Nov. 2, 2016
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 11 Penn State women's volleyball team (17-6, 9-3 Big Ten) will spend this weekend inside the friendly confines of Rec Hall, where the team is slated to face defending national champion No. 1 Nebraska and Iowa. The Nittany Lions take on the Cornhuskers on Friday, Nov. 4, at 8 p.m., with the match set for national broadcast on the Big Ten Network. The team then faces Iowa the next day, taking on the Hawkeyes, Saturday, Nov. 5, at 4 p.m.
PROMOTIONAL SPOTLIGHT: Penn State will once again have an impressive slate of promotions for the weekend's matches. Tickets to both the Nebraska and Iowa matches will be just $4 dollars with proof of purchase of tickets to the Penn State-Iowa football game on Saturday evening. Penn State intercollegiate athletics will continue to provide a shuttle from the RV lot on Friday night, running from 7:15 until match time and for an hour following the match. Additionally, during Saturday's matinee against Iowa five fans will be selected to attempt a "perfect serve" for a chance at winning $10,000 dollars.
FIRST SERVE
- Penn State looks to right the ship after falling in its last three matches, most recently facing a 3-0 (17-25, 20-25, 18-25) setback to then-No. 3 Minnesota. The loss split the season series between the two programs, as Penn State defeated Minnesota in five sets earlier in October.
- PSU enters Friday's match boasting one of the best home records in the country. With a 10-1 mark, Penn State has won nearly 91 percent of its matches at home this season, tied for the fourth-best home winning percentage in the country. Within the Big Ten only Minnesota (1.000) and Nebraska (.917) have better home records this season. The Nittany Lions are averaging 3,554 attendees per home match, good for fifth in the country.
- Juniors Haleigh Washington and Simone Lee both rank among the nation's best in statistical categories. Washington ranks third in the country in hitting percentage (.446), while Lee's 4.28 kills per set rank 29th in NCAA Division I. Both Washington and Lee's numbers lead the Big Ten conference.
- Three Penn State players in Lee, Washington and redshirt freshman Tori Gorrell all have chances to place among the top-five during the 25-point rally scoring era in single-season statistical categories. Lee (average kills/set) and Washington (hitting percentage) would rank second and fourth, respectively, in their categories if the season ended today. Lee (total kills) and Gorrell (total block solos) are both poised to crack the top five as well.
- PSU finds itself among the top 30 in the country in three statistical categories as a team. The Nittany Lions have hit the ball at a .304 clip in 2016, coming in atop the league and third nationally. The team has also been one of the country's best in limiting opponents, holding foes hitting percentage to a .149 clip, tied for the best in the Big Ten and eighth in the nation. Penn State averages 2.63 blocks per set, coming in fourth in the Big Ten and 27th among Division I programs
- Penn State moved back to No. 11 in the country in the most recent release of the AVCA poll. The Nittany Lions opened the season ranked No. 9, with rankings spanning from No. 9 again two weeks ago and as low as No. 20. PSU has seven opponents represented within the top 25. Including the Nittany Lions, a total of seven Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 25. Illinois, Iowa and Purdue are receiving votes on the ballot. For the first time in 2016, Penn State received a first-place vote after downing then-top ranked Minnesota.
PENN STATE AGAINST NEBRASKA AND IOWA
The Nittany Lions take on Nebraska trailing in the series 16-10 all-time. The Nittany Lions hold a 3-2 advantage in matches played inside Rec Hall against the Cornhuskers, but have lost the past two matchups against Nebraska.
Penn State enters Saturday with an unblemished 49-0 record against Iowa. The Nittany Lions also hold a 24-0 record against Iowa while playing at home.
LEE, WASHINGTON, GORRELL ON TRACK FOR RECORD SEASONS
Having impressive seasons thus far, junior classmates Simone Lee and Haleigh Washington are both on-track for seasons that rank among the best during the 25-point rally scoring era. Lee, averaging 4.29 kills per set currently, would rank second during the era for single-season kills per set. Washington, currently hitting at a .446 clip, would finish fourth in single-season hitting efficiency if the season ended today.
