Oct. 10, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After another impressive weekend, Penn State women's volleyball junior Simone Lee has been named the Big Ten Player of the Week, while classmate Abby Detering earned the title of Big Ten Setter of the Week, as announced by the league office Monday afternoon.
Lee was outstanding in the upset of No. 1 Minnesota, charting a team-best 30 kills in five sets. It marked the first time a Nittany Lion had 30 or more kills in a match since Nicole Fawcett posted 31 against Cal Poly on August 31, 2007. The 30-kill outing also marked a new record for kills in a five-set match during the 25-point rally scoring era.
The junior outside hitter paced the Nittany Lions in offensively in both its matches, logging her 14th and 15th outings in which she led the team in kills. She posted 11 kills in the match against Rutgers.
The Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, native also added 12 digs and five blocks in the eight sets of play.
Lee has led the offensive output this season for the Nittany Lions, averaging a team-best 4.16 kills per set - good for the best in the Big Ten and 36th in the country. Hitting at a .299 clip, she has added 89 digs and 35 blocks over the course of the 2016 campaign so far.
The award gives Lee her second accolade of the season after being named to the Penn State Classic All-Tournament team in the first weekend of play.
Detering earned Big Ten Setter of the Week honors after a weekend in which she led the Nittany Lions to a .346 hitting clip as the team averaged 16.00 kills per set in the wins over No.1 Minnesota and Rutgers. Detering logged 101 assists while adding 15 digs, eight kills, three blocks and three aces.
The Mentor, Ohio, native logged her fourth double-double of the season with 61 assists and 10 digs in the upset of Minnesota. She guided four players to log double-figure kills in the match.
After making her 15th-straight start against Rutgers, Detering has averaged 10.74 assists per set, good for sixth in the conference and 46th nationally. She has added 102 digs, 48 kills, 25 blocks and a team-best 14 service aces.
The honor marks her second accolade of the season - the Florida transfer was also named to the Penn State Invitational All-Tournament team earlier in the season.
Penn State (14-3, 6-0 Big Ten) resumes conference play on Friday, where the team will take on Purdue (11-6, 1-5 Big Ten) on Friday, Oct. 10, at 8 p.m. ET before facing Indiana (12-7, 1-5 Big Ten) the next day at 7 p.m. ET.
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