Dec. 17, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State women's volleyball senior setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) and senior outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) have been named two of four finalists for the 2009-10 Honda Sports Award to determine the top woman collegiate athlete in that sport. Cal's Hana Cutura and Texas' Destinee Hooker join Glass and Hodge as finalists.
After nationwide balloting, the Honda Award winner becomes a nominee for the Honda-Broderick Cup, given each year to the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year. American Honda Motor Co., Inc., which sponsors the program, donates $5,000 to each Honda Sports Award recipient school and $1,000 to the school of each nominee.
Glass, a 2009 AVCA First Team All-American, leads the Big Ten and is fourth in the nation with 12.02 assists per set. She has guided the Nittany Lions to a nation-leading .394 attack percentage and junior teammate Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) to a record-breaking .559 hitting percentage. Glass has contributed 1,358 assists this season and currently ranks fourth on Penn State's all-time assists list with 5,705. A unanimous 2009 First Team All-Big Ten selection, Glass ranks third on the team with 263 digs (2.33 digs per set) and has also been strong at the net with 96 total blocks. Glass has started all 113 sets this season, guiding Penn State to a perfect 36-0 record heading into the National Semifinals.
Hodge, a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year and unanimous First Team All-Big Ten honoree, became Penn State's fourth four-time All-American in 2009. The Gainesville Regional Most Outstanding Player ranks second in the Big Ten and eighth in the country with a .399 attack percentage. She has totaled a team-best 527 kills and her 4.75 kills per set leads the Big Ten and ranks eighth in the country. Hodge contributes in all facets of the game. She has contributed 13 aces, ranks second on the squad with 267 digs (2.41 digs per set) and has 76 total blocks. For her career, Hodge sits at second on Penn State's career kills list with 2,109 and is just the second player in program history to surpass the 2,000 kills milestone.
The Nittany Lions continue their quest for the 2009 NCAA National Title tonight versus Hawai'i. Penn State takes on the Rainbow Wahine at 9 p.m. in the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN2. Fans can listen to the match live on Newsradio 103 WRSC-FM (103.1FM) in State College and surrounding areas and around the world for free on GoPSUSports.com. Air time Thursday night will be 8:30 and will include extensive pre- and post-match interviews with head coach Russ Rose, assistant coach Dennis Hohenshelt and select players. You will be able to email comments and questions during the broadcast to Dean and Craig at PSUVolleyball@gmail.com. You can also follow the Nittany Lions' trip to Tampa on Twitter, by following @PSUVolleyball and Susanpsusports.
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.