Nov. 30, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After winning its seventh straight and 13th overall Big Ten title, the top-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team secured three individual awards from the league, conference officials announced Monday. Head coach Russ Rose was named Coach of the Year by his peers and the media, senior outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) was selected Player of the Year for the second time in her career and freshman outside hitter Darcy Dorton (Muncie, Ind.) earned Freshman of the Year.
Hodge joined senior setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.), junior opposite Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) and junior middle hitter Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) as First Team All-Big Ten honorees. Hodge, Brown and Glass were unanimous selections. Dorton was also a unanimous selection to the Big Ten All-Freshman team.
Hodge is the 11th overall and fifth straight Nittany Lion to earn Player of the Year honors and is only the fifth player in league history to win the award more than once. In 2006, Hodge became the first Big Ten player to be named Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year in the same season. Hodge is also only the fifth Penn State player to pick up four First Team selections. Hodge, who was this week's Co-Big Ten Player of the Week, has a team-best 472 kills in 2009 and recently surpassed the 2,000 career kills milestone. She heads into the postseason with 2,054, which ranks second on PSU's all-time career kills list. She leads the squad and the Big Ten averaging 4.77 kills per set, good enough for eighth in the nation. The senior also ranks third in the league with a .399 hitting percentage and her 5.25 points per set is first in the Big Ten.
Dorton became Penn State's eighth Freshman of the Year in program history and is the third Freshman of the Year on this year's squad, as Hodge earned the honor in 2006 and Wilson in 2007. A five-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, Dorton is fourth on the team with 232 kills and 2.42 kills per set. She has also totaled 42 digs and 53 total blocks heading into NCAA postseason play.
Rose earned his 11th overall and fifth consecutive Big Ten Coach of the Year award. He also picked up the honor in 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. He holds a career record of 995-159 in his 31 seasons for a nation-leading winning percentage of .862. Rose guided the Nittany Lions to their seventh straight and 13th overall Big Ten title in 2009 after finished the Big Ten slate undefeated at 20-0. He has captured 21 conference titles during his career, including eight straight Atlantic 10 title from 1983-1990. Penn State is currently in the midst of a 96-match winning streak. The Nittany Lions are one of just two teams to appear in every postseason event since its inception in 1981. Rose has also coached at least one All-American in 29 of his 30 seasons, including 19 conference players of the year in the last 25 years.
Glass earned a spot on the first team for the third straight season. She has guided Penn State to a nation-leading .392 attack percentage in 2009 and is averaging a conference-best 12.06 assists per set, good enough for fourth in the nation. Three of her primary hitters are attacking at .358 or better. Her 1,218 assists so far this season has moved her into fourth place on Penn State's all-time career assists list with 5,545. The senior ranks third on the team with 235 digs averaging 2.33 digs per set. A two-time AVCA All-American, Glass has at least one dig in every match this year, including nine double-digit digs matches with a season-high 14 against Wisconsin. She also has 87 kills on .437 hitting with 87 total blocks.
Wilson earned her second conference honor after also being named to the First Team in 2008. A three-time Big Ten Player of the Week, she leads the team, Big Ten and the nation with a .553 hitting percentage. Wilson has at least five kills in 30 of Penn State's 32 matches this season with double-digit kills in 12. Heading into the postseason, the junior ranks third on the team with 287 kills (2.75 kills per set) and leads the squad with 157 total blocks. Her 1.55 blocks per set is a team-best and ranks second in the league. An AVCA Second Team All-American in 2008, Wilson hit a career-high and Penn State rally-scoring era record .929 with 13 kills on 14 errorless swings in a three-set victory against Saint Francis (Pa.) earlier this season.
Brown earned her first career Big Ten honor after closing out the regular season ranking second on the team with 289 kills with a 3.01 kills per set average. Brown also ranks second on the team in aces with 22, while also sitting tied for third on the squad with 87 total blocks. She has also contributed 128 digs (1.33 digs per set). Brown was selected Co-Big Ten Player of the Week on Nov. 16 for her first career weekly honor. She tied her career high with 17 kills against then No. 5 Illinois while attacking at a .538 clip. She followed that performance with nine kills on a team-best .500 attack percentage the following night against Northwestern. A 2008 AVCA Second Team All-American, Brown's .358 hitting percentage ranks fourth in the Big Ten.
Penn State earned the No. 1 overall seed in the 2009 NCAA Tournament. The Nittany Lions host America East Champion Binghamton (15-15) on Friday, Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Rec Hall. Patriot League Champion Army (26-5) squares off with Ivy League Champion Penn (22-5) at 5 p.m. on Friday. The winners of each of the matches will meet in the NCAA Second Round contest at 7:30 p.m. in Rec Hall on Saturday, Dec. 5.
ALL SESSION tickets for the First and Second rounds MUST be purchased at the Bryce Jordan Center Ticket office or by calling 814-865-5555 beginning on Monday, Nov. 30 at 10 a.m.up until Friday, Dec. 4 at Noon. All sessions tickets are $14 for adults and $8 for youth. SINGLE SESSION tickets WILL ONLY be available at Rec Hall on Friday and Saturday and are $8 for adults and $5 for youth.
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.