Dec. 1, 2016
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 16-seed Penn State women's volleyball team (22-9) will serve as the final hosting destination of the 2016 NCAA women's volleyball tournament on Dec. 2-3. Penn State will open against NEC champions LIU Brooklyn (16-14), squaring off at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2. With a win, Penn State would face the winner of Dayton (30-1) and Pittsburgh (24-8) on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 6:30 p.m.
FIRST SERVE:
» With the selection as a host seed, Penn State has now served as a first and second round site in each of the past 27 seasons. With the selection to the NCAA tournament Penn State, along with Stanford, is one of just two programs to make appearances in all 36 NCAA tournaments.
» Penn State saw four members of the team land postseason Big Ten honors, with juniors Simone Lee and Haleigh Washington both earning unanimous All-Big Ten honors, while freshmen Tori Gorrell and Kendall White made the All-Freshmen Team.
» Junior setter Abby Detering earned her second career Big Ten Setter of the Week distinction on Tuesday, Nov. 29, after guiding PSU to a pair of wins over Northwestern and Illinois.
» Penn State enters the postseason coming off a three-match winning streak. Most recently, PSU defeated Northwestern, 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-16) and Illinois, 3-1 (25-18, 26-24, 19-25, 25-21).
» In its last match, Penn State saw four players reach double-figure kills. Simone Lee led the way with 20 while junior Ali Frantti added 16 of her own. Haleigh Washington and Heidi Thelen posted 10 each.
» Junior outside hitter Ali Frantti eclipsed the 900 career kill benchmark with nine kills in the most recent outing against the Ohio State Buckeyes. She is now just 48 kills short of becoming the 26th member of Penn State's 1,000 kill club. Frantti enters Friday's match posting 27 kills last weekend.
» With her seventh kill against Northwestern, Simone Lee earned the fifth spot on the Penn State career kills leaderboard during the 25-point rally scoring era.
» Juniors Haleigh Washington and Simone Lee both rank among the nation's best in statistical categories. Washington ranks second in the country in hitting percentage (.438), while Lee's 4.17 kills per set ranks 37th 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 third and tied for fifth, respectively, in their categories if the season ended today. Gorrell (total block solos, 21) is both poised to crack the top five as well.
» PSU finds itself among the top 35 in the country in a pair statistical categories as a team. The Nittany Lions have hit the ball at a .290 clip in 2016, coming in first in the Big Ten and third nationally. Penn State averages 2.53 blocks per set, coming in fourth in the Big Ten and 35th among Division I programs.
» Penn State rose two spots to No. 13 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 three weeks ago and as low as No. 20. PSU has seven opponents represented within the top 25, including three among the top three. Including the Nittany Lions, a total of six Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 25. Ohio State and Purdue are also 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 THE FIELD
Penn State enters the weekend with a 7-0 record all-time against LIU. If Penn State wins Friday night, the team will face either Dayton or Pittsburgh. PSU has a 2-0 record against Dayton all-time and a 30-17 record in all meetings with Pitt.
FIRST ROUND FACTS
PSU is set to host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament for the 30th time since 1981, welcoming three teams to Rec Hall for the 27th consecutive year. Penn State improved to 30-5 all-time record in opening matches of the tourney last season, after sweeping Howard. The Nittany Lions have not surrendered a single set to a first round opponent since 1989, having posted sweeps in its last 26 consecutive first-round victories
STATE IN THE SECOND ROUND
Penn State improved to 21-5 all-time in round two last year of the NCAA tournament after a 3-1 win against Dayton in 2015. The win against the Flyers also marked PSU's 12th consecutive second-round victory, since 2002, when Temple knocked PSU out of the tourney.
FOUR NITTANY LIONS GARNER POSTSEASON B1G HONORS
Penn State saw four members of the team land postseason Big Ten honors, with juniors Simone Lee and Haleigh Washington both earning unanimous All-Big Ten honors, while freshmen Tori Gorrell and Kendall White made the All-Freshmen Team.
Lee paced Penn State's offense throughout the season, averaging 4.17 kills per set, good for best in the Big Ten. The junior had a standout season on offense, posting 455 total kills, ranking fifth in single season kills during the 25-point rally scoring era. She also added 170 digs, 53 blocks and 15 service aces over the season. Lee was also named the ESPNW National Player of the Week on Oct. 12 following a 30-kill performance against then No. 1 Minnesota. The honor marks Lee's first time being names to the All-Big Ten Team.
Washington continues to be one of the most consistent hitters in the college game, leading Penn State and the Big Ten while ranking second in the nation in hitting percentage with a startling .438 clip. The percentage is also the best among all players from Power Five institutions. Washington has led the team in blocks, posting 124 total while adding 265 total kills, good for second on the team. The Colorado Springs, Colorado native added 69 digs on the season and 24 service aces, good for second best on the team. The selection marks Washington's fourth annual Big Ten honor - she was a unanimous All-Big Ten selection in 2015 and named B1G Freshman of the Year as well as a member of the All-Big Ten Team in 2014.
