Sept. 1, 2014 <![endif]-->
ROSEMONT, ILL. - Following her debut weekend with top-ranked Penn State women's volleyball, freshman Ali Frantti has earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors, as announced by the conference this afternoon. Frantti highlighted the Nittany Lions' 3-0 weekend at home with back-to-back double-digit kill performances in her first two collegiate appearances.
Frantti opened the weekend with a team-high 13 kills and four blocks in her collegiate debut against TCU, while also tying for first on the team with seven digs. The next day, she returned to the court with another team-high performance, tallying 11 kills Iona, to go along with a squad-best two aces.
She closed out the 3-0 weekend at home with seven kills on .500 hitting against William & Mary, adding four digs and four blocks. On the week, she led the team with 31 kills, while also ranking first with 3.44 kills per set and a team-high 1.11 blocks per set. Frantti also hit .450 or better in all three matches, earning Penn State Classic Most Outstanding Player honors.
Frantti and the rest of the Penn State women's volleyball team (3-0) will hit the road this weekend, traveling to Palo Alto, Calif. to compete in the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge. PSU opens the weekend with a matchup against second-ranked Stanford (2-0) Friday, Sept. 5 at 10 p.m. ET before squaring off against UCLA (2-1) Saturday, Sept. 6 at 8 p.m. ET. Friday's match against the Cardinal will broadcast live on the Pac-12 Network. Cable provider listings for the Pac-12 Network can be found here.
2014 Big Ten Volleyball Players of the Week
Sept. 1 Player of the Week: Liz McMahon, Sr., ILL
Defensive Player of the Week: Taylor Morey, Jr., WIS
Setter of the Week: Val Nichol, Sr., PUR
Freshman of the Week: Ali Frantti, PSU