Nov. 17, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After spending two weeks on the road, fourth-ranked Penn State women's volleyball (24-3, 13-3) is set to return to Rec Hall to open a three-match home stand. The Nittany Lions are set to host Michigan (17-10, 7-9) in a midweek matchup Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall.
Penn State went 1-1 last week, capturing a 3-0 win on the road at Iowa before falling short in a 3-0 loss on the road at Minnesota.
PROMOTIONAL SPOTLIGHT!
The Nittany Lions will host #PSUVB night in Rec Hall on Wednesday evening. Free Penn State women's volleyball phone clips will be available at the door while supplies last. Fans are also encouraged to interact with the Nittany Lions on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram throughout the match for giveaways with #PSUVB.
FIRST SERVE
* Penn State has won its last 24 consecutive matches against Michigan. Most recently, the Nittany Lions captured a close five-set victory on the road in Ann Arbor in the first meeting of the 2015 season. PSU leads 47-3 in the all-time series against the Wolverines.
* Three Nittany Lions reached double figures in Penn State's 3-2 win at then-No. 23 Michigan earlier this year. Redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney matched a career-high mark with 18 kills, while sophomore Haleigh Washington had a career-high 17 kills on .593 hitting. Sophomore Simone Lee posted 13 kills. Sophomore Ali Frantti led the team with 17 digs.
* The Nittany Lions moved to 9-2 this year against teams ranked within the Top 25 of the AVCA Coaches' Poll after the loss at then-No. 4 Minnesota. Penn State also moved to 3-1 on the road against Top 25 teams.
* Penn State has earned 19 of its 24 victories this year by way of a 3-0 sweep, while also limiting its opponents to a .149 hitting percentage. The mark ranks 12th nationally and leads the Big Ten. * Averaging 3.15 blocks per set on the year, Penn State owns a 289.5 - 147.5 advantage in the blocking margin against its opponents in 2015. The average ranks second nationally and leads the Big Ten. Individually, sophomore Haleigh Washington's 1.41 blocks per set ranks 20th nationally and second in the Big Ten.
* Penn State's .295 hitting clip ranks fifth in the NCAA national standings and leads the Big Ten. Helped out by Haleigh Washington's team-high .445 hitting clip, her efficiency ranks third nationally and leads the Big Ten.
* Penn State moved to No. 4 in the latest AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll this week, after spending two weeks ranked No. 1. The Nittany Lions have been slated No. 1 a total of eight times this season, having spent the first six straight weeks at the top of the poll.
* 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 has made starts in each of the last 14 matches. Lee's posted double figures in six of the last 11 outings, while also averaging 2.54 kills per set on .305 hitting within the stretch.
* Veterans senior Megan Courtney and redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney are also among the group of top Nittany Lion attackers. Averaging 3.14 kills per set, Courtney has had double-doubles (kills/digs) in six of the last 12 matches she's played in. Whitney is averaging 3.11 kills per set with double digit kills in seven of the last 12 matches, including four of the last five outings.
* 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 seven in the top 25.
* 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.
* In the win against St. John's, 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.
WASHINGTON EARNS CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONORS
Penn State sophomore Haleigh Washington has been selected to the Academic All-District team, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Washington is one of six student-athletes to garner the distinction in the District 2 category. Washington will now be considered for national honors as an Academic All-American, which is set to be announced near the end of the month. Since 1996, Washington is the 11th different Nittany Lion in program history to earn the distinction and Penn State's 18th overall selection to an Academic All-District team. WEISKIRCHER
EARNS FIRST CAREER BIG TEN WEEKLY HONOR
After helping the team to a home-and-home sweep against then-No. 11 Ohio State, redshirt freshman Bryanna Weiskircher earned Big Ten Setter of the Week honors. The award marks the first time in her career she's received Big Ten weekly recognition. Weiskircher paced the team to a .358 hitting percentage in a 2-0 week that featured a pair of wins against the Buckeyes. Averaging 11.00 assists per set, Weiskircher directed the Nittany Lion offense to team hitting clips of .349 or better in each outing.
In the midweek match at Ohio State, she posted her eighth double-double of the season with 35 assists and 10 digs in the straight set win. In the next outing, she put down a career-high five kills on six errorless swings against the Buckeyes, adding six digs and two aces. On the year, Weiskircher's guided the team to a .295 hitting percentage, which leads the Big Ten conference and ranks fifth nationally. From the end line, she's also tallied 31 aces on the year. Weiskircher's 0.34 aces per frame is tops in the Big Ten standings.
