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Oct. 20, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Fifth-ranked Penn State women's volleyball (17-2, 6-2) hits the road for its second Big Ten road trip of the season. The Nittany Lions travel to No. 23 Michigan (15-4, 5-3) to take on the Wolverines Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. in Cliff Keen Arena.
The midweek matchup will broadcast live on the Big Ten Network with Mike Wolf and Liz Tortorello Nelson on the call.
FIRST SERVE
* The Nittany Lions have won their 23 consecutive matches against Michigan, dating back to Sept. 27, 2003. Penn State also captured a 3-0 win on the road in Ann Arbor in the most recent meeting between the two teams Nov. 19, 2014
* Penn State swept its Big Ten competition this past weekend, defeating Indiana in three set s on Friday before taking down No. 18 Purdue, 3-0 on Saturday evening at Rec Hall.
* The Nittany Lions moved to 6-1 this year against teams ranked within the Top 25 of the AVCA Coaches' Poll after sweeping the Boilermakers. The tilt at No. 23 Michigan marks Penn State's sixth meeting against a top 25 opponent in its last nine matches.
* Penn State has earned 15 of its 17 victories this year by way of a 3-0 sweep, while also limiting its opponents to a .135 hitting percentage. The mark ranks fifth nationally and leads the Big Ten.
* Averaging 3.19 blocks per set on the year, Penn State has commanded a 204.0 - 101.5 advantage in the blocking margin against its opponents in 2015. The average ranks fifth nationally and leads the Big Ten. Individually, sophomore Haleigh Washington's 1.58 blocks per set ranks ninth nationally and second in the Big Ten.
* Penn State's .290 hitting clip ranks sixth in the NCAA national standings and leads the Big Ten. Helped out by Haleigh Washington's team-high .450 hitting clip, her efficiency ranks third nationally and leads the Big Ten.
* Sophomore Simone Lee has stepped up as an offensive contributor, since entering the starting lineup against Nebraska Oct. 2. Since then, she's made starts in each of the last six matches. Lee's led the team in kills the last three straight matches, posting double figure kills in all three outings to average 3.27 kills per set within the span.
* Veterans senior Megan Courtney and redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney are also among the group of top Nittany Lion attackers with 189 and 191 kills, respectively. Averaging 3.26 kills per set, Courtney has had double-doubles (kills/digs) in each of the last six matches she's played in. Whitney's averaging 2.98 kills per set with double digit kills in seven of the last 10 matches.
* Penn State remained solid at No. 5 in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll for the second straight week. Prior to the move, Penn State was ranked No. 3, having spent the first six straight weeks of the season atop the standings at No. 1.
* Including Penn State, more than half of the Big Ten teams in the conference are featured in this week's AVCA Top 25 poll, including a season-high eight in the top 25 for the fifth week.
FOLLOW THE "LEE-DER"
Sophomore Simone Lee has stepped up as an offensive contributor for the Nittany Lions, since entering the Penn State lineup against Nebraska Oct. 2. Since then, she's made starts in each of the last six matches. Lee's led the team in kills in each of the last three matches, posting double figure kills in all three outings. She opened the streak with a career-high 14 kills at Northwestern before powering the Penn State offense with 10 and 12 kills against Indiana and Purdue, respectively. In the last three matches, Lee's averaging 3.27 kills per set on .351 hitting.
LAST TIME OUT ...
Nov. 19, 2014 - (25-19, 25-23, 27-25)
PSU 3, UM 0 - Ann Arbor, Mich. - Cliff Keen Arena
Behind a pair of double digit kill performances, then-No. 4 Penn State swept Michigan on the road.
Aiyana Whitney led the offense with 12 kills, adding four blocks and two digs. Megan Courtney notched her first double-double of the season, registering 10 kills on .400 hitting, as well as 10 digs and five blocks. Ali Frantti and Haleigh Washington added eight kills apiece.
With Penn State leading the match 2-0, the Wolverines came out battling point-for-point in the third set. With PSU up by five, 19-14, Michigan responded with a 10-3 run to take over a two-point lead, 24-22. A Michigan error and a kill from Whitney evened the score, 24-24, before a PSU service error handed U-M the edge, 25-24. PSU held off another attempt with a kill and block to reclaim the lead, 26-25, before a Michigan attack error wrapped up a 27-25 win to complete the sweep.
The Nittany Lions have won their last 23 consecutive matches against Michigan, dating back to Sept. 27, 2003. Penn State also captured a 3-0 win on the road in Ann Arbor in the most recent meeting between the two teams Nov. 19, 2014.
