Oct. 16, 2017
Big Ten Release
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - For the first time in three seasons, a Penn State women's volleyball student-athlete was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, and for the first time in her career, the weekly honor went to sophomore libero Kendall White.
White (Indianapolis, Ind.) is the first Nittany Lion to earn the honor in three seasons as the last was Dominique Gonzalez (2011-14) when she earned the award on Sept. 29, 2014.
White has been a rock on defense and serve receive for the Nittany Lions all season. The sophomore libero averaged 3.71 digs per set on the weekend and helped hold the opponents to a combined .219 hitting percentage.
In the Nittany Lions' win over then-ranked No. 10 Michigan State, White tallied a team-high 13 digs and took in 20 serve receive attempts, making only one error against one of the toughest serving teams in the league. The Spartans only hit .221 against the Nittany Lions.
Against Michigan, White grabbed 13 digs in three sets and was perfect in serve receive. She also helped hold the Wolverines to .215 hitting.
White is the fourth Nittany Lion to be honored by the Big Ten this season. Haleigh Washington (9/4, 10/2, 10/9), Simone Lee (9/18), and Ali Frantti (9/11) have all earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors.
Penn State hits the road for two Big Ten matches as the head to Purdue on Friday evening for an 8 p.m. ET match and then take on Indiana at 7 p.m. on Saturday evening in Bloomington, Ind.