In addition to the running averages, Lee currently has 338 kills on the season. With 94 more, she could crack the top five for total kills in a single season during the 25-point rally scoring era. Redshirt freshman Tori Gorrell has 19 solo stuffs so far in 2016. With just five more she could match Haleigh Washington's output from 2015 with 24 to tie for the fifth-most in the 25-point rally scoring era.
25-POINT RALLY SCORING SINGLE SEASON TOTAL KILLS
Rank K Name, Year
1. 560 Megan Hodge, 2009
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4. 469 Ariel Scott, 2012
5. 432 Deja McClendon, 2011
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338 Simone Lee, 2016
25-POINT RALLY SINGLE SEASON TOTAL BLOCK SOLOS
Rank TB Name, Year
1. 32 Megan Courtney, 2012
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4. 27 Katie Slay, 2011
5. 24 Haleigh Washington, 2015
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19 Tori Gorrell, 2016
15-STRAIGHT
After opening the season at 2-3, the Nittany Lions put together its longest win streak of the past two seasons, winning 15 straight matches spanning from Sept. 9 until Oct. 22, when Penn State dropped a tough five-setter to then-No. 16 Michigan. The 15-match win streak was the second longest in the country during the span, topped only by No. 5 San Diego (16 straight). During the win streak, Penn State dropped only three total sets, knocking off five ranked opponents during the span including then-No. 1 Minnesota. Additionally, the streak beat the team's longest win streak in 2015, in which Penn State won its first 13 matches.
NITTANY LIONS' AMONG THE NATION'S ELITE IN EFFIENCY
Penn State has been extremely successful keeping its offense among the top in the country. Following 10 weeks of play, the Nittany Lions rank first in the Big Ten and third in Division I in hitting efficiency, attacking a .304 clip. Junior Haleigh Washington continues to be one of the most consistent offensive threats in the country in 2016, ranking among the best in the nation in hitting efficiency. Hitting at a .446 clip in all matches this season, the Colorado Springs, Colorado, product leads the Big Ten and ranks third in NCAA Division I in hitting percentage.
The Nittany Lions not only excel at having one of the most efficient offenses in the country, but also at limiting those of the opposition. PSU currently ranks eighth nationally and tied for first in the Big Ten in limiting opponents hitting, holding foes to a .149 clip.
LEE'S OFFENSE GUIDES NITTANY LIONS
With double-figure kills in all but three matches this season, junior Simone Lee's 4.28 kills per set leads the Big Ten standings and places 29th nationally. Lee also ranks 28th in points nationally, logging 4.79 per set. Lee posted a record-setting 30 kills against Minnesota on Oct. 5 before posting another 27 against Michigan in the team's most recent five-setter. Lee has exceeded 20 kills in four matches this season. With 302 kills thus far, Lee has accounted for nearly 32% of the Penn State offense.
PSU MIDDLES A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH
The duo of Penn State starting middle blockers junior Haleigh Washington and redshirt freshman Tori Gorrell has become one of the most talented tandems in the Big Ten conference. Both rank among the top 15 in blocks per set within the conference, with Washington coming in at No. 11, averaging 1.13 per set, while Gorrell is ranked No. 15 with 1.05 per set.
AVCA POLL UPDATE: RELEASE 10
Penn State moved back to No. 11 in the country in the most recent release of the AVCA poll. The Nittany Lions opened the season ranked No. 9, with rankings spanning from No. 9 againtwo weeks ago and as low as No. 20. PSU has seven opponents represented within the top 25. Including the Nittany Lions, a total of seven Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 25. Illinois, Iowa and Purdue are receiving votes on the ballot. For the first time in 2016, Penn State received a first-place vote after downing then-top ranked Minnesota.
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 will play its final three road matches of the regular season following the weekend's slate. The Nittany Lions play at Maryland (Nov. 11, 8 p.m.) and at Ohio State (Nov. 12, 7 p.m.) next weekend before rounding out the trip with its second matchup against Nebraska (Nov. 16, 9 p.m.) in Lincoln.