| Week 7: at #13 Illinois & Northwestern | | | | | 14-1 (3-1) | 11-4 (2-2) | 10-5 (2-2) |
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| #3 Penn State at #13 Illinois | | Friday, Oct. 9 - 8 p.m. ET | | Champaign, Ill. | Huff Hall | TV: BTN
Mike Wolf (PxP), Liz T. Nelson (Analysis) | | Live Audio | Live Stats | BTN2go | | Notes: Penn State | Illinois | | #3 Penn State at Northwestern | | Saturday, Oct. 3 - 7 p.m. ET | | Evanston, Ill. | Welsh-Ryan Arena | | Live Audio | | BTN Plus | | Notes: Penn State | Northwestern |
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Oct. 8, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Third-ranked Penn State women's volleyball (14-1, 3-1) is set to take its first Big Ten conference road trip of the season this weekend.
The Nittany Lions travel to No. 13 Illinois (11-4, 2-2), Friday, Oct. 9 for an 8 p.m. ET matchup, before heading to Northwestern (10-5, 2-2) to square off against the Wildcats Saturday, Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. ET.
Friday's match will broadcast live on the Big Ten Network with Mike Wolf and Liz Tortorello Nelson on the call.
QUICK SETS
* Penn State split the second week of Big Ten conference play, 1-1, falling short in a 3-2 loss to fourth-ranked Nebraska before rebounding to defeat Iowa in straight sets.
* The Nittany Lions moved to 4-1 this year against teams ranked within the Top 25 of the AVCA Coaches' Poll after the Nebraska match.
* This weekend's matchup against the No. 13 Illini marks Penn State's fourth meeting against a top 25 opponent in its last five matches.
* In the win against Iowa, senior Megan Courtney's 12 kills lifted her to the 1,000 career kills milestone (1,004). With 13 digs against Iowa, she's also four digs shy of the 1,000 career digs plateau. With four digs, she would become just the eighth Nittany Lion in program history to total 1,000 career kills/1,000 career digs and the first since Deja McClendon in 2013.
* Penn State has earned 13 of its 14 victories this year by way of a 3-0 sweep, while also limiting its opponents to a .131 hitting percentage. The mark ranks third nationally and leads the Big Ten.
* Averaging 3.10 blocks per set on the year, Penn State has commanded a 152.0 - 76.0 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 1.51 blocks per set ranks ninth nationally and also leads the Big Ten.
* Penn State's .302 hitting clip ranks fourth in the NCAA national standings and leads the Big Ten. Helped out by Haleigh Washington's team-high .479 hitting clip, her efficiency leads both the nation and the Big Ten.
* Veterans senior Megan Courtney and redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney are among the group of top Nittany Lion attackers with 157 and 150 kills, respectively. Averaging 3.20 kills per set, Courtney has had double-doubles (kills/digs) in each of the last four straight matches. Whitney's averaging 3.06 kills per set with double digit kills in six of the last seven 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.
* PSU moved to No. 3 in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll this week. Prior to the move, Penn State spent the last six straight weeks atop the standings at No. 1 overall. Penn State also received a pair of first place votes in this week's poll.
* 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 fourth week in a row.
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 152.0 - 76.0, averaging 3.10 blocks per set, which ranks fifth nationally and leads the conference. Individually, sophomore Haleigh Washington's 1.51 blocks per set ranks ninth nationally and also leads the Big Ten. Sophomore Heidi Thelen's 1.19 blocks per set ranks second on the team and ninth in the league.
LAST TIME OUT
Oct. 11, 2014 - (24-26, 25-16, 23-25, 22-25)
ILL 3, PSU 1 - University Park, Pa. - Rec Hall
Then-No. 5 Penn State fell short in comeback effort as then-No. 15 Illinois outlasted PSU in four sets. Four Nittany Lions contributed double-digit kills, led by Aiyana Whitney, who totaled 15. Haleigh Washington posted 14 kills and led the blocking unit with seven blocks. Ali Frantti rounded out the group with 13 kills. Frantti notched three aces, seven digs and four blocks, while Courtney had a team-high 13 digs.
The Nittany Lions have not visited Illinois since Oct. 18, 2013, when PSU came away with a close five-set victory in Champaign. PSU also claimed the 2013 meeting at home, but lost to Illinois in the most recent outing between the two teams at home on Oct. 11, 2014.
Nov. 26, 2014 - (25-20, 25-23, 25-23)
PSU 3, NU 0 - Evanston, Ill. - Welsh-Ryan Arena
Then-No. 4 Penn State battled to a 3-0 win on the road at Northwestern, led by at least five kills from five different Nittany Lions. Megan Courtney, put down nine to go along with a match-high 11 digs. Ali Frantti tallied eight, while Aiyana Whitney and Haleigh Washington tallied six and five, respectively. Simone Lee came off the bench in the final set with four kills on .500 hitting to help propel Penn State to the victory.
Penn State has won its last 24 consecutive matches against Northwestern including the most recent meeting on the road Nov. 26, 2014 in straight sets. Penn State also won the home contest against the Wildcats in 2014, topping NU 3-0 in Rec Hall Oct. 8. 2014.
DEFENSIVELY SPEAKING
Penn State has limited its opponents to .131 hitting this season, which ranks first in the Big Ten standings and third nationally. PSU has held nine of its 15 opponents to .097 or lower hitting efficiency. The Nittany Lions have limited three squads to hitting clips between .210-.267. Only Stanford (.267) and Iowa (.283) have hit .250 or better against the Nittany Lions. At the Golden Dome Invitational, Penn State held back-to-back teams to negative team hitting clips. Eastern Kentucky hit -.012, while Mississippi State hit -.010.
1,000 CAREER KILLS AND COUNTING
Against Iowa, senior Megan Courtney's 12 kills lifted her to the 1,000 career kills milestone (1,004). With 13 digs against Iowa, she's also four digs shy of the 1,000 career digs plateau. With four digs, she would become just the eighth Nittany Lion in program history to total 1,000 career kills/1,000 career digs and the first since Deja McClendon in 2013.
HERE COME THE BROOMS
Penn State has earned 13 of its 14 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.
OPTIONS ON OFFENSE
Redshirt freshman setter Bryanna Weiskircher has directed the Nittany Lions to a .302 hitting percentage, which ranks fourth nationally and first in the Big Ten. Weiskircher has also paced her top attackers to .264 or better hitting, led by sophomore Haleigh Washington's .479 hitting clip, which leads both the nation and the conference.
Redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney's .327 hitting percentage is second on the team while senior Megan Courtney's .264 clip is tied for third on the team with sophomore Ali Frantti. Averaging 3.20 kills per set, Courtney has had double-doubles (kills/digs) in each of the last four straight matches. Whitney's averaging 3.06 kills per set with double digit kills in six of the last seven matches.
WEEK 7: AVCA TOP 25 COACHES' POLL UPDATE
After splitting the second week of conference play, Penn State moved to No. 3 in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll. Prior to the move, Penn State spent six straight weeks atop the standings at No. 1. PSU also received a pair of first place votes in this week's poll. Including PSU, this week's poll features more than half of the Big Ten conference teams with a season-high eight teams in the top 25.
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?
Penn State returns home next week for a pair of Big Ten matches in Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions host Indiana Friday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. before welcoming Purdue Saturday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m.
