Aug. 25, 2016
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Approaching nearly his 40th season at the helm of a storied program, Penn State women's volleyball head coach Russ Rose returns to guide the Nittany Lions into the 2016 season. The No. 9 Nittany Lions are set to kick off the 2016 campaign this weekend hosting the Penn State Classic in Rec Hall. Penn State opens the season taking on West Virginia Friday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m., before meeting Georgia Southern and No. 19 North Carolina Saturday, Aug. 27 at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.
SETTING THE SCENE: 2016
As years pass, staffs and rosters change, Hall of Famer Russ Rose is back once again to begin a yearly process: finding a way to compete. Much like every season, the Nittany Lions will enter 2016 with question marks from key departures. This year, Penn State will have to find a way to replace the offensive contributions of Second Team AVCA All-Americans Megan Courtney and Aiyana Whitney.
While the clear offensive gap is just one piece of the puzzle, Penn State does return a few other key pieces in different areas. The Nittany Lions finished the 2015 season ranked third nationally and first in the Big Ten in blocks per set, led by First Team AVCA All-American Haleigh Washington, who led the team with 1.38 blocks per set, which closed out the year ranked third in the conference. Other key offensive returners include AVCA All-America Honorable Mention Ali Frantti, and Simone Lee, who closed out the year starting 18 of the final 21 matches of the year.
Penn State's 2016 newcomers include a diverse group consisting of five true freshman and three transfers. Among other newcomers, Penn State also welcomes new additions to the bench with staffing additions at assistant coach in Craig Dyer, director of operations in Jon Parry and volunteer assistant in Marcus Dos Santos.
PROMOTIONAL SPOTLIGHT: The Nittany Lions host Back to School weekend in Rec Hall for the Penn State Classic. Fans will receive Penn State women's volleyball folders and pencils while supplies. Penn State will also release the first two posters in its 2016 commemorative poster series. The Nittany Lions will release the first poster prior to the West Virginia match and the second prior to the North Carolina match.
QUICK SETS
- Five-time AVCA DI National Coach of the Year Russ Rose returns six starters and 14 letterwinners from last year's squad, which reached the NCAA regionals for the 13th consecutive season.
- Penn State was voted No. 9 overall in the 2016 AVCA Preseason Coaches' Poll, having closed out the year ranked No. 9 in the 2015 final poll.
- PSU has matchups set for 10 teams represented in the AVCA preseason poll, including eight meetings against teams in the top 25 and two receiving votes.
- The Nittany Lions are among seven teams from the Big Ten to be ranked within the AVCA preseason top 25 and one of four within the top 10 for the second straight season.
- Penn State was voted No. 4 in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches' Poll. Juniors Haleigh Washington and Ali Frantti were each selected to the Preseason All-Big Ten team. Washington and Frantti each garnered their second consecutive nod, while Washington was also voted a unanimous selection by the league's 14 head coaches.
- Penn State is 32-7-1 all-time in season-openers, having swept Buffalo in the first match of the 20145 season. The win against the Bulls marked the Nittany Lions' fourth consecutive season-opening victory.
PENN STATE RANKED NINTH IN AVCA PRESEASON POLL
Penn State women's volleyball earned the No. 9 ranking in the 2016 AVCA Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Nittany Lions are among seven Big Ten schools to be ranked within the AVCA Top 25 and one of four conference programs to be voted within the top 10.
Nebraska earned the No. 1 overall ranking with 60 of a possible 64 first place votes. Minnesota and Wisconsin are next at three and four, respectively. Outside the top 10, Illinois is ranked 14th and Ohio State is 15th. Purdue rounds out the group at No. 20. Michigan and Michigan State also represent the league in the poll, as both are receiving votes.
AVCA PRESEASON POLL OPPONENTS ON DECK
Penn State will square off against a total of 10 teams featured in the 2016 AVCA preseason poll, including eight teams ranked within the top 25 and two receiving votes. In addition to six matches against Big Ten opponents ranked within the top 25, PSU will also host No. 19 North Carolina in week one before traveling to Boulder, Colorado for a neutral site matchup against No. 11 Stanford.
NITTANY LIONS PICKED FOURTH IN BIG TEN POLL
Penn State opens the season ranked No. 4 in the Big Ten Preseason Poll, released by the conference early this week. The Big Ten Preseason poll is selected by votes from all 14 conference head coaches.
PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN NITTANY LIONS
Juniors Haleigh Washington and Ali Frantti have been named to the 2016 Preseason Big Ten Volleyball Team. The pair of Preseason All-Big Ten honors are the second straight for Washington and Frantti, who each earned the honor in 2015. Washington is also among a group of just four honorees to be voted to the team by a unanimous decision.
NITTANY LION ALUMS EARN BRONZE WITH TEAM USA
Penn State women's volleyball All-American alums Alisha Glass and Christa (Harmotto) Dietzen earned a Bronze medal with the United States Women's National Team at the Olympic Games in Rio.
Having played key roles for Team USA throughout the event, Glass and Dietzen helped the United States to a 3-1 (25-23, 25-27, 25-22, 25-19) win against the Netherlands to clinch The Americans' second Bronze medal since the 1992 games in Barcelona, Spain. Team USA went 6-0 through Pool play before a close 3-2 loss to Serbia in the semifinals moved the United States to 6-1 heading into the Bronze medal match.