LAST TIME OUT: MICHIGAN
Oct. 21, 2015 - (25-18, 22-25, 18-25, 25-20, 15-7)
PSU 3, UM 2 - Ann Arbor, Mich. - Cliff Keen Arena
A trio of Nittany Lions recorded double figure kills as then-No. 5 Penn State rallied past No. 23 Michigan in the first meeting of the 2015 season. Aiyana Whitney powered the offense with a career-high 18 kills, while Haleigh Washington finished second on the team with a career-high 17 kills on .593 hitting. Simone Lee rounded out the group with 13 kills. Bryanna Weiskircher paced the team to a .268 hitting percentage, dishing out 53 assists. She added 12 digs for a double-double.
The Nittany Lions commanded the advantage in the blocking margin, out-blocking Michigan 17.0-7.0, led by multi-block performances from six Nittany Lions. Sophomore Haleigh Washington led the way with eight total blocks.
LEE CONTINUES TO CONTRIBUTE
Sophomore Simone Lee has stepped up as an offensive contributor for the Nittany Lions since entering the Penn State starting lineup against Nebraska Oct. 2. Since then, she has made starts in each of the last 14 matches, posting double figure kills in six of the last 11 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. She also put down 13 kills on the road at No. 23 Michigan and led the team with 10 kills at Michigan State. In the last 11 matches, Lee's averaging 2.54 kills per set on .305 hitting.
ADVANTAGE ON THE BLOCK
Penn State has commanded the advantage in the blocking margin against its opponents this year. To date, Penn State has out-blocked its opponents 289.5 - 147.5, averaging 3.15 blocks per set, which ranks third nationally and leads the conference. Individually, sophomore Haleigh Washington's 1.41 blocks per set ranks 20th nationally and second in the Big Ten. Sophomore Heidi Thelen's 1.13 blocks per set ranks second on the team and 12th in the league, while redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney's 1.12 blocks per frame is third on the squad and 13th in the conference.
Penn State has out-blocked its opponent in 24 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 twice this season by Minnesota (11.0-13.0 & 7.0/9.0).
DEFENSIVELY SPEAKING
Penn State has limited its opponents to .149 hitting this season, which ranks first in the Big Ten standings and 12th nationally. PSU has held its opponent to .099 or lower hitting efficiency 11 times and between .135-.196 seven times. Only Minnesota (.275), Stanford (.267) and Iowa (.283) have hit .250 or better against the Nittany Lions. Penn State has only been out-hit by a team four times this season, in both matches against Minnesota (.198/.216 & .236/.275), against Nebraska (.164/.173) and at Northwestern (.193/.211). Despite getting out-hit by the Golden Gophers in the first meeting of the season (9/26), PSU outlasted Minnesota in five sets to claim a close 3-2 win.
OFFENSIVE OPTIONS
Redshirt freshman setter Bryanna Weiskircher has directed the Nittany Lions to a .295 hitting percentage, which ranks fifth 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 .445 clip, which ranks third nationally and leads the Big Ten. Redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney's .345 hitting percentage is second on the team and sixth in the conference, while sophomore Simone Lee's .269 efficiency is third on the team.
Senior Megan Courtney's .249 clip is fourth on the squad. Averaging 3.14 kills per set, Courtney has had double-doubles (kills/digs) in each six of the last 12 matches she's played. Whitney's averaging 3.11 kills per set with double digit kills in seven of the last 12 matches, including four of the last five outings.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
Including an 11-1 mark in 2015, Penn State owns a 575-32 (.947) all-time record at home in Rec Hall. After the Ohio State win last week, Penn State is 263-18 all-time against Big Ten opponents at Rec Hall. Only the Buckeyes have 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.
WEEK 13: AVCA TOP 25 COACHES' POLL UPDATE
Penn State moved to No. 4 in the latest AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll this week, after spending two weeks ranked No. 1. The Nittany Lions have been slated No. 1 a total of eight times this season, having spent the first six straight weeks at the top of the poll. Including PSU, this week's poll features half of the Big Ten conference teams with seven teams in the top 25. Michigan is also receiving votes.
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 2.59 or more kills per set on the year. Penn State has 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 double digit hitters a total of six times this season (vs. Auburn, vs. Minnesota, vs. Nebraska, at Northwestern, at Michigan, at Minnesota). In total, Penn State has had at least three in double figures in nine of 27 matches this season. In conference play, three or four players have fueled the PSU offense with double figure kills in six of 16 Big Ten matches.
SWEEPING VICTORIES
Penn State has earned 19 of its 24 (79%) 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.
NITTANY LIONS' REGULAR SEASON FINALE ADDED TO BTN LINEUP
The Big Ten conference has announced that it will televise Penn State's final regular season match of the 2015 season. Penn State takes on Nebraska in the regular season finale on the road in Lincoln Saturday, Nov. 28. First serve is set for 9:30 p.m. ET.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Penn State closes out the week at home, hosting Maryland Saturday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall. The matchup marks the second meeting of the 2015 season, as the Nittany Lions claimed a 3-1 win in the first outing on the road earlier this season.
