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Nov. 4, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Top-ranked Penn State hits the road this week, opening up a four-match road swing at Maryland and Rutgers. The Nittany Lions (21-2, 10-2) take on the Terrapins (12-14, 2-10) Thursday, Nov. 5 at 8 p.m., before squaring off against the Scarlet Knights (4-20, 1-11) Friday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m.
Penn State enters the week after posting a home-and-home sweep over then-No. 11 Ohio State last week. The Nittany Lions swept past the Buckeyes on the road in Columbus before taking down OSU in four sets at home in Rec Hall Saturday evening.
FIRST SERVE
* Redshirt freshman Bryanna Weiskircher earned Big Ten Setter of the Week honors following the wins against the Buckeyes. The award marks the first time in her career she's received Big Ten weekly recognition.
* Penn State leads 20-5 in the all-time series against Maryland, along with one tie against the Terps in 1978. The Nittany Lions have won their last 17 consecutive matches against the Terrapins, including both meetings last year
* The Nittany Lions own a 26-9 advantage in the all-time series against Rutgers. PSU claimed a 3-0 win in the lone meeting between the two teams last year (Nov. 7, 2014) and is set to travel to Rutgers for the first time since 1990.
* Penn State climbed back to the top of the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll this week, earning 27 first place votes. The No. 1 ranking marks the seventh week the Nittany Lions have been atop the AVCA Top 25 Poll this season, as PSU spent the first six weeks ranked first.
* 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.
* The Nittany Lions moved to 9-1 this year against teams ranked within the Top 25 of the AVCA Coaches' Poll after defeating the Buckeyes twice in a three-day stretch. Penn State is now 3-0 on the road against Top 25 teams and enters the week having faced a ranked opponent in eight of the last 12 outings.
* Penn State has earned 17 of its 21 victories this year by way of a 3-0 sweep, while also limiting its opponents to a .138 hitting percentage. The mark ranks third nationally and leads the Big Ten.
* Averaging 3.19 blocks per set on the year, Penn State owns a 252.0 - 126.5 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 1.46 blocks per set ranks 16th nationally and second in the Big Ten.
* Penn State's .291 hitting clip ranks fifth in the NCAA national standings and leads the Big Ten. Helped out by Haleigh Washington's team-high .456 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 10 matches. Lee's led the team in kills in four of the last seven outings, posting double figure kills five times during the span.
* Veterans senior Megan Courtney and redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney are also among the group of top Nittany Lion attackers. Averaging 3.18 kills per set, Courtney has had double-doubles (kills/digs) in six of the last eight matches she's played in. Whitney's averaging 3.01 kills per set with double digit kills in seven of the last 11 matches.
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 .291 hitting percentage, which leads the Big Ten conference and ranks fifth nationally. From the end line, she's also tallied 26 aces on the year. Weiskircher's 0.33 aces per frame is tops in the Big Ten standings.
LEE EMERGING AS OFFENSIVE CONTRIBUTOR
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's made starts in each of the last 10 matches. Lee's led the team in kills in four of the last seven matches, posting double figure kills in five outings during the span. 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 seven matches, Lee's averaging 2.73 kills per set on .287 hitting.
WEEK 11: AVCA TOP 25 COACHES' POLL UPDATE
Penn State moved back up to No. 1 in the latest AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Nittany Lions have now been slated No. 1 a total of seven times this season, having spent the first six straight weeks at the top of the poll. 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.
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 252.0 - 126.5, averaging 3.19 blocks per set, which ranks third nationally and leads the conference. Individually, sophomore Haleigh Washington's 1.46 blocks per set ranks 16th 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, while redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney's 1.08 blocks per frame is third on the squad and 14th in the conference.
Penn State has out-blocked its opponent in 21 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 .138 hitting this season, which ranks first in the Big Ten standings and third nationally. PSU has held its opponent to .099 or lower hitting efficiency 11 times and between .135-.196 six times. 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.
OFFENSIVE OPTIONS
Redshirt freshman setter Bryanna Weiskircher has directed the Nittany Lions to a .291 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 .456 clip, which ranks second nationally and leads the Big Ten.
Redshirt senior Aiyana Whitney's .330 hitting percentage is second on the team and 10th in the conference, while senior Megan Courtney's .258 clip is third on the squad. Sophomore Simone Lee's .249 efficiency is fourth on the team. Averaging 3.18 kills per set, Courtney has had double-doubles (kills/digs) in each six of the last eight matches she's played. Whitney's averaging 3.01 kills per set with double digit kills in seven of the last 11 matches.
HOLCOMB HOLDING IT DOWN
Since her career-high weekend at the Golden Dome Invitational, freshman libero Keeton Holcomb has been a solid defensive option for Penn State. Holcomb averaged 5.33 digs per set in South Bend, highlighting the weekend with back-to-back 20-dig performances in the same day against both Mississippi State and Notre Dame. On the year, Holcomb's leading the team with 3.41 digs per set, which ranks 11th in the Big Ten standings.
LAST TIME OUT: MARYLAND & RUTGERS
Nov. 22, 2014 - (25-15, 25-18, 25-14)
PSU 3, UMD 0 - College Park, Md. - XFINITY Center
Penn State leads 20-5 in the all-time series against Maryland, along with one tie against the Terps in 1978. The Nittany Lions have won their last 17 consecutive matches against the Terrapins, including both meetings last year.
In the most recent meeting between the two teams, then-No.4 Penn State powered past Maryland in straight sets on the road at the XFINITY Center. Aiyana Whitney fueled the offense with 11 kills, while Ali Frantti followed close behind with nine kills on 15 errorless swings. Megan Courtney added six kills on a team-high .750 hitting clip, while also tallying a squad-best nine digs. Haleigh Washington notched six kills on nine perfect swings, hitting .667 on the night.
Some familiar faces are also on the Terrapin sideline, as head coach Steve Aird served as an assistant coach for the Nittany Lions from 2012-2013. Maryland assistant coach Adam Hughes was also Penn State's director of operations for four seasons before joining Aird in College Park.
Nov. 7, 2014 - (25-11, 25-12, 25-10)
PSU 3, RUT 0 - University Park, Pa. - Rec Hall
The Nittany Lions own a 26-9 advantage in the all-time series against Rutgers. Having won each of the last 22 straight matches against the Scarlet Knights, PSU claimed a 3-0 win in the lone meeting between the two teams last year (Nov. 7, 2014). Penn State's is set to travel to Rutgers for the first time since 1990.
In the most recent outing between the two clubs, then-No. 6 Penn State rolled past Rutgers in straight sets to mark the 20th 3-0 sweep of the 2014 season for the Nittany Lions. PSU out-hit the Scarlet Knights .467 to -.039. Haleigh Washington led the offense with 13 kills on .688 hitting, adding two blocks. Ali Frantti finished second on the team with nine kills, while also tallying seven digs, two aces and three blocks, including two solo stuffs. Aiyana Whitney added eight kills.
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 23 matches this season. In conference play, three or four players have fueled the PSU offense with double figure kills in five of 12 Big Ten matches.
THREE SET SUCCESS
Penn State has earned 17 of its 21 (81%) 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.
WE'LL TAKE THE FIRST ONE
Penn State is 21-1 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.
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 continues its four-match road swing, heading to Iowa and Minnesota to meet each team for the second time this season. The Nittany Lions take on the Hawkeyes in a midweek matchup Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. ET before squaring off against the Golden Gophers Saturday, Nov. 14. at 8 p.m. ET.