Penn State women's volleyball now has four Olympic medalists in Nittany Lion program history as Glass earns her first and Dietzen picks up her second consecutive. Having previously earned Silver with the U.S. at the 2012 Games in London, Dietzen is Penn State's first women's volleyball alum to win two Olympic medals as a member of the 12-woman roster.
From Hopewell Township, Pa., Dietzen was a two-time first-team All-American and the 2008 CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year in women's volleyball. From Leland, Mich., Glass also was a two-time first-team All-American for the Nittany Lions. Glass was a member of the initial three national title squads and Dietzen was a member of the first two squads, playing for Hall of Fame Coach Russ Rose.
WHO'S GONE AND WHO'S BACK
Perhaps Penn State's biggest challenge this year will be replacing the offensive power generated
from All-American seniors Aiyana Whitney and Megan Courtney. While the offensive gap is just one piece of the puzzle, Penn State does return a few other key pieces in different areas. The Nittany Lions finished the 2015 season ranked third nationally and first in the Big Ten in blocks per set, led by First Team AVCA All-American Haleigh Washington, who led the team with 1.38 blocks per set, which closed out the year ranked third in the conference. A unanimous All-Big Ten selection, Washington also logged 13 double figure kill performances, finishing the year with .442 hitting efficiency that ranked third nationally and first in the league.
Other key offensive returners include AVCA All-America Honorable Mention Ali Frantti, and Simone Lee, who closed out the year starting 18 of the final 21 matches of the year. The Nittany Lions also received significant contributions from Bryanna Weiskircher, who helped set the team to a .295 hitting percentage in her first season at setter, good for fifth nationally in the final standings.
Despite the graduation of seniors Kendall Pierce and Lara Caraway, the Nittany Lions have the most depth in terms of numbers at defensive specialist. Keeton Holcomb is among a group of five returners at the position with the most experience. Holcomb played in 32 matches during her first season in the Blue and White, making 28 starts. She led the team with 3.05 digs per set, highlighting the season with a pair of 20-dig performance in the same day in wins against Mississippi State and Notre Dame.
TRANSFER TIME
Joining Weiskircher and Rivera at the setting position is Abby Detering and Caroline Graham. Both Detering and Graham transferred to Penn State having previously attended Florida and UCLA, respectively. Detering spent the last two seasons at Florida and enters 2016 as a junior on the Nittany Lion roster.
Graham transferred to Penn State after spending a year at UCLA, but did not play on the volleyball team. Graham attended Lycee Alexandre Dumas, serving as team captain from 2014-16. She played club volleyball with AS Tigresses (Tigers), helping the team to a national championship in 2015 and a second-place finish in 2014 and 2016.
Outside hitter Clare Powers rounds out the transfer group. Powers ranked third on the team in kills per set with 1.93 and finished fourth in digs per set with 2.19 in her first season at Saint Mary's before an injury cut her sophomore season short. She transfers to Penn State as a redshirt sophomore on the roster.
FRESHMAN FACES
Outside of the trio of transfers, Penn State's true freshman class features five newcomers including Emily DeMure, Allison Farrell, Kristin Krause, Emily Sciorra and Kendall White.
Emily DeMure - A four-year letterwinner at Granite Bay, DeMure helped the Grizzly Bears to a DI state championship during the 2013-14 season, as well as an All-League title in the same year. She also helped Granite Bay to a NorCal All-Section title in 2015, served as team captain. She was selected as team MVP at Granite Bay in 2015 and played club volleyball for Gold Cal Juniors.
Allison Farrell - A four-year letterwinner at Glenbard East, Farrell helped the Rams to a regional title during the 2014-15 season. She also earned Upstate 8 All-Conference and All-Area honors in 2015 and played club volleyball with Sports Performance.
Kristin Krause - Krause joins older sister Taylor on the Nittany Lion roster. A four-year letterwinner at Parkland High, Krause set the Trojans to back-to-back East Penn conference, district and Pennsylvania state championships in 2014-15. Selected as Pennsylvania's volleyball Gatorade State Player of the Year in 2015-16, she played club volleyball with East Coast Power, where she was coached by her father, Mike Krause.
Emily Sciorra - Sciorra was a four-year letterwinner at Chantilly, where she helped the Chargers to a Conference 6A championship in 2013 as the team's libero. Sciorra played club volleyball with Metro Volleyball Club of Washington D.C., helping her team to gold in the Sports Performance National Junior Classic Open.
Kendall White - White was four-year letterwinner at Cathedral, White helped the Irish become the first Indiana 4A team to post an undefeated record (36-0) in 2015 on the way to an Indiana Class 4A state title as the team's libero. Among numerous honors, she was named Indiana's volleyball Gatorade State Player of the Year in 2015-16 and selected as the Indy Star Player of the Year and Cathedral's High School Female Athlete of the Year.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Penn State hits the road next week for its first road trip of the 2016 campaign. The Nittany Lions travel to Boulder, Colorado for the third year of the rotating Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge. Penn State takes on Colorado Saturday, Sept. 3 at 9 p.m. ET before meeting Stanford Sunday, Sept. 4 at 5 p.m. ET. Both matches will broadcast live on the Pac-12 Network.