Dec. 14, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format
2010 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
Interactive Bracket
Audio
Check Out the Day I Blog from Kansas City
Follow the Match Day Blog Here - Penn State vs. Texas
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The fourth-seeded Penn State women's volleyball team (30-5) heads to Kansas City, Mo. on Thursday, Dec. 16 to take on ninth-seeded Texas (27-5) in the NCAA National Semifinal. Action is set for 7 p.m. ET in Kansas City's Sprint Center.
Live stats will be available at GoPSUsports.com and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2. Fans can listen to the match with Dean DeVore, Craig Dyer and Jay Hosack on WRSC-FM 103.1 in State College and surrounding areas and around the world for free on GoPSUsports.com. Airtime Thursday night is 6:30 p.m. ET. Fans are encouraged to send comments and questions during the broadcast to Dean, Craig and Jay via Twitter by following @PSUVolleyball.
Nittany Lion Preview
The three-time defending national champion Penn State women's volleyball team continued postseason play last weekend when it swept Oklahoma in the NCAA Regional Semifinal on Friday, Dec. 10 and defeated Duke, 3-1, in the NCAA Regional Championship on Dec. 11 at Rec Hall. It was Penn State's 14th appearance in the NCAA Regional Championship. The Nittany Lions now own a 46-3 record in NCAA matches played at Rec Hall and a 70-25 overall record in NCAA action. With the win against Duke, the Nittany Lions advanced to the National Semifinals for the ninth time in program history.
The Nittany Lions are now 30-5 overall heading into the final week of the 2010 season. So far this season, three Nittany Lions are averaging 2.70 kills per set or more, including senior Blair Brown who leads the team with 4.20 kills per set. Freshman Deja McClendon is not far behind with 3.37 kills per set and senior Arielle Wilson is averaging 2.70 kills per set. Sophomore Kristin Carpenter has been the primary setter this season, averaging 11.39 assists per set. She has guided three of her primary hitters to a .323 hitting percentage or better. Senior libero Alyssa D'Errico has a team-high 4.13 digs per set, while there are three middle hitters averaging at least 1.15 blocks per set including Wilson (1.15 bps), senior Fatima Balza (1.33 bps) and freshman Katie Slay (1.52 bps).
Penn State vs. Texas
The Nittany Lions own a 9-6 record against Texas. Most recently the Nittany Lions hosted the Longhorns in Rec Hall in 2007 and also faced off with Texas in the 2009 National Championship. In 2007, the Nittany Lions defeated the Longhorns in back-to-back matches by a score a 3-1. The squads met again in 2009 in the National Championship match. Despite Texas taking a 2-0 lead, the Nittany Lions clawed back for a come-from-behind 3-2 victory for an unprecendented third straight national title.
Scouting the Longhorns
Texas is 27-5 overall heading in the final week of NCAA Tournament play. During the regular season the Longhorns earned a 4-4 record against nationally-ranked opponents. Texas secured a spot in the National Semifinals after defeating UTSA, UCLA, Illinois and Purdue.
Penn State vs. Possible National Championship Opponents
California
Penn State is 3-0 vs. California and all three meetings have been in NCAA Tournament play. The Nittany Lions first met Cal in 2007 in the NCAA National Semifinal. The squads met again in 2008 in the University Park Regional Championship, and met again in 2009 in the Regional Championship in Gainesville, Fla. Penn State swept California in all three matches.
USC
Penn State is 1-2 all-time against Southern California. The teams first met in 1980 in an AIAW Tournament match. USC won, 2-0. Penn State met up with USC again in 2000 in an NCAA Regional Championship match with the Trojans winning, 3-0. Most recently, the squads met up in 2005 in the Hawaiian Airlines Classic. Penn State earned a 3-1 win against the Trojans.
Penn State Recap
The Nittany Lions improved to 30-5 after sweeping Oklahoma and defeating Duke, 3-1, to advance to the NCAA National Semifinals for the ninth time in program history. In the University Park Regional, Brown led the Nittany Lions with 40 kills (5.71 kills per set) on .390 hitting. Carpenter dished out 90 assists, while D'Errico registered 33 digs (4.71 digs per set). Wilson led the Lions in blocks with 12 total (1.71 blocks per set) and Brown was second on the team with 10 (1.43 bps).
What's Next?
Should the Nittany Lions defeat the Longhorns, Penn State will face the winner of the USC/California National Semifinal. The National Championship match is set for Saturday, Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m. CT at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.
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.