Nov. 28, 2014
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 4 Penn State women's volleyball (29-3, 17-2) puts its 13-match winning streak on the line this weekend, hosting No. 10 Nebraska (20-8, 14-5) in the 2014 regular season finale Saturday, Nov. 29 at 8:30 p.m. ET in Rec Hall on senior night. The marquee matchup will broadcast live on the Big Ten Network with Mike Wolf and Audrey Flaugh on the call.
Prior to the match, fans are encouraged to arrive early as we honor the accomplishments of the 2014 graduating class featuring Lacey Fuller, Dominique Gonzalez, Nia Grant and Micha Hancock.
PSU opened the final week of the regular season with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-23) victory on the road at Northwestern Wednesday evening. Aside from stretching the current winning streak, Penn State has now earned its last 12 straight by way of a three-set decision, having won 38 consecutive sets.
In the first meeting between Penn State and Nebraska earlier this season (10/3), the Nittany Lions came up short in a 3-1 (25-12, 22-25, 20-25, 23-25) loss on the road in Lincoln, Neb. Freshman Ali Frantti led the team with a match-high 19 kills, while junior Megan Courtney finished second with 11 kills.
QUICK SETS
* With one ace at Michigan, senior Micha Hancock notched her 92nd ace of the 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 the second student-athlete in Big Ten history to amass at least 100 aces in a season. With 105 on the year, she's eight shy of matching the Big Ten all-time single season record originally set by Minnesota's Sharon Oesterliong in 1989.
* Following the home-and-home sweep against the No. 17 Buckeyes, PSU improved to 7-3 against teams ranked in the AVCA Top 25 in 2014.
* Averaging 1.01 aces per set, senior Micha Hancock has once again secured herself as the nation's leader in the category for the 11th consecutive week. With more aces than anyone in the NCAA standings (105) in 2014, her career total (359) ranks first all-time in both the Big Ten and Penn State record books.
* As a team, Penn State is averaging 1.92 aces per set, which ranks first nationally and leads the conference. A trio of Nittany Lions have all contributed to Penn State's 200 service aces. Senior Micha Hancock's 105 aces leads the way while senior Dominique Gonzalez and fresh¬man Ali Frantti are second and third with 24 and 22 aces, respectively.
* Penn State's .354 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 .378 or better hitting, led by senior Nia Grant's .462 hitting clip, which ranks first nationally and second in the conference. Haleigh Washington's .496 hitting percentage leads the Big Ten, while redshirt junior Aiyana Whitney rounds out the group with a .378 hitting percentage, which is slotted third in the Big Ten standings. As a team, Penn State is out-hitting its opponents .354-.142.
* 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.
* 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 1,154 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.
EXPERIENCED SENIOR CORE
Comprised of four, this year's senior class features Lacey Fuller, Dominique Gonzalez, Nia Grant and Micha Hancock. Along with back-to-back Big Ten titles in 2012 and 2013, the veteran class holds a 12-2 (.857) mark in post season play, with two consecutive NCAA national semifinal appearances in 2012-13 as well as the 2013 NCAA national title.
TOUGH DEFENSE
Penn State has limited its opponents to .142 hitting this season, which ranks first in the Big Ten standings and seventh nationally. PSU has held 24 teams to .200 or lower hitting on 25 oc¬casions 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: Micha Hancock & Nia 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 105 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 1.16 blocks per set, senior Nia Grant moved improved her career blocks total to 442 after posting seven blocks at Northwestern. The mark ranks 14th on the PSU career list and puts her just 58 blocks shy of becoming the ninth Nittany Lion to reach the 500 career blocks plateau.
HOT HITTING NITTANY LIONS
Senior Setter Micha Hancock has directed the Nittany Lions to a .354 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 .378 or better hitting, led by senior Nia Grant's .462 hitting clip, which ranks first nationally and second in the conference. Haleigh Washington's .496 hitting percentage leads the Big Ten, while redshirt junior Aiyana Whitney rounds out the pair with a .378 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 26 of its 29 (90%) victories this season in straight sets. Within those 26 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 12 consecutive wins by way of a straight-set decision, having won the last 38 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 1,154 wins, head coach Russ Rose remains atop the NCAA DI all-time wins list with six ¬more victories than current Hawaii head coach Dave Shoji (1,147). The two active head coach¬es 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 pres¬ently averaging 1.01 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 posses¬sion 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 105 aces in 2014, Hancock has improved her mark to 358 aces all-time, which also ranks first on the Big Ten all-time record list.
In the NCAA career standings, her 105 aces this year is just eight 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 32 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.
WHAT'S NEXT?
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.