Dec. 20, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State women's volleyball senior opposite Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) has been named one of four finalists for the 2010-11 Honda Sports Award to determine the top woman collegiate athlete in that sport. Brown joins Texas' Juliann Faucette, USC's Alex Jupiter and Cal's Carli Lloyd 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's school and $1,000 to the school of each nominee.
Brown, who became the sixth straight Nittany Lion to be named the Big Ten Player of the Year earlier this season, is a three-time AVCA All-American. A three-time All-Big Ten selection, Brown earned Second Team laurels in 2008 and First Team honors in 2009 and 2010. Brown has started all 37 matches this season and leads the Nittany Lions with 521 kills, averaging 4.24 kills per set on .320 hitting. She is second on the team with 281 digs (2.28 digs per set) and 113 total blocks (0.92 blocks per set). Her 4.24 kills per set ranks second in the Big Ten and 21st nationally, while her .323 attack percentage ranks ninth in the league. Also, her 4.72 points per set ranks 18th in the nation. In 2010, Brown was a Unanimous Preseason All-Big Ten pick and earned conference player of the week laurels three times. She surpassed the 1,000 career kills milestone this season and closed out her career with 1,295 kills.
A member of the 2010 National Championship All-Tournament Team, Brown became the 10th Nittany Lion to be named a finalist for the Honda Award for volleyball. Past nominees for Penn State include, Lori Barberich ('84), Bonnie Bremner ('97, 98), Terri Zemaitis ('97), Lauren Cacciamani ('98, '99), Sam Tortorello ('04, '05), Christa Harmotto ('07, '08), Megan Hodge ('07, '09), Nicole Fawcett ('08) and Alisha Glass ('09).
The Nittany Lions made history again in 2010 winning an unprecedented fourth straight national title. Penn State swept California, 3-0, in the national championship match on Dec. 18 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.