Sept. 14, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Former Nittany Lion women's volleyball player Christa Harmotto was one of two U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team members who received individual honors for the Final Four Intercontinental Cup. Harmotto helped the U.S. Women to a silver medal in the tournament, which was held in Lima, Peru. The U.S. women suffered a 3-1 loss to Brazil in the gold medal match on Sunday, Sept. 13.
A starter in all 20 sets and five matches of the tournament, Harmotto averaged 0.95 blocks per set. The middle blocker totaled 19 blocks in the tournament, including eight against the Dominican Republic in the semifinal match on Saturday, Sept. 12.
Harmotto's teammate Angie Pressey was also honored after recording a tournament-leading 69 points. Other honorees included Brazil's Joyce Silva as the MVP and the Dominican Republic's libero Brenda Castillo who earned awards for Best Libero, Best Receiver and Best Digger.
Harmotto, and teammate Nicole Fawcett who is also a member of the U.S. Women's National Team, were four-year members of the Penn State women's volleyball team under head coach Russ Rose. Fawcett, a four-time All-American, and Harmotto, a three-time All-American, helped guide the Nittany Lions to back-to-back NCAA National Titles in their final two seasons at PSU.
2009 Final Four Intercontinental Cup Schedule
Round Robin Phase
Sept. 9: Brazil def. USA 25-12, 18-25, 25-22, 19-25, 15-13
Sept. 9: Dominican Republic def. Peru 25-14, 25-22, 25-13
Sept. 10: Brazil def. Dominican Republic 25-18, 25-18, 25-18
Sept. 10: USA def. Peru 25-10, 20-25, 25-14, 25-20
Sept. 11: Dominican Republic def. USA 25-20, 25-19, 25-23
Sept. 11: Brazil def. Peru 25-18, 26-24, 25-11
Semifinal Round
Sept. 12: #3 USA def. #2 Dominican Republic 25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 26-24
Sept. 12: #1 Brazil def. #4 Peru 25-21, 25-13, 25-15
Classification Round
Sept. 13: Dominican Republic def. Peru 25-17, 25-21, 27-25 (Bronze-Medal Match)
Sept. 13: Brazil def. USA 25-17, 25-16, 25-27, 25-19 (Gold-Medal Match)