Feb. 2, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) and the three-time defending national champion Penn State women's volleyball team are to be honored by the Touchdown Club of Columbus on Saturday, Feb. 6. Hodge has been selected as the 2009 Female Athlete of the Year and head coach Russ Rose, in honor of the team and the University will receive an Award of Distinction for the remarkable 2009 season.
Hodge and Rose will be honored at the 55th Annual Sports Awards Banquet at the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio. For more information on the awards and banquet, please visit www.touchdownclubofcolumbus.com.
Hodge, a nominee for the AAU Sullivan award, was the 2009 Honda Award Winner for Volleyball. The outside hitter led the Nittany Lions to an unprecedented third straight NCAA National Championship with a come-from-behind 3-2 triumph against No. 2 Texas. The Nittany Lions, having not seen defeat since Sept. 15, 2007, are on a record-breaking 102-match winning streak.
The 2009 AVCA Division I National Player of the Year, Hodge averaged 4.67 kills per set during her senior season to lead the Big Ten and rank eighth in the nation. She became just the second player in program history to reach 2,000 career kills and finished with 2,142 to her name. Hodge and teammate Alisha Glass are the winningest class in program history with a career win/loss record of 142-5. Hodge is a four-time AVCA First Team All-American and was the Big Ten Player of the Year for the second time in her career in 2009. In addition, Hodge has also excelled off the court in the classroom and was honored as the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year.
The Lions are coached by AVCA Hall of Fame honoree Russ Rose, who recorded his 1,000th career victory against Hawaii in the NCAA National Semifinals. He is one of just three women's volleyball coaches to have reached the milestone and has 1,001 heading into 2010.
This is just the latest of several honors for the Penn State women's volleyball team or members of the program. The Nittany Lions were selected as the Dapper Dan Sportswomen of the Year, Rose will be inducted National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame on April 18 at the Suffolk Y JCC in Commack, N.Y and the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association is honoring the team with a Special Achievement Award.
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.