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Nov. 27, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Seventh-ranked Penn State women's volleyball (26-4, 15-4) is set to close out the 2015 regular season on the road, traveling to Nebraska to take on the fifth-ranked Cornhuskers (25-4, 16-3) Saturday, Nov. 28 at 9:30 p.m. ET at the Devaney Center. The matchup will broadcast live on the Big Ten Network with Larry Punteney and Audrey Flaugh on the call.
Penn State swept past Northwestern earlier this week to close out the regular season home slate at Rec Hall. Sophomore Bryanna Weiskircher directed the Nittany Lion offense to a Big Ten conference season-high .408 team hitting efficiency. Sophomore Ali Frantti led the team with 13 kills, while redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney finished second on the team with 10 kills.
FIRST SERVE
* In her second straight match at libero for the Nittany Lions, senior Kendall Pierce matched a career-high mark with 12 digs in the win against the Wildcats.
* In the first meeting between Penn State and Nebraska this season, the Nittany Lions came up short in a 3-2 decision at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions jumped out to a 2-0 lead, before falling in the final three sets. Despite the outcome, senior Megan Courtney and freshman Keeton Holcomb had 20-plus dig matches. Courtney also led a group of four double digit kill performers with 16 kills.
* Penn State trails 15-10 in the all-time series against Nebraska. Five of the last six matches between the two teams have gone more than three sets, with the Nittany Lions' most recent win coming by way of a 3-0 sweep at home in final regular season match of the 2014 season.
* The Nittany Lions' most recent win on the road at Nebraska dates back to Nov. 30, 2013, when Penn State topped the Huskers in four sets in its first trip to the newly renovated Devaney Center.
* PSU will square off against its 12th team ranked in the Top 25 of the AVCA Coaches' Poll. Penn State heads into the matchup against the fifth-ranked Huskers at 9-2 against ranked teams. Penn State is 6-1 against ranked teams at home in Rec Hall and 3-1 on the road.
* Penn State has earned 21 of its 26 victories this year by way of a 3-0 sweep, while also limiting its opponents to a .153 hitting percentage. The mark ranks 12th nationally and leads the Big Ten.
* Averaging 3.17 blocks per set on the year, Penn State owns a 323.5 - 162.5 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 18th nationally and second in the Big Ten.
* Penn State's .297 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 fourth nationally and leads the Big Ten.
* PSU slid to No. 7 in the latest AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll this week, after spending one week ranked fourth. Despite the season-low positioning, 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 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.
* 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 17 matches, posting double figure kills in six of the last 14 outings.
* Veterans senior Megan Courtney and redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney are among the group of top Nittany Lion attackers. Averaging 3.11 kills per set, Courtney has had double digit kills in eight of 15 conference matches she's played. Whitney's averaging 3.05 kills per set with double digit kills in nine of the last 15 matches, including six of the last eight outings.
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 .297 hitting percentage, which leads the Big Ten conference and ranks fifth nationally. From the end line, she's also tallied 38 aces on the year. Weiskircher's 0.37 aces per frame is tops in the Big Ten standings.
LAST TIME OUT: HOME & AWAY
Oct. 2, 2015 - (25-12, 26-24, 14-25, 20-25, 11-15)
NEB 3, PSU 2 - University Park, Pa. - Rec Hall
Then-No. 1 Penn State fell short in five sets to then-No. 4 Nebraska Friday evening at Rec Hall in front of its second consecutive 5,000-plus crowd.
The Nittany Lions shot out to a 2-0 lead in the match, to take control of sizable advantage heading into the intermission as Nebraska rallied back with wins in the next three sets to win the match. A trio of Nittany Lions led the offense with double figure kills. Megan Courtney led the way with 16 kills, adding 22 digs for her third consecutive, and sixth double-double of the season. Aiyana Whitney finished second on the team with 14 kills on .333 hitting, while Haleigh Washington had 11 kills.
Four different Nittany Lions posted double digit digs, led by a career-high 23 from libero Keeton Holcomb, marking her third 20-dig performance of the season. Ali Frantti and Bryanna Weiskircher logged 11 digs apiece. Weiskircher also passed out 46 assists for her second consecutive and third double-double of the season.
Five Nittany Lions led the blocking effort with multi-block performances. Courtney matched a career-high mark with eight total blocks, including three solo stuffs. Washington tallied nine total blocks, marking her third straight match with at least five blocks.
Oct. 3, 2014 - (25-12, 22-25, 20-25, 23-25)
NEB 3, PSU 1 - Lincoln, Neb. - Devaney Center
Despite double-digit kill performances from Ali Frantti and Megan Courtney, then-No. 3 Penn State came up short in a 3-1 loss on the road at then-No. 8 Nebraska at the Devaney Center.
Frantti led the team with a match-high 19 kills on .486 hitting, adding nine digs and two blocks. Courtney finished second on the team with 11 kills, adding one ace, seven digs and three blocks. Nia Grant had nine kills on .389 hitting, while also tallying a team-high five blocks.
Dominique Gonzalez and Lacey Fuller fueled the defensive effort with double-digit digs. Gonzalez led the team with a match-high 17 digs, while Fuller matched a career-high mark with 13 digs.
MAKING AN IMPACT
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 17 matches, posting double figure kills in six of the last 14 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. She also totaled a career-high three aces in the most recent meeting against the Wolverines (11/18).
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 323.5 - 162.5, averaging 3.17 blocks per set, which ranks second nationally and leads the conference. Individually, sophomore Haleigh Washington's 1.41 blocks per set ranks 18th nationally and second in the Big Ten. Sophomore Heidi Thelen's 1.11 blocks per set ranks third on the team and 13th in the league, while redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney's 1.15 blocks per frame is second on the squad and 11th in the conference. Penn State has out-blocked its opponent in 27 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 .153 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 eight times. Only Minnesota (.275), Stanford (.267) and Iowa (.283) have hit .250 or better against the Nittany Lions. Penn State has been out-hit by a team only five times this season, in both matches against Minnesota (.198/.216 & .236/.275), against Nebraska (.164/.173), at Northwestern (.193/.211) and vs. Michigan (.210/.213). 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 .297 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 fourth nationally and leads the Big Ten.
Redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney's .343 hitting percentage is second on the team and seventh in the conference, while sophomore Simone Lee's .270 efficiency is third on the team. Senior Megan Courtney's .247 clip is fourth on the squad. Averaging 3.11 kills per set, Courtney has had double digit kills in eight of 15 conference matches she's played. Whitney's averaging 3.05 kills per set with double digit kills in nine of the last 15 matches, including six of the last eight outings.
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 2.62 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 double digit hitters a total of seven times this season (vs. Auburn, vs. Minnesota, vs. Nebraska, at Northwestern, at Michigan, at Minnesota, vs. Michigan). In total, Penn State has had at least three in double figures in 10 of 30 matches this season. In conference play, three or four players have fueled the PSU offense with double figure kills in seven of 19 Big Ten matches.
SWEEPING VICTORIES
Penn State has earned 21 of its 26 (81%) victories this season by way of a 3-0 sweep. Penn State has also limited Eastern Kentucky, Mississippi State, St. John's, and most recently, Maryland to less than 45 total points in a single match, holding the Colonels to a season-low 41 total points. The Terps had 45, the Red Storm had 43 and Bulldogs had just 42.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Nittany Lions will now wait to find out seeding for the upcoming NCAA Tournament. The 2015 DI NCAA Tournament selection show is set to air Sunday, Nov. 29 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The AVCA has placed Penn State on its 2015 watch-list as a potential host for first and second round matchups.