Oct. 27, 2014
ROSEMONT, ILL. - Following a pair of straight set victories at home this weekend against a pair of Big Ten conference teams, senior Micha Hancock and freshman Ali Frantti have each earned Big Ten weekly honors. Hancock was selected as the conference's Setter of the Week, while Frantti was named the league's Freshman of the Week.
The Setter of the Week nod is Hancock's third of the season and 15th of her career, while Frantti's honor is also her third of the 2014 season.
Hancock paced the Nittany Lion offense to a .443 team hitting clip in a straight set victory against Michigan, dishing out 34 assists to go along with four kills, two aces, seven digs and three blocks. She returned to the court the next evening to help PSU to another straight set win against Michigan State, tallying four kills, five digs and a match-high four aces. Averaging 1.06 aces per set on the year, Hancock's mark from the endline ranks first nationally and leads the Big Ten.
Frantti highlighted the weekend with back-to-back double-digit kill performances, hitting .409 or better in both outings. She totaled a team-high 15 kills on a .429 hitting clip against the Wolverines, before posting 11 kills in the win against the Spartans. Currently, Frantti's 3.31 kills per set this season ranks ninth in the Big Ten, while her .313 hitting percentage is slotted 13th overall.
Hancock, Frantti and the rest of the Penn State women's volleyball team (20-3, 8-2) are set to square off against Big Ten opponent Ohio State (16-6, 7-3) twice this week. The Nittany Lions welcome the Buckeyes to the court in Rec Hall Tuesday, Oct. 28 at 8 p.m. before traveling out to Columbus, Ohio to visit OSU Friday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. Tuesday's tilt will broadcast live on the Big Ten Network with Mike Wolf and Liz Tortorello Nelson on the call.