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Nov. 25, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 4 Penn State women's volleyball (28-3, 16-2) is set to play the first of its final two regular season matches on the road at Northwestern (9-19, 2-15) Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 8 p.m. ET in Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The Nittany Lions went 2-0 last week with a pair of straight set victories on the road at Michigan and Maryland. The last two wins stretched the current winning streak to 12 consecutive matches. Having earned its last 11 wins by way of a straight set decision, PSU has also won its last 35 consecutive sets.
In the first meeting between Penn State and Northwestern earlier this season (10/8), the Nittany Lions swept past the Wildcats (25-20, 25-17, 25-17) led by a pair of double-digit kill performances from redshirt junior Aiyana Whitney (12) and junior Megan Courtney (10).
Fans can catch a live stream of Wednesday's match against the Wildcats on BTN Plus with a paid subscription.
QUICK SETS
* Averaging 0.99 aces per set, senior Micha Hancock has once again secured herself as the nation's leader in the category for the 10th consecutive week. With more aces than anyone in the NCAA standings (100) in 2014, her career total (354) ranks first all-time in both the Big Ten and Penn State record books.
* As a team, Penn State is averaging 1.93 aces per set, which ranks first nationally and leads the conference. A trio of Nittany Lions have all contributed to Penn State's 186 service aces. Senior Micha Hancock's 100 aces leads the while senior Dominique Gonzalez and freshman Ali Frantti are close behind with 24 and 22 aces, respectively.
* Penn State's .356 hitting clip ranks first in the nation, while also leading the Big Ten. Hancock's also paced a trio of top Nittany Lion attackers to .381 or better hitting, led by senior Nia Grant's .470 hitting clip, which ranks first nationally and second in the conference. Haleigh Washington's .506 hitting percentage leads the Big Ten, while redshirt junior Aiyana Whitney rounds out the pair with a .381 hitting percentage, which is slotted third in the Big Ten standings. As a team, Penn State is out-hitting its opponents .356-.141.
* With one ace against the Wolverines, Hancock notched her 92nd ace this season, which resets the PSU all-time single season record that she previously set in 2011. With a season-high eight at Maryland, she became just second student-athlete in Big Ten history to amass at least 100 aces in a single season.
* Penn State remained No. 4 in the latest AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll for the second straight week after spending the last three consecutive weeks slotted at No. 6.
* PSU has matched up or will soon square off against a total of eight teams represented in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, including seven in the top 25 and one receiving votes.
* The Nittany Lions are among six teams from the Big Ten to be featured in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll and one of three within the top 10.
* With 1,153 wins, head coach Russ Rose is presently in sole possession of first place on the DI NCAA all-time wins list ahead of current Hawaii head coach Dave Shoji (1,147). The two active head coaches have traded the top spot throughout the season. Both Rose and Shoji are the only two NCAA DI head coaches to have more than 1,000 career wins.
HOT HITTING NITTANY LIONS
Senior Setter Micha Hancock has directed the Nittany Lions to a .356 hitting clip, which ranks first in the nation, while also leading the Big Ten. Hancock's also paced a trio of top Nittany Lion attackers to .381 or better hitting, led by senior Nia Grant's .470 hitting clip, which ranks first nationally and second in the conference. Haleigh Washington's .506 hitting percentage leads the Big Ten, while redshirt junior Aiyana Whitney rounds out the pair with a .381 hitting percentage, which is slotted third in the Big Ten standings.
A WINNING TRADITION AT HOME
Including a 15-1 mark in 2014, Penn State owns a 561-33 (.944) all-time record at home in Rec Hall. Following a 2-0 week at home last week, the Nittany Lions improved to 256-18 (.934) all-time in Big Ten matches on the court in Rec Hall.
Only Ohio State has defeated the Nittany Lions on their home court more than three times, having topped PSU five times. Penn State has posted unblemished records in Big Ten play at home in seven of the last 10 years, winning 186 of 200 matches in the 10-year stretch. In the past five seasons, PSU has captured 90 wins in 100 total conference tilts with fewer than five league losses each year.
SWEEPING PAST THE COMPETITION!
Penn State has earned 25 of its 28 (89%) victories this season in straight sets. Within those 25 sweeps, PSU has held six teams (Iona, William & Mary, Eastern Illinois, DePaul, East Carolina, Rutgers) to less than 40 total points scored in a single match. Last season, the Nittany Lions earned 23 of their 34 victories in 3-0 sweeps. Additionally, Penn State has earned its last 11 consecutive wins by way of a straight-set decision, having won the last 35 straight sets since dropping two on the road in a thrilling five-set win at then-No. 14 Purdue.
