Aug. 26, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior Penn State women's volleyball middle hitter Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) was named a candidate for the inaugural Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for women's volleyball on Thursday. Wilson is one of four Penn State student-athletes nominated for the award that recognizes athletes with notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition.
Wilson, one of 30 candidates in the sport of women's volleyball, joins four Penn State student-athletes as nominees in their respective sports. Other Nittany Lion candidates include, women's soccer player Danielle Toney (Northville, Mich.), men's soccer player Andres Casais (Caracas, Venezuela) and Stefen Wisniewski (Bridgeville) of football.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Wilson, a 2009 AVCA First Team All-American, is one of eight AVCA All-Americans in this year's candidate class. She is also one of 12 who are members of teams ranked in the AVCA's preseason Top 25 poll. The candidate class will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot.
A 2010 Unanimous Preseason All-Big Ten Selection, Wilson started all 38 matches in 2009 and helped guide the Nittany Lions to an unprecedented third straight NCAA National Championship. She led the nation with a record-breaking .540 hitting percentage and her career hitting percentage of .489 ranks first on the Penn State career charts. Wilson was third on the team with 337 kills, averaging 2.76 kills per set, and had double-digit kills in 15 matches. The 2007 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Wilson led the team and the Big Ten with 186 total blocks. Her 1.52 blocks per set ranked second in the league and fourth in the nation.
A seven-time Big Ten Player of the Week, Wilson was named to both the 2009 NCAA Regional Championship All-Tournament Team, as well as the 2009 NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team. She is a two-time First Team All-Big Ten selection and also earned Academic All-Big Ten laurels.
The top-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team opens the 2010 season on Friday, Aug. 27 against North Carolina at 8 p.m. in the Carolina Classic. The Nittany Lions will face Villanova (11 a.m.) and Campbell (5:30 p.m.) on Saturday, Aug. 28.
For more information on the Penn State women's volleyball team, please visit GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State women's volleyball 2010 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets and The Outlets at Hershey.