Nov. 3, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) was honored as this week's Sports Imports/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week a day after being selected as the Big Ten Player of the Week.
The honor is the second of the season for the No. 1 Penn State women's volleyball team and the third national honor of Hodge's career. She was also recognized on Sept. 10, 2007 and Sept. 22, 2009. This is also the eighth honor in Penn State women's volleyball history as Syndie Nadeau was chosen on Nov. 8, 2004, Sam Tortorello on Oct. 3, 2005 and current senior setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) has been selected on three occasions.
Hodge guided the Nittany Lions to two 3-0 sweeps of Big Ten opponents last week, including nationally-ranked Minnesota. The wins extended Penn State's winning streak to 88 straight matches to tie the UCLA men's basketball team for fourth place among Division I NCAA winning streaks. Against the Buckeyes on Oct. 28, Hodge totaled 16 kills attacking at a .419 clip. She also posted one ace, two blocks and 11 digs for her ninth double-double of the season. On Friday, Oct. 30, the outside hitter led all players with 19 kills for a .429 attack percentage. In addition, she registered one ace, one assist, two blocks and five saves. For the week, she averaged 5.80 kills per set with a .424 hitting percentage, 2.70 digs per set and 6.50 points per set.
The Nittany Lions are back in action on Friday, Nov. 6 at Wisconsin before traveling to Iowa on Saturday, Nov. 7. Both matches are set to begin at 7 p.m. (CT). Live stats and live audio will be available via a link at GoPSUsports.com.