Nov. 23, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State women's volleyball senior outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) has been named the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced. This prestigious honor is the fourth overall and second consecutive for a Nittany Lions women's volleyball student-athlete. Bonnie Bremner earned the accolade in 1998 and 1999, and Christa Harmotto was selected in 2008.
Hodge, who was also named one of six ESPN The Magazine First Team Academic All-Americans, earns her second career honor after being selected to the Second Team in 2008. Hodge is a Business major with a 3.45 grade point average.
A three-time AVCA First Team All-American who is on track to become Penn State's fourth four-time All-American, Hodge has led Penn State to back-to-back NCAA titles, as well as the 2009 Big Ten title. It was the seventh straight and 13th overall for the program. In 2009, Hodge leads Penn State with 436 kills, averaging 4.69 kills per set with a .400 attack percentage. Hodge ranks ninth in the nation in kills and 10th in hitting percentage. In addition, Hodge has tallied 10 service aces, 229 digs (2.46 digs per set) and 63 total blocks (0.68 blocks per set). Most recently, Hodge surpassed the 2,000 career kills mark after tallying 24 at Purdue on Nov. 20. She became just the second Nittany Lion in program history to reach the milestone and heads into the final weekend of conference play with 2,018. Hodge has been honored twice this season as the Big Ten Player of the Week (9/21, 11/2) and as the AVCA National Player of the Week (9/22, 11/3).
Hodge has led Penn State to a 134-5 record during her Penn State career, with the Nittany Lions winning 94 straight dating back to Sept. 15, 2007. The streak ranks second all-time among NCAA Division I winning streaks. Hodge has been honored as the Most Outstanding Player at the NCAA Championship the last two seasons. She is a three-time All-Big Ten first team honoree, including a unanimous First Team Preseason All-Big Ten selection prior to this season. As a freshman, Hodge became the first Big Ten player to earn Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year honors in the same season. She was also the first freshman in the league to earn AVCA First Team All-America laurels and was the AVCA National Freshman of the Year.
To be nominated for ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a starter or key reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale), and must be a sophomore in both athletic and academic standing. Academic All-Americans are chosen from a pool of the ESPN The Magazine First Team Academic All-District selections in the eight districts across the country.
The top-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team concludes the regular season at home this weekend. The Nittany Lions face Michigan State on Friday, Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall, followed by nationally-ranked Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall. The squad's three seniors, including Hodge, will be honored prior to Penn State's match with Michigan.
For more information on the Penn State women's volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State women's volleyball 2009 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets and The Outlets At Hershey.
2009 ESPN THE MAGAZINE Academic All-America®
Volleyball Team (University Division) as selected by CoSIDA
FIRST TEAM
Jessica Boulavsky, Rice, Sr., 4.00, Psychology & Pre-Med
Kori Cooper, Nebraska, Sr., 3.81, Speech & Language Pathology
Molly Davis, SE Missouri State, Sr., 4.00, Sports Management
Meagan Dooley, Pittsburgh, Sr., 4.00, Liberal Studies/Special Education
Megan Hodge*, Penn State, Sr., 3.45, Business
Rachael Moss, Duke, Sr., 3.94, Political Science
SECOND TEAM
Sarah Cline, South Carolina, Sr., 4.00, Exercise Science
Jill Collymore, Washington, Sr., 3.77, Honors Psychology & Honors Digital Arts
Elizabeth Fleming, Marshall, Sr., 4.00, International Affairs
Alix Klineman, Stanford, Jr., 3.53, Art
Jill Nyhof, Coastal Carolina, Sr., 4.00, Political Science
Chloe Smith, Central Arkansas, Jr., 3.93, Digital Filmmaking
THIRD TEAM
Sabrina Baby, NJIT, Sr., 3.91, Business
JuliAnne Chisholm, Kansas State, Jr., 4.00, Athletic Training/Pre-Med
Lauren Felsing, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Sr., 3.97, Marketing
Angie Porche, Valparaiso, Sr., 3.76, Psychology
Sarah Rumely, Kentucy, Sr., 3.63, Kinesiology/Exercise Science
Caitlin Saxton, Rutgers, Jr., 4.00, Sociology
* - Academic All-American of the Year