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Oct. 23, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Fifth ranked Penn State women's volleyball (18-2, 7-2) hits the road for its second match of a three-game road trip this weekend. The Nittany Lions travel to Michigan State (14-6, 6-3) to take on the Spartans Saturday, Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. ET in Jenison Field House.
Penn State rallied by No. 23 Michigan State in five sets on the road in Ann Arbor in Wednesday's midweek matchup. Three Nittany Lions guided Penn State to the close victory with double figure kills, led by 18 from redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney. Sophomore Haleigh Washington and Simone Lee added 17 and 12 kills, respectively.
FIRST SERVE
* PSU commanded the advantage in the blocking margin earlier this week, out-blocking Michigan 17.0-7.0, led by multi-block performances from six Nittany Lions. Sophomore Heidi Thelen matched a career-mark with nine total blocks, while Whitney added eight.
* The Nittany Lions lead 40-7 in the all-time series against Michigan State, having claimed a straight set victory against the Spartans in three of the last five meetings. Having met only once last year, Penn State captured a 3-0 win at home in Rec Hall Oct. 25, 2014.
* The Nittany Lions moved to 7-1 this year against teams ranked within the Top 25 of the AVCA Coaches' Poll after defeating the Wolverines. The matchup at No. 23 Michigan marked Penn State's sixth meeting against a top 25 opponent in its last nine matches.
* Penn State has earned 15 of its 18 victories this year by way of a 3-0 sweep, while also limiting its opponents to a .142 hitting percentage. The mark ranks fifth nationally and leads the Big Ten.
Averaging 3.20 blocks per set on the year, Penn State owns a 221.0 - 108.5 advantage in the blocking margin against its opponents in 2015. The average ranks third nationally and leads the Big Ten. Individually, sophomore Haleigh Washington's 1.54 blocks per set ranks 10th nationally and second in the Big Ten.
* Penn State's .289 hitting clip ranks seventh in the NCAA national standings and leads the Big Ten. Helped out by Haleigh Washington's team-high .462 hitting clip, her efficiency ranks second nationally and leads the Big Ten.
* Sophomore Simone Lee has stepped up as an offensive contributor for the Nittany Lions, since entering the starting lineup against Nebraska Oct. 2. Since then, she's made starts in each of the last seven matches. Lee's led the team in kills in three of the last four outings, posting double figure kills in all four matches.
* Veterans senior Megan Courtney and redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney are also among the group of top Nittany Lion attackers with 189 and 209 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 3.03 kills per set with double digit kills in eight of the last 11 matches.
* Senior Kendall Pierce has been selected as a candidate for the 2015 Senior CLASS Award. Pierce is one of 30 women's volleyball student-athletes to be named a candidate, along with one other from the Big Ten conference. The Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
* 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 seven matches. Lee's led the team in kills in three of the last four matches, posting double figure kills in all four 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. Most recently, she put down 13 kills on the road at No. 23 Michigan. In the last four matches, Lee's averaging 3.06 kills per set on .320 hitting.
WE'LL TAKE THE FIRST ONE
Penn State is 19-1 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.
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 221.0 - 108.5, averaging 3.20 blocks per set, which ranks third nationally and leads the conference. Individually, sophomore Haleigh Washington's 1.54 blocks per set ranks 10th nationally and second in the Big Ten. Sophomore Heidi Thelen's 1.15 blocks per set ranks second on the team and 10th in the league.
Penn State has out-blocked its opponent in 18 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).
LAST TIME OUT
Oct. 25, 2014 - 26-24, 25-17, 25-21
PSU 3, MSU 0 - University Park, Pa. - Rec Hall
The Nittany Lions lead 40-7 in the all-time series against Michigan State, having claimed a straight set victory against the Spartans in three of the last five meetings. Having met only once last year, Penn State captured a 3-0 win at home in Rec Hall Oct. 25, 2014.
In the most recent meeting between the two teams, then-No. 7 Penn State women's volleyball recorded its 17th straight set victory of the season with a 3-0 win against Michigan State at home in Rec Hall in 2014.Aiyana Whitney and Ali Frantti led the offense with a pair of double-digit kill performances. Whitney tallied a team-high 12 kills while Frantti followed close behind with 11 on a squad-best .409 hitting percentage. Haleigh Washington rounded out the defensive effort with a team-high three blocks.
DEFENSIVELY SPEAKING
Penn State has limited its opponents to .142 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.
A CLEAN SWEEP
Penn State has earned 15 of its 18 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.
OFFENSIVE OPTIONS
Redshirt freshman setter Bryanna Weiskircher has directed the Nittany Lions to a .289 hitting percentage, which ranks seventh nationally and leads the Big Ten. Weiskircher has also paced four of her top attackers to .255 or better hitting, led by sophomore Haleigh Washington's .462 hitting clip, which ranks second nationally and leads the Big Ten.
Redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney's .316 hitting percentage is second on the team and 13th in the conference, while senior Megan Courtney's .258 clip is third. Sophomore Simone Lee's .255 hitting efficiency is 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 2.71 kills per set with double digit kills in eight of the last 11 matches.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Next week, the Nittany Lions will square off against Big Ten travel partner Ohio State in the annual home-and-away series. Penn State will play the Buckeyes twice in a three-day span beginning with a trip to Columbus Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 5 p.m. on ESPNU.