Dec. 19, 2014
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Penn State senior Micha Hancock has been named the 2014 AVCA DI National Player of the Year, as announced by the organization this morning. Hancock was presented with the award this afternoon at the AVCA All-America/Play of the Year brunch.
"It's an honor to be able to accept this award and be in this room with all of my teammates," Hancock said. "I am incredibly humbled."
Hancock is fourth Nittany Lion in program history to earn the prestigious honor, joining Megan Hodge (2009), Nicole Fawcett (2008) and Lauren Cacciamani (1999) in the elite group. Hancock recently earned her third consecutive first team AVCA All-America award, making her the 17th Nittany Lion in program history to earn three All-America selections.
Hancock's 2014 honors include a unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten team as well as AVCA All-Northeast Region honors. This year, she picked up five conference Setter of the Week awards, while also earning her second career AVCA DI National Player of the Week award (9/30). Hancock rewrote several record books during the 2014 regular season with her outstanding performances from the endline.
As the national leader in aces per set (1.01) for the 14th consecutive week, her single-season (126) and career aces (380) totals rank atop both the Big Ten and Penn State record books. In addition to her standout serving, she's directed the offense to a .345 hitting percentage, which ranks first nationally and leads the Big Ten.
Hancock recently directed the Nittany Lions to a 3-1 win against top-ranked Stanford for a spot in the NCAA national finals. Dishing out 55 assists, she paced the team to a .279 hitting percentage, while also contributing five kills on 11 errorless swings for a .455 hitting clip.
Hancock and the rest of the fifth-seeded Penn State women's volleyball team (35-3) are set to make their 10th appearance in the national title match, taking on unseeded BYU (30-4) Saturday, Dec. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The matchup will broadcast live on ESPN2. PSU enters Saturday's contest with a 6-3 record in national final matches, seeking back-to-back titles for the first time since 2009-10.
Past AVCA DI National Player of the Year honorees:
2014: Micha Hancock (Penn State)
2013: Krista Vansant (Washington)
2012: Alaina Bergsma (Oregon)
2011: Alex Jupiter (USC)
2010: Carli Lloyd (University of California, Berkeley)
2009: Megan Hodge (Penn State)
2008: Nicole Fawcett (Penn State)
2007: Foluke Akinradewo (Stanford)
2006: Sarah Pavan (Nebraska)
2005: Christina Houghtelling (Nebraska)
2004: Stacey Gordon (Ohio State); Ogonna Nnamani (Stanford)
2003: Kim Willoughby (Hawai'i)
2002: Logan Tom (Stanford)
2001: Logan Tom (Stanford)
2000: Greichaly Cepero (Nebraska)
1999: Lauren Cacciamani (Penn State); Kerri Walsh (Stanford)
1998: Misty May (Long Beach State)
1997: Misty May (Long Beach State)
1996: Angelica Ljungquist (Hawai'i)
1995: Cary Wendell (Stanford); Allison Weston (Nebraska)
1994: Laura Davis (Ohio State)
1993: Danielle Scott (Long Beach State)
1992: Natalie Williams (UCLA)
1991: Antoinnette White (Long Beach State)
1990: Bev Oden (Stanford)
1989: Tara Cross (Long Beach State); Teee Williams (Hawai'i)
1988: Tara Cross (Long Beach State)
1987: Teee Williams (Hawai'i)
1986: Mariliisa Salmi (BYU)
1985: Kim Oden (Stanford)
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