Dec. 10, 2008
University Park, Pa. -
• Complete List of AVCA All-Region Teams in PDF Format
• NCAA Tournament Central - This Weekend At Rec Hall!
The top-ranked and defending national champion Penn State women's volleyball team (34-0) collected a school-record six First Team All-Mideast Region honors, the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced today. Sophomore opposite Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.), senior outside hitter Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio), junior setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.), senior middle hitter Christa Harmotto (Aliquippa, Pa.), junior outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) and sophomore middle hitter Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) were six of 14 players named to the all-region squad. In addition, Nittany Lion head coach Russ Rose was named the AVCA Mideast Region Coach of the Year.
Penn State's six all-region honors bring the Lions' total number of honorees to 61 in the program's history and all are now eligible for AVCA All-America honors, announced in conjunction with the NCAA Championship in Omaha, Neb., on Dec. 18 & 20.
The honors are the fourth of both Fawcett's and Harmotto's career while Hodge earned her third career honor, Glass picked up her second career recognition and Wilson and Brown both earned their first career all-region nod. Rose, last year's AVCA National Coach of the Year, earns his sixth career region honor.
Brown has played all 34 matches for the undefeated Nittany Lions at opposite, ranking third on the team in hitting percentage (.428) while averaging 1.85 kills per game and 0.79 blocks per game. Last weekend in the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament, Brown posted 14 kills with one error on 19 swings to hit .684 while averaging 2.33 kills per game. She posted a season-high 11 kills at Indiana and had 10 kills on .421 hitting at Minnesota. Against Illinois and Purdue, Brown pounded a combined 16 kills (2.67 kpg) without an error on 22 swings to hit .727 with eight blocks.
Fawcett, the 2008 Big Ten Player of the Year, ranks second on the squad with 3.79 kills per game on .391 hitting, a mark that places her fourth on the team and 16th in the nation in hitting percentage. A three-time AVCA All-American and the 2005 AVCA National Freshman of the Year, Fawcett has led the team in kills 15 times this season and currently sits second all-time on Penn State's career kills list with 1,891. She has reached a season-high 17 kills twice, including against Illinois State and Wisconsin. Fawcett, who is also averaging 1.87 digs per game and 0.78 blocks per game, leads the team and the Big Ten in service aces with an average of 0.37 aces per game.
Glass, a unanimous 2008 First Team All-Big Ten pick, is leading the Lions to a school-record and nation-leading .404 team attack percentage, with none of her five primary hitters attacking below a .341 clip. She leads the country with 12.40 assists per game and was named the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week for the third time in her career earlier this season after leading Penn State to wins over Illinois and Purdue with an average of 13.50 assists per game while leading the offense to a combined .406 clip. A 2007 AVCA Second Team All-American, individually Glass has 60 kills on .344 hitting while also providing 1.79 digs per game and 1.00 blocks per game, good for third on the team.
Harmotto, last year's Big Ten Player of the Year and a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten pick this season, currently leads the country with a school-record .509 hitting percentage while adding in 2.48 kills per game. Named the ESPN Academic All-American of the Year, Harmotto also leads the team and ranks third in the country with 1.48 blocks per game. She posted nine blocks at Minnesota and has led the team at the net in 17 matches this season. Harmotto recorded a season-high 13 kills against Illinois-Chicago and sits 17th all-time on the career kills chart with 1,215. This season the 2007 AVCA First Team All-American also became only the fifth player in Nittany Lion history to record more than 1,000 career kills and 500 career blocks.
Hodge, a two-time AVCA First Team All-American and the 2007 NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player, leads the team with 3.99 kills per game on .341 hitting. She has led the team in kills 18 times this season, including a season-high 18 at Michigan to help her pick up Big Ten Player of the Week honors. A 2008 unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection, Hodge averaged 4.33 kills per game on .600 hitting with 2.67 digs per game against Northwestern and Wisconsin, and for the year ranks second on the squad with 2.00 digs per game.
Wilson, a 2008 First Team All-Big Ten pick and last season's NCAA Regional Most Outstanding Player, ranks second on the team with a .480 hitting percentage while averaging 2.21 kills per game. She ranks second on the team and 14th in the nation in blocking with 1.41 blocks per game, leading the squad in stuffs 17 times this season. Wilson, a two-time Big Ten Player of the Week this year, posted a season-high 12 kills - one shy of her personal best - at Michigan State, and has equaled her season-best nine blocks four times in 2008.
Rose picks up his sixth AVCA Mideast Region Coach of the Year honor and was also recognized as the Big Ten Coach of the Year for the 10th time in his career. He has led his Nittany Lion squad to 28 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and 12 Big Ten titles in 18 years, including the last six consecutive championships. He leads the nation with a .858 winning percentage based on his career record of 959-159 and his 2008 squad became the first collegiate women's volleyball team in history to finish the regular season undefeated in individual games.
In addition to the Penn State AVCA All-Region picks, this weekend's NCAA Regional Championship at Rec Hall features eight more AVCA All-Region honorees. Illinois' Michelle Bartsch was named the Mideast Region Freshman of the Year and also picked up Honorable Mention All-Region honors, along with her teammate Johannah Bangert and Western Michigan's Jillian Mitchell. Illini outside hitter Laura DeBruler was named First Team All-Mideast Region. In the Pacific Region, California's Hana Cutura and Carli Lloyd earned First Team honors while their teammates, Mindy Wiley and Am'ra Solomon, picked up honorable mention recognition.
Penn State will go for another NCAA record on Friday when it hosts Western Michigan on Friday, Dec. 12 at 6:00 p.m. at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions have won their last 103 consecutive games dating back to the game-five win in last season's national championship, and the 2003 Florida team holds the NCAA record with 105 consecutive games won.
The first match on Friday will feature eighth-ranked and -seeded California and No. 14 Illinois, the NCAA Tournament's ninth-seed, at 3:30 p.m. ET at Rec Hall. The Penn State-Western Michigan match will follow. Both matches will feature Gametracker and free live video on www.GoPSUsports.com.
Friday's winners face off on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 4:00 p.m. ET at Rec Hall live on ESPNU for the right to advance to the NCAA National Semifinal next Thursday, Dec. 18, at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. The NCAA National Championship match is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 20.
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.
2008 AVCA All-Mideast Region
Blair Brown, Penn State University, Opp., So.
Laura DeBruler, University of Illinois, OH, So.
Brook Dieter, University of Minnesota, OH, So.
Nicole Fawcett, Penn State University, OH, Sr.
Lauren Gibbemeyer, University of Minnesota, MH, So.
Alisha Glass, Penn State University, S, Jr.
Christa Harmotto, Penn State University, MH, Sr.
Ellen Herman, Ohio University, OH, Jr.
Megan Hodge, Penn State University, OH, Jr.
Stephanie Lynch, Purdue University, MH, Sr.
Erica Short, Indiana University, OH, Sr.
Christine Tan, University of Minnesota, L, So.
Arielle Wilson, Penn State University, MH, So.
Lexi Zimmerman, University of Michigan, S, So.
Region Freshman of the Year: Michelle Bartsch, University of Illinois, Opp.