Oct. 4, 2013
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - After posting a straight-set victory in the first Big Ten road match of the season, the No. 5 Penn State women's volleyball team (11-2, 2-1), remains on the road, traveling to Purdue (9-4, 0-2) to face the No. 24 Boilermakers, Saturday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m.
RECAPPING THE WIN AGAINST THE HOOSIERS
Behind double-digit kill performances from senior Deja McClendon and sophomore Megan Courtney, the Nittany Lions handed the Hoosiers their sixth consecutive loss of the season. Courtney led the squad with 15 kills on 20 errorless attacks for a career-high .750 attacking percentage, while also tallying two digs and one block. McClendon registered 13 kills on a season-high .500 hitting clip, adding five digs and four blocks.
Senior Katie Slay led the team with five blocks, including one solo stop, notching five kills. Junior Micha Hancock dished out 38 assists, pacing the team to a .507 hitting percentage, while also totaling four aces.
PENN STATE VS. PURDUE
Penn State owns a 48-5 record against the Boilermakers in one of the longest standing Big Ten series. The Nittany Lions posted wins in both outings during the 2012 season, including a 3-0 win Oct. 12 and a 3-1 triumph, Nov. 17th. The most recent victory marked PSU's fifth consecutive since losing to Purdue in five sets Oct. 10, 2008. Before the loss, the Lions had posted wins in 42 straight matches against Purdue.
SCOUTING THE BOILERMAKERS
After a 2012 season that brought a trip to the NCAA Regional Semifinals, No. 24 Purdue is out to a 9-4 start in 2013. The Boilermakers recently concluded the non-conference portion of their schedule on an 8-0 winning streak, but opened the Big Ten slate with road-losses to Wisconsin and then-No. 9 Minnesota.
Val Nichol is leading the Purdue offense with 122 total kills, averaging 2.60 kills per set. Kiki Jones has registered 97kills for the Boilermakers, while leading the squad with a team-high .413 hitting clip, which ranks fourth in the Big Ten. Faye Adelaja is leading the blocking unit with 61 total blocks, including 10 solo stuffs. Her 1.30 blocks per frame is tied for fifth in the conference.
HANCOCK STILL LEADING THE NATION IN ACES PER SET Junior Micha Hancock is leading the nation in aces per set for the fourth straight week, according the latest NCAA DI stats release. With a total of 38 aces this season, Hancock is averaging 0.86 per frame, which ranks first in the Big Ten.
With four aces against Eastern Kentucky, Hancock notched her 200th career service ace. Since matching the mark, she's tallied 10 more to move her just 25 aces away from tying Ellen Hensler (1983-86) for first on the PSU all-time list.
As a team, Penn State is averaging 1.66 aces per set, which ranks 24th nationally and second in the conference. Aside from Hancock, Dominique Gonzalez has also recorded 11 aces, which is tied for second on the squad.
PENN STATE MOVES TO NO. 5 IN LATEST AVCA TOP 25 POLL
After a 1-1 start in Big Ten conference play, the Nittany Lions moved to No. 5 in the latest AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll. PSU received one first-place vote in this weekend's poll as well. Additionally, Penn State received a third-place ranking in the Volleyball Magazine Poll and a fourth-place ranking in the RichKern Poll
THAT'S SOME HEAVY HITTING
After hitting .394 last week, senior Katie Slay is ranked third nationally in hitting percentage with a .510 clip on the year. She is one of only two in the country with a .500 or better hitting percentage and her mark also leads all student-athletes in the Big Ten Conference. As a team, the Nittany Lions are hitting .333 which ranks fourth in the country and first in the Big Ten.
BLOCK IT UP
The Nittany Lions have combined for 109.5 total blocks in 2013, including 34 solo blocks. As a team, the 2.67 average per set ranks 27th nationally and second in the league. Katie Slay is leading the PSU blocking effort with 1.44 per frame, which leads the Big Ten and ranks 11th nationally.
ROSE WITH 1,102 WINS AND COUNTING
The Penn State win against Yale marked head coach Russ Rose's 1,100th career victory. With the win against Indiana last night, Rose improves to 1,102 - 176 all-time, which puts him just four wins shy of tying UCLA head coach, Andy Banachowski's mark of 1,106 for second on the all-time list, behind Hawaii head coach, Dave Shoji.
Earlier this season, Shoji surpassed Banachowski's mark, to become the all-time leader in the category. With Banachowksi no longer active, both Rose and Shoji will continue to go head-to-head, battling for the top spot.
UP NEXT ...
The Big Ten slate continues to roll along as Penn State returns home to take on Minnesota and Wisconsin at home in Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions will face the Golden Gophers, Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m. live on the Big Ten Network, before squaring off against the Badgers, Saturday, Oct. 12 at 8:30 p.m.