Oct. 12, 2016
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 10 Penn State women's volleyball (14-3, 6-0 Big Ten) returns to the road this weekend for a pair of Big Ten matches. The Nittany Lions begin the road stand on Friday, Oct. 14, when they take on No. 22 Purdue (11-6, 1-5 Big Ten) at 8 p.m. The team follows the Purdue date by facing off against Indiana (12-7, 1-5 Big Ten).
FIRST SERVE:
- Penn State enters Friday night on the nation's third longest win streak after winning its last 12 matches. Most recently, the Nittany Lions topped then-No. 1 Minnesota in five (29-27, 21-25, 23-25, 25-14, 15-10) before sweeping Rutgers (25-13, 25-16, 25-10).
- Junior outside hitter Simone Lee led the way during the weekend posting a team-best 41 kills, including 30 against Minnesota. The output marked a new record for kills in a five set match during the 25-point rally scoring era and was the first time since 2007 that a player had 30 or more kills.
- Following the impressive performance, Lee was named both the Big Ten Player of the Week and espnW's National Player of the Week.
- Additionally, junior setter Abby Detering was named Big Ten Setter of the Week. The Mentor, Ohio, native set a career-best 61 assists and 10 digs for her fourth career double-double in the win against Minnesota.
- Four players notched double-figure kills in the win over Minnesota, with Simone Lee paving the way. In addition to Lee's outburst, Heidi Thelen and Haleigh Washington scored 14 each. Thelen led the team with five blocks while Washington added three and a service ace. Classmate Ali Frantti logged her second double-double of 2016 with 13 kills and 13 digs. With 80 kills as a team, the Nittany Lions logged the second-most kills in a match during the 25-point rally scoring era - the most was also against Minnesota, when PSU notched 81 on Nov. 27, 2010.
- Washington and Lee both rank among the nation's best in statistical categories. Washington ranks third in the country in hitting percentage (.459), while Simone Lee's 4.16 kills per set rank 36th in NCAA Division I.
- Penn State's ability to limit opponent's offense has been unmatched this season. The Nittany Lions lead the country in limiting opponent's hitting percentage, holding the opposition to a .109 efficiency.
- PSU finds itself among the top 25 in the country in two other statistical categories. The Nittany Lions have hit the ball at a .309 clip in 2016, coming in atop the league and second nationally. Penn State also averages 2.73 blocks per set, coming in sixth in the Big Ten and 23rd among Division I programs
- Penn State leapt five spots in the latest release of the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, now ranking No. 10 in the country. The Nittany Lions opened the season ranked No. 9 in the Preseason Poll, before moving to No. 13 and No. 15 in last week's release. PSU has 10 opponents against teams represented within the top 25. Including the Nittany Lions, a total of nine Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 25.
PENN STATE AGAINST WEEK 8 OPPONENTS:
The Nittany Lions face off against the Purdue Boilermakers with a 52-6 edge all-time. Penn State currently holds a nine match win streak against Purdue and is 24-3 all-time when facing Purdue in West Lafayette, Indiana. Penn State takes on Indiana with a 49-1 edge all-time. Penn State also has a nine-match win streak against the Hoosiers. PSU leads the series in Bloomington, Indiana, 23-1.
LEE, DETERING EARN B1G WEEKLY HONORS
After another impressive weekend, Penn State junior Simone Lee was 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, 0ct. 10 .
Lee 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 30 kills against Minnesota and 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.
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.
LEE NAMED ESPNW PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Following the record-setting performance against Minnesota and earning Big Ten Player of the Week honors, ESPNW also recognized Lee as the nation's top performer for the Week of Oct. 5-11. Lee is just the second Nittany Lion to ever win the award - Dominique Gonzalez earned the honor on Oct. 1, 2014.
DOWN GOES NO. 1!
Penn State logged its biggest win of the 2016 season to date on Oct. 5, taking down the No. 1 Minnesota Golden Gophers in five, 3-2 (29-27, 21-25, 23-25, 25-14, 15-10). The Nittany Lions took the first set in extra time, trailing by eight, 11-3, early on.
Four players notched double-figure kills, with Simone Lee paving the way, scoring 30. In addition to Lee's outburst, Heidi Thelen and Haleigh Washington scored 14 each. Thelen led the team with five blocks while Washington added three and a service ace. Classmate Ali Frantti logged her second double-double of 2016 with 13 kills and 13 digs. With 80 kills as a team, the Nittany Lions logged the second-most kills in a match during the 25-point rally scoring era - the first was also against Minnesota, when PSU notched 81 on Nov. 27, 2010.
LEE POSTS RECORD DAY IN WIN OVER GOPHERS
Junior Simone Lee had an incredible outing on Oct. 5, leading the offense in the win over No. 1 Minnesota, charting 30 kills in the outing. It marked the first time a Nittany Lion had 30 or more kills in a match since Nicole Fawcett did so 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.
12-STRAIGHT
After opening the season at 2-3, the Nittany Lions have rattled off 12 straight wins, dropping just three sets. The Nittany Lions' 12-match winning streak marks the third longest current streak in the country, coming behind only San Diego (14 straight) and Miami Ohio (13 straight). Penn State has the chance to match the longest winning streak of 2015 against Purdue - the Nittany Lions opened last season with a 13-match win streak from Aug. 28 through Oct. 2.
NITTANY LIONS' POTENT DEFENSE LEADS NATION
In the eighth week of play, Penn State has become the toughest defense in the nation for opposing teams to cope with. While 23rd nationally in blocks per set, the Nittany Lions have forced opponents to .109 hitting combined, marking the lowest opponent hitting percentage in the country. The next lowest opponent hitting percentage in the Big Ten is .033 points higher, with Nebraska limiting foes to a .142 clip.
PENN STATE OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY RANKS TOP IN THE LEAGUE
Along with stifling other teams' offense, Penn State has been extremely successful keeping its offense among the top in the country. Following eight weeks of play, the Nittany Lions rank first in the Big Ten and second in Division I in hitting efficiency, attacking a .314 clip. The Nittany Lions trail only Florida, who has a .332 efficiency. Penn State has two players among the top 15 in the Big Ten in hitting percentage. Haleigh Washington leads the league and ranks third in the country with a .459 clip, while Heidi Thelen's .346 efficiency comes in 11th among league competitors.
LEE'S OFFENSE GUIDES NITTANY LIONS
With double-figure kills in all but two matches this season, junior Simone Lee's 416 kills per set leads the Big Ten standings and 36th nationally. Lee also ranks 33rd in points nationally, logging 4.73 per set. Lee posted 41 total kills in the last week, including a record-setting 30 against Minnesota.
AVCA POLL UPDATE: RELEASE 8
Penn State leapt five spots in the latest release of the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, now ranking No. 10 in the country. The Nittany Lions opened the season ranked No. 9 in the Preseason Poll, before moving to No. 13 and No. 15 in last week's release. PSU has 10 opponents against teams represented within the top 25. Including the Nittany Lions, a total of nine Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 25.
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.
WHAT'S UP NEXT?
Penn State returns home after the two-game stand to face No. 19 Ohio State in Rec Hall for the team's annual Dig Pink night. The match is set to take place at 8 p.m. ET and air nationally on the Big Ten Network.