| #5 Penn State vs. #11 Ohio State | | | | 19-2 (8-2 Big Ten) | 19-3 (8-2 Big Ten) |
| |
| at Ohio State - Wed., Oct. 28 - 5 p.m. | TV: ESPNU
Karch Kiraly, Paul Sunderland | | Columbus, Ohio | St. John Arena | | Live Audio | | WatchESPN | | Notes: Penn State | Ohio State | | vs. Ohio State - Fri., Oct. 30 - 7 p.m. | University Park, Pa. | Rec Hall | | Bag Policy | Parking | Tickets | Seating Chart | Promo: Halloween night at Rec Hall! A kids costume parade at the intermission. BOGO youth tickets for kids in costume. | | Live Audio | | BTN Plus | | Notes: Penn State | Ohio State | | |
|
|
Oct. 27, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Third-ranked Penn State women's volleyball (19-2, 8-2) is set to square off against Ohio State (19-3, 8-2) twice in a three-day span this week, beginning with a trip to Columbus Wednesday, Oct. 28 for a 5 p.m. match at St. John Arena.
The Nittany Lions return home to host the Buckeyes Friday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall.
Wednesday's midweek matchup will broadcast live on ESPNU with Karch Kiraly and Paul Sunderland on the call.
PSU will host Halloween night at Rec Hall Friday, with free candy at the door and a costume parade for children on the court during the intermission. Youth tickets are also buy-one-get-one free for kids ages 12 and younger who come to the match dressed in costume.
FIRST SERVE
* Penn State rallied by No. 23 Michigan in five sets last Wednesday, before sweeping Michigan State on the road to secure a pair of Big Ten conference road wins.
* Sophomore Haleigh Washington earned Big Ten Co-Player of the Week honors for her perfor¬mances last week. She splits the award with Minnesota's Hannah Tapp.
* During the undefeated week, Washington led the team with a .525 hitting efficiency, totaling 25 kills to average 3.12 per set. She also led the blocking unit with a pair of multi-block performances, averaging 1.00 blocks per frame on the week.
* The Nittany Lions lead 44-14 in the all-time series against Ohio State. PSU claimed wins in both meetings against Ohio State last year, having won the last 16 consecutive matches against the Buckeyes. Penn State has also knocked off OSU in straight sets in each of the last six outings.
* 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. Penn State's trip to No. 11 Ohio State will be its seventh meeting against a top 25 opponent in its last 11 matches. PSU is 2-0 on the road against Top 25 teams.
* Penn State has earned 16 of its 19 victories this year by way of a 3-0 sweep, while also limiting its opponents to a .140 hitting percentage. The mark ranks fifth nationally and leads the Big Ten.
* Averaging 3.22 blocks per set on the year, Penn State owns a 232.0 - 115.5 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 1.51 blocks per set ranks 14th nationally and second in the Big Ten.
* Penn State's .286 hitting clip ranks seventh in the NCAA national standings and leads the Big Ten. Helped out by Haleigh Washington's team-high .459 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 eight matches. Lee's led the team in kills in four of the last five outings, posting double figure kills in all five matches.
* Veterans senior Megan Courtney and redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney are also among the group of top Nittany Lion attackers with 189 and 216 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 3.00 kills per set with double digit kills in six of the last 10 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. 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 moved up two spots to No. 3 in the latest AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll after spending two weeks at No. 5. Prior to No. 5 ranking, Penn State was ranked No. 3 for just one week, having spent the first six straight weeks of the season atop the standings at No. 1.
ANOTHER BIG TEN WEEKLY HONOR FOR WASHINGTON
After guiding the Penn State to a pair of Big Ten conference road wins No. 23 Michigan and Michigan State, sophomore Haleigh Washington earned Big Ten Co-Player of the Week honors. She split the award with Minnesota's Hannah Tapp. The honor is Washington's fourth Big Ten conference weekly award this season, while also marking her seventh career weekly conference nod in any category.