Gorrell, a redshirt freshman middle blocker, earned a spot on the All-Freshman team after posting 185 kills and a team second-best 110 total blocks. With 21 solo rejections, Gorrell leads the team and is just three short of ranking tied for fifth in the 25-point rally scoring era for Penn State. Gorrell's 110 blocks were also good for second best among freshmen in the Big Ten.
White started all of the 2016 season at libero for the Nittany Lions, leading the team's back row defense with 438 total digs. Averaging 4.18 digs per set in conference play, White finished third in the conference behind Illinois' Brandi Donnelly and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Justine Wong-Orantes. White added 69 assists and 11 aces during the regular season of her rookie campaign.
DETERING EARNS SECOND BIG TEN SETTER OF THE WEEK
Junior setter Abby Detering earned her second career Big Ten Setter of the Week distinction on Tuesday, Nov. 29, after guiding PSU to a pair of wins over Northwestern and Illinois.
Detering helped guide Penn State to a collective .348 hitting percentage in wins over Northwestern and Illinois. The Mentor, Ohio native averaged 13.00 assists per set, dishing out 91 helpers over the course of the seven sets played. She added 14 digs and a team-best six aces over the weekend.
In Penn State's win over Illinois, Detering helped lead Penn State to 65 team kills - the most in a four-set match in 2016. She also tied her career-high for aces with four against Northwestern.
MR. 1,200
With a 3-0 win over Michigan State on Sept. 30, Russ Rose became the first active Division I volleyball coach to reach the 1,200-win mark. Rose holds the title of winningest coach in Division I, tallying a 1,211-195 record to date. Rose is joined by only Hawaii's Dave Shoji in active coaches with 1,200 or more wins.
LEE ETCHES MARK IN SINGLE SEASON RECORDS
With her seventh kill against Northwestern on Nov. 25, junior Simone Lee etched her name in the Penn State record books, cracking the top-five for single season kills in the 25-point rally scoring era. Lee has since climbed to 455 total kills on the season. She is just 14 kills shy of tying for fourth, 15 kills shy of tying for third and 16 kills from standing alone in third place in total single season kills during the era.
25-POINT RALLY SCORING SINGLE SEASON TOTAL KILLS
Rank K Name, Year
1. 560 Megan Hodge, 2009
2. 521 Blair Brown, 2010
3. 470 Megan Hodge, 2008
4. 469 Ariel Scott, 2012
5. 455 Simone Lee, 2016
FRANTTI CLOSING IN ON 1,000 KILL CLUB
After logging 16 kills on senior night against Illinois, junior Ali Frantti finds herself 48 kills away from being the 26th Nittany Lion with 1,000 career kills. Currently averaging 2.75 kills per set over her career, Frantti will likely break the milestone next season, but could do so with a few big games or a deep tournament run. Frantti would become the first Penn State volleyball player to join the 1,000 kill ranks since Megan Courtney did so last season, ending her career with 1,154 kills.
ALL-TIME CAREER KILLS LEADERBOARD
Rank TK Name, Year
1. 2,282 Lori Barberich, 1981-84
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24. 1,069 Zeynep Ton, 1992-95
25. 1,016 Cassy Sayler, 2003-06
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952 Ali Frantti, 2014-Pres.
LEE, WASHINGTON ON TRACK FOR RECORD SEASONS; GORRELL CLIMBING LEADERBOARD
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 4.17 kills per set currently, would rank third during the era for single-season kills per set. Washington, currently hitting at a .438 clip, would finish fifth in single-season hitting efficiency if the season ended today.
Redshirt freshman Tori Gorrell has a team-best 21 solo stuffs so far in 2016. With just three 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 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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21 Tori Gorrell, 2016
NITTANY LIONS' AMONG THE NATION'S ELITE IN EFFICIENCY
Penn State has been extremely successful keeping its offense among the top in the country. Following the regular season, the Nittany Lions rank first in the Big Ten and fifth in Division I in hitting efficiency, attacking a .290 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 .438 clip in all matches this season, the Colorado Springs, Colorado, product leads the Big Ten and ranks second among NCAA Division I players 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 48th nationally and ranks second in the Big Ten in limiting opponents hitting, holding foes to a .173 clip. The team also has contributed an impressive blocking performance thus far, finishing regular season action averaging 2.53 blocks per set, good for fourth in the conference and 35th nationally.
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 NEXT FOR PENN STATE?
With a pair of wins this weekend, Penn State would earn a berth to the NCAA Regional rounds, likely facing top-seeded Nebraska in the round of 16.