ROSE ON TOP OF NCAA DI ALL-TIME WINS LIST
With 1,153 wins, head coach Russ Rose remains atop the NCAA DI all-time wins list with five more victories than current Hawaii head coach Dave Shoji (1,147). The two active head coaches have traded the top spot throughout the season. Both Rose and Shoji are the only two NCAA DI head coaches with more than 1,000 career wins. The two are also one of three active NCAA head coaches across all three divisions to have more than 1,100 career wins. Additionally, Rose owns the all-time record for NCAA DI career winning percentage, having posted a career clip of .864 in the past 35 seasons.
THE BEST SERVE IN THE NATION
Establishing herself as one of the best servers in the nation, senior Micha Hancock is presently averaging 0.99 aces per set, which ranks first nationally for the 11th consecutive week, while also ranking atop the Big Ten conference standings. Hancock closed out the last two weeks of the non-conference slate with back-to-back weeks featuring at least 21 aces.
Building on her PSU career record throughout the 2013 season, she moved into sole possession of first place on the Penn State all-time list with 254 aces on the year to surpass Ellen Hensler, who previously set the record in 1986. With 100 aces in 2014, Hancock has improved her mark to 353 aces all-time, which also ranks first on the Big Ten all-time record list.
In the NCAA career standings, her 100 aces this year is just 13 shy of matching the Big Ten all-time single season record originally set by Minnesota's Sharon Oesterliong in 1989. With one ace against Michigan to earn 92 aces, she reset the PSU all-time single-season record that she previously set in 2011.
DOM CAN DIG IT!
Leading the team in digs in 26 of 31 matches this season, senior libero Dominique Gonzalez highlighted the 2014 conference season opener with her third 20-dig performance of the season against then-No. 5 Wisconsin, before following with a season-high mark of 26 digs in a 3-1 win at No. 17 Minnesota. Having broken into the conference standings early in the Big Ten portion of the schedule, her 3.62 digs per frame ranks 11th in the Big Ten.
TOUGH DEFENSE
Penn State has limited its opponents to .141 hitting this season, which ranks first in the Big Ten standings and seventh nationally. PSU has held 23 teams to .200 or lower hitting on 24 occasions in 2014. The Nittany Lions have limited six squads to hitting clips between .201-.250. Only one team (Illinois/.315) has posted a .300 or better hitting percentage. The Nittany Lions held their first five consecutive Big Ten opponents to less than .200 hitting, limiting Rutgers to a Big Ten-match low -.039 attacking percentage. In 18 conference matches, only the Illini have been able to hit higher than .250 against Penn State.
RECORD BOOK WATCH: HANCOCK & GRANT
With 31 assists against Ohio State (10/28), senior Micha Hancock eclipsed the 5,000 career assists mark, making her the sixth Nittany Lion in program history to reach the milestone. With one ace at Michigan, Hancock earned her 92nd ace of the season, breaking the PSU all-time single-season record that she previously set in 2011. With 100 aces on the year, she's the just the second-student athlete in Big Ten history to amass 100 aces in a season.
Ranked second on the team with 1.12 blocks per set, senior Nia Grant moved improved her career blocks total to 435 after posting eight blocks at Maryland. The mark ranks 14th on the PSU career list and puts her just 65 blocks shy of becoming the ninth Nittany Lion to reach the 500 career blocks plateau.
ROAD WARRIORS
Penn State moved to 8-1 in Big Ten matches on the road after sweeping past Maryland in straight sets last week. Overall, PSU is 9-2 on the road this year.
The Nittany Lions opened the 2014 Big Ten slate with a challenging four-match road swing that featured matches against a trio of top-25 opponents. The Nittany Lions posted a 3-1 mark in the first two weeks of conference play picking up wins against No. 5 Wisconsin, No. 17 Minnesota and Iowa, despite a four-set loss to No. 8 Nebraska.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Penn State has a quick turn around after returning home from the road. The Nittany Lions close out the 2014 home slate hosting Nebraska Saturday, Nov. 29 at 8:30 p.m. on senior night. Prior to the match, the Nittany Lions will honor its 2014 senior class featuring Nia Grant, Micha Hancock, Lacey Fuller and Dominique Gonzalez.
After wrapping up the regular season, the Nittany Lions will await their seeding in the 2014 NCAA DI Women's Volleyball National Championship. The selection show is set for Sunday, Nov. 30, 2014 at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU.