Sept. 11, 2014
| WEEK 3: VILLANOVA CLASSIC | |
| Friday, Sept. 12 - Saturday, Sept. 13 | |
| The Pavilion | Villanova, Pa. | |
| Game Day Information: | |
| PENN STATE VS. AMERICAN |
TV: ESPN2 -->Friday, Sept. 12 - 2:30 p.m.Tournament Central |#PSUVB:@PennStateVBALL|Facebook |Instagram|BlogNittany Lion Links: Notes | StatsEagle Links: Stats
| PENN STATE VS. VILLANOVA |
TV: ESPN2 -->Friday, Sept. 12 - 7:30 p.m.Tournament Central | | Live Video ($)#PSUVB:@PennStateVBALL|Facebook |Instagram|BlogNittany Lion Links: Notes | StatsWildcat Links: Stats
| PENN STATE VS. YALE |
TV: ESPN2 -->Saturday, Sept. 13 - NoonTournament Central |#PSUVB:@PennStateVBALL|Facebook |Instagram|BlogNittany Lion Links: Notes | StatsBulldog Links: StatsPENN STATE VS. NO. 24 KANSASSaturday, Sept. 13 - 5:30 p.m.Tournament Central | | Live Video ($)#PSUVB:@PennStateVBALL|Facebook |Instagram|BlogNittany Lion Links: Notes | StatsJayhawk Links: Notes | StatUNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 3 Penn State women's volleyball (4-1) remains on the road this weekend, traveling to Philadelphia to compete in the Villanova Classic. The Nittany Lions open the tournament with matches against American (4-2) Friday, Sept. 12 at 2:30 p.m. and tournament host Villanova (4-3) at 7:30 p.m. PSU closes out the even with another pair of matches against Yale (1-2) and No. 24 Kansas (6-1) Saturday, Sept. 13 at noon and 5:30 p.m. in the Pavilion.
Penn State's match against the Wildcats as well as the match against the Jayhawks will stream live online here. A paid subscription is required. Other important links and information can be found on the Villanova Classic Tournament Central page, here.
QUICK SETS
* Penn State remains on the road this weekend, traveling to Philadelphia to compete in the Villanova Classic. The Nittany Lions open the tournament with matches against RV American and tournament host Villanova Friday, Sept. 12 before closing out the event with two more matches against Yale and No. 24 Kansas, Saturday, Sept. 13 at the Pavilion.
* The Nittany Lions went 1-1 last weekend in the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge. PSU came up just short in a close five-set thriller at then-No.2 Stanford, but rebounded with a straight-set victory against UCLA to move to 4-1 on the year.
* Senior Dominique Gonzalez and freshman Ali Frantti each earned spots on the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge All Tournament team for their performances in both matches. Freshman Ali Frantti earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for the second consecutive week following another pair of outstanding offensive performances.
* Following back-to-back double-digit kill performances in her first two collegiate appearances, she logged her first double-double against the Cardinal with 22 kills and 11 digs. Penn State went 3-0 in the opening weekend to capture the Penn State Classic title with wins against TCU, Iona and William & Mary marking the third consecutive season that PSU has kicked off a new campaign with three wins in week one.
* Penn State moved to No. 3 in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll this week. Prior to the positioning, the Nittany Lions were slotted No. 1 overall for two consecutive weeks.
* PSU has matched up or will soon square off against a total of 12 teams represented in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, including nine matches against teams in the top 25 and three receiving votes.
* The Nittany Lions are among seven teams from the Big Ten to be ranked within the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll and one of three within the top 10.
* The meeting between No. 3 Penn State and No. 24 Kansas marks the first time the two teams have clashed in program history. The Jayhawks are also the second Big 12 team the Nittany Lions have played this season, having already swept TCU in the season opener.
IT'S A WRAP: BIG TEN/PAC-12 CHALLENGE IN REVIEW
Penn State came up just short in a close five-set (25-18, 23-25, 22-25, 25-16, 10-15) loss at then-No. 2 Stanford last weekend. The Nittany Lions rebounded the next night, pushing past UCLA in straight sets (25-19, 27-25, 25-17) to complete the weekend on the road.
Penn State received solid contributions from both experienced veterans as well as powerful freshman, who have proved to be key components of the offense this season. Following the 1-1 weekend, PSU bolstered its hitting clip to .370, which presently ranks first nationally and also stands atop the Big Ten standings. The Nittany Lion have also held their opponents to .118 hitting on the year, which ranks first in the conference.