WEEK 9: AVCA TOP 25 COACHES' POLL UPDATE
Penn State remained solid at No. 5 in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll for the second straight week. Prior to the move, Penn State was ranked No. 3, having spent the first six straight weeks of the season atop the standings at No. 1. Including PSU, this week's poll features more than half of the Big Ten conference teams with eight teams in the top 25. Michigan State is also receiving votes.
WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY
Penn State's commanded the advantage in the blocking margin against its opponents this year. To date, Penn State has out-blocked its opponents 204.0 - 101.5, averaging 3.19 blocks per set, which ranks third nationally and leads the conference. Individually, sophomore Haleigh Washington's 1.58 blocks per set ranks ninth nationally and second in the Big Ten. Sophomore Heidi Thelen's 1.09 blocks per set ranks second on the team and 14th in the league.
Penn State has out-blocked its opponent in 17 matches this season, out-blocking each of those teams by an average of at least six blocks. The Nittany Lions tied Stanford in the blocking margin (7.0-7.0) and have been out-blocked just once this season by Minnesota (11.0-13.0).
DEFENSIVELY SPEAKING
Penn State has limited its opponents to .135 hitting this season, which ranks first in the Big Ten standings and fifth nationally. PSU has held nine opponents to .097 or lower hitting efficiency and five between .135-.196. Only Stanford (.267) and Iowa (.283) have hit .250 or better against the Nittany Lions. Penn State has only been out-hit by a team three times this season, in matches against Minnesota (.198/.216), Nebraska (.164/.173) and at Northwestern (.193/.211). Despite getting out-hit by the Golden Gophers, PSU outlasted Minnesota in five sets to claim a close 3-2 win.
SWEEPS ON SWEEPS ON SWEEPS
Penn State has earned 15 of its 17 victories this season by way of a 3-0 sweep. Penn State has also limited Eastern Kentucky, Mississippi State and St. John's to less than 45 total points in a single match, holding the Colonels to a season-low 41 total points. The Red Storm had 43 and Bulldogs had just 42.
THE MORE THE MERRIER
Redshirt freshman setter Bryanna Weiskircher has directed the Nittany Lions to a .290 hitting percentage, which ranks sixth nationally and leads the Big Ten. Weiskircher has also paced four of her top attackers to .258 or better hitting, led by sophomore Haleigh Washington's .450 hitting clip, which ranks third nationally and leads the Big Ten conference.
Redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney's .320 hitting percentage is second on the team and 13th in the conference, while senior Megan Courtney and sophomore Simone Lee's .258 clips are tied for fourth on the team. Averaging 3.26 kills per set, Courtney has had double-doubles (kills/digs) in each of the last six matches she's played. Whitney's averaging 2.98 kills per set with double digit kills in seven of the last 10 matches.
WINNING TRADITION IN REC HALL
Including a 10-1 mark in 2015, Penn State owns a 574-32 (.947) all-time record at home in Rec Hall. After last week's home victories, Penn State is 262-18 all-time in conference matches on the court at Rec Hall. Only Ohio State has defeated the Nittany Lions on their home court more than three times, having topped PSU five times. Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan State and Nebraska are the only four teams to beat PSU at home more than once.
COURTNEY REACHES CAREER MILESTONE
Against Iowa, senior Megan Courtney's 12 kills lifted her to the 1,000 career kills milestone. With 19 digs at Illinois, she surpassed the 1,000 career digs mark (1,038). Achieving the mark, Courtney is just the eighth Nittany Lion in program history to reach the 1,000 career kills/1,000 career digs milestone and the first since Deja McClendon in 2013.
Penn State All-Time 1,000 kill/1,000 Nittany Lions
1. 2,142/1,150 Megan Hodge, 2006-09*
2. 1,842/1,005 Terri Zemaitis, 1994-97
3. 1,631/1,176 Deja McClendon, 2010-13*
4. 1,438/1,522 Noelle Zientara, 1987-90
5. 1,245/1,278 Laura Cook, 1994-97
6. 1,234/1,167 Vida Kernich, 1983-86
7. 1,136/1,153 Carrie Shonveld, 1996-99
8. 1,036/1,038 Megan Courtney, 2012-Pres.*
* indicates rally scoring era
WE'LL TAKE THE FIRST ONE
Penn State is 18-1 on the year when winning the first set. The Nittany Lions have only surrendered the first set once this season, dropping a 25-18 decision on the road at Northwestern before an eventual 3-2 loss.
WASHINGTON BLOCKING HER WAY INTO THE RECORD BOOK
In Penn State's 3-0 win against St. John's, sophomore Haleigh Washington led a group of five multi-block performers with a career-high 11 total blocks. Her tally is the second highest single-match total in a 3-set match in Penn State program history.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Nittany Lions travel to Michigan State Saturday, Oct. 24 for an 8 p.m. matchup. The Nittany Lions' trip to East Lansing will be its first since 2013.