Washington helped Penn State to a five set victory on the road at No. 23 Michigan, as well as straight set win at Michigan State this past week. During the undefeated week, she led the team with a .525 hitting efficiency, totaling 25 kills to average 3.12 per set. She also led the blocking unit with a pair of multi-block performances, averaging 1.00 blocks per frame on the week. She highlighted the weekend with a career-high 17 kills in the win against the Wolverines, posting a .593 hitting clip with just one error on 27 attempts. She added two aces and five total blocks. Against the Spartans, she tallied eight kills on .385 hitting, while also logging three blocks and one ace.
"LEE-DING" THE WAY
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 eight matches. Lee's led the team in kills in four of the last five matches, posting double figure kills in all five 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 and led the team with 10 kills at Michigan State. In the last five matches, Lee's averaging 3.11 kills per set on .295 hitting.
WEEK 10: AVCA TOP 25 COACHES' POLL UPDATE
Penn State moved up two spots to No. 3 in the latest AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll after spending two weeks at No. 5. Prior to No. 5 ranking, Penn State was ranked No. 3 for just one week, 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.
BLOCKS ON BLOCKS ON BLOCKS
Penn State's commanded the advantage in the blocking margin against its opponents this year. To date, Penn State has out-blocked its opponents 232.0 - 115.5, averaging 3.22 blocks per set, which ranks third nationally and leads the conference. Individually, sophomore Haleigh Washington's 1.51 blocks per set ranks 14th 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 19 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 .140 hitting this season, which ranks first in the Big Ten standings and fifth nationally. PSU has held 10 opponents to .099 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.
THREE SET SUCCESS
Penn State has earned 16 of its 19 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 .286 hitting percentage, which ranks seventh nationally and leads the Big Ten. Weiskircher has also paced four of her top attackers to just under .250, or better hitting, led by sophomore Haleigh Washington's .459 clip, which ranks second nationally and leads the Big Ten.
Redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney's .313 hitting percentage is second on the team and 14th in the conference, while senior Megan Courtney's .258 clip is third on the squad. Sophomore Simone Lee's .249 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 six of the last 10 matches.
OHIO STATE: LAST TIME OUT
Oct. 31, 2014 - (25-13, 25-16, 25-18)
PSU 3, OSU 0 - Columbus, Ohio - St. John Arena
The Nittany Lions lead 44-14 in the all-time series against Ohio State. PSU claimed wins in both meetings against Ohio State last year, having won the last 16 consecutive matches against the Buckeyes. Penn State has also knocked off OSU in straight sets in each of the last six outings.
In the most recent meeting between the two teams, then-No. 6 Penn State swept past No. 17 Ohio State in straight sets at St. John Arena to close out a home-and-home series against the Buckeyes with a 2-0 mark. Ali Frantti fueled the offense with 14 kills on .448 hitting, adding five blocks, three digs and two aces. Haleigh Washington put down eight kills on .429 hitting, while also leading the blocking effort with a career-high nine blocks. Aiyana Whitney recorded seven kills. The PSU defense limited the Buckeyes to a .065 team hitting percentage. Dominique Gonzalez led the defensive effort with double-digit digs notching a match-high 15 digs.
A 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 the Purdue/Indiana 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.
THE MORE THE MERRIER
The Nittany Lions have utilized a balanced offensive attack in matches this season, with a total of four different players averaging at least 2.50 or more kills per set on the year. Penn State's highlighted the season with four players in double figures on three occasions this season (vs. Stanford, vs. Wisconsin and at Illinois). Penn State has been led by three different Nittany Lions with double digit kills a total of five times this season (vs. Auburn, vs. Minnesota, vs. Nebraska, at Northwestern, at Michigan).
In total, Penn State has had at least three in double figures in eight of 21 matches this season. In conference play, three or four players have fueled the PSU offense with double figure kills in five of 10 Big Ten matches.
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 North¬western 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 high¬est single-match total in a 3-set match in Penn State program history.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Penn State opens a four-match road swing next week, beginning with a trip to Maryland and Rutgers. The Nittany Lions travel to College Park to take on the Terps Thursday, Nov. 5, before heading to East Brunswick to take on the Scarlet Knights Friday, Nov. 6.