IT'S A WRAP: BIG TEN/PAC-12 CHALLENGE IN REVIEW
Penn State came up just short in a close five-set (25-18, 23-25, 22-25, 25-16, 10-15) loss at then-No. 2 Stanford last weekend. The Nittany Lions rebounded the next night, pushing past UCLA in straight sets (25-19, 27-25, 25-17) to complete the weekend on the road.
Penn State received solid contributions from both experienced veterans as well as powerful freshman, who have proved to be key components of the offense this season. Following the 1-1 weekend, PSU bolstered its hitting clip to .370, which presently ranks first nationally and also stands atop the Big Ten standings. The Nittany Lion have also held their opponents to .118 hitting on the year, which ranks first in the conference.
WEEK 3: AVCA TOP 25 COACHES POLL UPDATE
Following a 1-1 weekend on the road, Penn State moved to No. 3 in the latest AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. Prior to the move, PSU spent the past two consecutive weeks ranked No. 1 overall.
THAT'S SOME HEAVY HITTING
Micha Hancock has directed the Nittany Lions to a .370 overall hitting percentage in 2014 which ranks first in the nation and leads the Big Ten. Hancock's also paced two of her top hitters to .415 or better hitting. Individually, freshman Ali Frantti's .479 hitting clip ranks ninth in the nation and second in the Big Ten. Senior Nia Grant is close behind as her .417 hitting percentage ranks 41st nationally and fourth in the conference.
DUO NAMED BIG TEN/PAC-12 CHALLENGE ALL-TOURNAMENT
Senior Dominique Gonzalez and freshman Ali Frantti earned Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge All-Tournament team honors. Gonzalez highlighted the weekend with her fourth career 20+ dig match against the Cardinal, while Frantti logged her first career double-double with 22 kills and 11 digs.
FORCE OF THE FROSH
Four freshman have made their collegiate debuts for Penn State in the last two weeks, including Ali Frantti, Heidi Thelen, Simone Lee and Lainy Pierce. Frantti is leading the group as the rookie notched her first double-double at then-No. 2 Stanford with 22 kills and 11 digs. Lee capped off a productive weekend with her second double-digit kill performance of the season with 11 kills against UCLA. Pierce saw time on the court during key points of the match against the Cardinal, tallying her first collegiate ace.
ROSE NEARING HISTORIC MARK
In 2013, head coach Russ Rose earned his 1,107th victory with a straight-set win at Northwestern, moving him into sole possession of second place on the NCAA DI career wins list. With the triumph, he passed former UCLA head coach Andy Banachowski, who previously owned the record. With 1,129 wins, Rose is presently three wins shy of tying current Hawaii head coach Dave Shoji for first on the all-time list with 1,132 victories.
Rose currently owns the all-time record for NCAA DI career winning percentage, having posted a career clip of .864 in the past 35 seasons. Both Rose and Shoji are the only two NCAA DI head coaches to have more than 1,000 career wins. The two are also one of just three active NCAA head coaches in all three divisions to have more than 1,100 career wins.
MORE BIG TEN WEEKLY HONORS FOR FRANTTI
Following another weekend of team-high performances, freshman Ali Frantti was tabbed the Big Ten's Freshman of the Week for the second consecutive week. She opened the weekend with her first collegiate double-double against then-No. 2 Stanford, posting a match-high 22 kills on .405 hitting, adding 11 digs and two blocks. The next evening, she returned to the court to lead the offense with her fourth double-digit kill performance of the season, putting down 14 kills on .619 hitting, adding five digs in a straight set victory against UCLA.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Next up, Penn State returns home from the road to round out the non-conference portion of the 2014 slate with a home tournament. In conjunction with the Penn State 50 Years of Women in Sport Celebration, PSU welcomes four former Nittany Lions back to the court in Rec Hall for the Penn State Alumni Classic, Sept. 19-20.
The four former Nittany Lions returning to the court as head coaches of participating teams include: Eastern Illinois (Kate Price '08), DePaul (Nadia Edwards '01), University of Illinois-Chicago (Katie Schumacher-Cawley '02) and East Carolina (Julie Torbett '90). PSU takes on EIU and DePaul in a doubleheader Friday, Sept. 19 before concluding the event with a matchup against ECU Saturday, Sept. 20.