodge kill and Wildcat attack error pushed Penn State ahead 21-14 before a Wilson kill ended the game, 25-18. Brown led the Lions with four kills on an errorless five swings to hit .800 in the set.
Penn State opened up the third game on an 8-0 run behind kills from Harmotto, Glass and Fawcett along with a Harmotto and Glass block. A Brown kill pushed the score to 14-2 and Lion kills from Fawcett and Hodge along with another Fawcett ace made it 18-3. Hodge and Harmotto kills extended the Lion lead to 22-7 before a Harmotto and Glass block coupled with a Fawcett kill gave Penn State the game, 25-11. Fawcett posted fie kills in the set as Hodge added in four.
The Nittany Lions close out the regular season at home when they host Wisconsin on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 8:00 p.m. at Rec Hall. The match will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network on a tape-delay basis on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 8:00 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.