Oct. 19, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 9 Penn State women's volleyball team is back on the road for a midweek matchup with Ohio State. The Nittany Lions face the Buckeyes on Wednesday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m.
Live stats will be available for all matches via a link at GoPSUsports.com. The match will air live on the Big Ten Network.
Nittany Lion Preview
The three-time defending national champion Penn State women's volleyball team travels to Ohio State on Wednesday, Oct. 20 for a midweek matchup with the Buckeyes.
The Nittany Lions improved to 15-4 overall with a 5-3 record in league play with a 3-1 win against No. 19 Minnesota and a sweep of Iowa last weekend. So far this season, three Nittany Lions are averaging 2.75 kills per set or more, including senior Blair Brown who leads the team with 3.69 kills per set. Freshman Deja McClendon is not far behind with 3.52 kills per set and senior Arielle Wilson is averaging 2.75 kills per set. Sophomore Kristin Carpenter has been the primary setter this season, averaging 10.50 assists per set. She has guided three of her primary hitters to a .303 hitting percentage or better. Senior libero Alyssa D'Errico has a team-high 3.91 digs per set, while there are three middle hitters averaging at least 1.24 blocks per set including Wilson (1.30 bps), senior Fatima Balza (1.24 bps) and freshman Katie Slay (1.39 bps).
Penn State vs. Ohio State
The Nittany Lions are 34-14 all-time against the Buckeyes dating back to 1981. Ohio State has the most wins of any Big Ten opponent against Penn State. The Lions have won the last six meetings with Ohio State's last win coming on Nov. 8, 2006. It was Penn State's last Big Ten loss until PSU's 3-2 setback at Illinois. The Nittany Lions had won a conference-record 65 consecutive Big Ten matches.
Scouting the Buckeyes
Ohio State is 16-5 overall with a 4-4 record in Big Ten play. The Buckeyes are currently hitting .284 as a team with 13.35 kills per set and averaging 2.97 blocks per set. OSU is 1-3 against nationally-ranked teams, with their one win coming on Saturday, Oct. 16 against then No. 19 Minnesota in a 3-0 sweep.
Penn State Recap
The Nittany Lions rebounded over the weekend with a 3-1 win against No. 19 Minnesota and a 3-0 sweep of Iowa. Brown led the team with 31 kills (4.43 kills per set), while Wilson and McClendon totaled 22 kills apiece. Carpenter led the team with 84 assists (12.00 assists per set), while D'Errico had a team-high 28 digs (4.00 digs per set). Brown also contributed 25 digs (3.57 digs per set). Wilson led the team at the net with 10 total blocks (1.43 blocks per set).
What's Next?
Penn State travels to Northwestern on Saturday, Nov. 23 before returning home the weekend of Oct. 29 to host Indiana and Purdue.
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.