Nov. 30, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) was named Co-Big Ten Player of the Week, conference officials announced Monday. Hodge shares the honor with Minnesota's Lauren Gibbemeyer. This is the third honor of the season for Hodge and the seventh of her career.
The honor brings Penn State's total Big Ten Player of the Week accolades to 73 since joining the conference for the 1991 season. This is the 13th weekly honor for the squad in 2009 as junior Arielle Wilson has been honored three times, senior Alisha Glass was chosen on Oct. 12, Hodge was selected on Sept. 12 and Nov. 2, junior Blair Brown earned the honor on Nov. 16 and Dorton has been named the Freshman of the Week five times.
Hodge led the Nittany Lions to two 3-0 sweeps to help Penn State conclude the regular season undefeated for the third straight year. Against Michigan State, Hodge put down 19 kills on .419 hitting, while also tallying four digs, three blocks, two aces and one assist. The following night against No. 12 Michigan, Hodge registered 17 kills on .351 hitting. She closed out the night with a team-best 11 digs, three assists and one block. For the weekend, Hodge totaled 36 kills averaging 6.0 kills per set, while also contributing 2.5 digs per set.
The Nittany Lions begin 2009 NCAA Tournament action on Friday, Dec. 4 when Binghamton arrives at Rec Hall. Action is set for 7:30 p.m.