Nov. 22, 2017
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GAME NOTES
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 1 Penn State women's volleyball team heads to No. 11 Wisconsin and No. 8 Minnesota to close out the regular season with Big Ten matches on Friday, Nov. 24 at 8 p.m. ET, and Saturday, Nov. 25 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
SCOUTING WISCONSIN
The Wisconsin Badgers enter Friday's match with a 19-8 overall record, but just a 10-8 record in Big Ten play. The Badgers are currently 6th in the Big Ten standings, trailing Penn State and Nebraska, both at 17-1, Minnesota at 14-4, Michigan State at 13-5, and Purdue at 11-7. Wisconsin is led by freshman phenom Dana Rettke. On the season, Rettke leads the Badgers and ranks second in the Big Ten with a .445 hitting percentage. She also leads the team and ranks 12th in the conference with 3.42 kills per set. The freshman has a team-best 1.43 blocks per set, which ranks third in the Big Ten. This will be the second matchup between Penn State and Wisconsin on the season, with the Nittany Lions taking the first match, 3-1; 25-19, 25-22, 23-25, and 25-16. Penn State out-hit the Badgers, .241 to .207.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA
Minnesota enters the Saturday match with a 25-4 overall record and a 14-4 Big Ten record that has them in third place behind Penn State and Nebraska, who are tied atop the standings with a 17-1 record. The meeting this weekend between Minnesota and Penn State marks the only regular-season contest between the two teams. Minnesota defeated the Nittany Lions, 3-0, last year at the Pavilion. Penn State holds a 46-10 all-time record against the Gophers. Freshman Stephanie Samedy leads the Gophers with 4.07 kills per set on a .310 hitting percentage from the opposite. She also adds 2.86 digs per set. Alexis Hart follows with 3.67 kills per set.
LAST TIME OUT
The No. 1 Penn State women's volleyball team topped host Rutgers, 25-5, 25-9, 25-9, in Big Ten action on Saturday, Nov. 18, in College Avenue Gym on Rutgers' campus. Senior Simone Lee (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) led the match with a game-high 17 kills, adding three blocks and four digs. Lee finished the match with a Penn State three-set match record in the 25-point rally scoring era with her .800 hitting percentage, as a player must have a minimum of 20 attempts for the record to stick. Penn State finished the match with a .537 hitting percentage, with 40 kills, while holding Rutgers to -.082, and just 15 kills.
NOTABLES
>> For the sixth straight week, the Penn State women's volleyball team has earned the No. 1 ranking in the American Volleyball Coaches Association and the Nittany Lions have earned all 64 votes for a unanimous selection. They are the first team this season that has received all 64 votes.
>> The marks the 72nd week the Nittany Lions have been at No. 1 in the poll since the end of the 2006 season, and the 96th time in the history of the poll. The Nittany Lions' first No. 1 Ranking came on Sept. 2, 1997, and the poll was started in 1982.
>> Penn State fell to No. 4 in the RPI on Nov. 20.
>> The Nittany Lions have managed to hold their last five opponents to sub-.100 hitting percentages, as they held Rutgers to .056 (11/4), Iowa to .040 (11/8), Maryland to .047 (11/11), Indiana to .083 (11/15), and Rutgers to -.082 on Nov. 18.
>> Penn State has racked up 10 Big Ten weekly awards as Lee has a Player and Defensive honor to her name, while Haleigh Washington has picked up four Player of the Week honors, Kendall White has earned three Defensive Player of the Week awards, and Ali Frantti snagged a Player of the Week honor.
>> Against Rutgers (11/18), Simone Lee set a Penn State record for hitting percentage. The Penn State record required a minimum of 20 attempts, and the outside put down 17 kills with one error on 20 swings for a .800 clip to set the record.
>> Haleigh Washington is hitting the nation's best .517, which is on pace to be the 2nd best hitting percentage from 2008-Present in a season.
>> Washington is also on pace to have one of the top-three career hitting percentages in NCAA history (.461).
>> Haleigh Washington was named CoSIDA Academic All-District for 2017. She has two CoSIDA Academic All-American honors to her name and is now looking for a third.
>> Penn State has three active 1,000 kill club members as Ali Frantti was the first on Aug. 26 at West Virginia, and Simone Lee followed on Oct. 6 at Ohio State, and Haleigh Washington eclipsed the mark on Oct. 21 at Indiana. The last time Penn State had three active 1,000 kill club members was in 2008. Entering the season, Megan Hodge and Nicole Fawcett were already past the mark, but on Sept. 5, 2008, Christa Harmotto joined the club as well.
>> Haleigh Washington became the 7th athlete in Penn State volleyball lore to reach 1,000 kills and 500 blocks on Oct. 25. She was the first in seven seasons to reach 500 blocks, as the last to achieve this feat was Arielle Wilson (2007-10).
>> Twice this season, the Nittany Lions have had four players with double-digit kills. Against Stanford (9/1): Abby Detering (11k), Ali Frantti (10k), and Haleigh Washington (10k), and Simone Lee (11k), and against Purdue (10/20): Ali Frantti (15k), Heidi Thelen (14k), Simone Lee (13k), and Haleigh Washington (10k).
VOTE, VOTE, VOTE
Haleigh Washington and Simone Lee were both named as Senior CLASS Award finalists. There are only ten finalists in the Women's Volleyball category, and fans' votes will be credited towards 1/3 of the winner's selection. Since the award's inauguration in 2010, Penn State has only had two finalists up to this point. Ariel Scott won in 2013, and Arielle Wilson was a First Team honoree in 2010. It is a Nittany Lion first with two in the final ten. VOTE
CYBER MONDAY DEALS
On Monday, Nov. 27, Penn State Athletics will be having a Cyber Monday sale on 2018 women's volleyball season tickets. 2018 Season Tickets will be on sale for 50-percent off from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The ticket window will only be active during the four-hour window. Use the promotion code: DEALS Cyber Monday Ticket Window
NCAA SELECTION SHOW
The full NCAA seedings will be announced at the end of the regular season on Sunday, Nov. 26. The announcement will be televised live on ESPNU, 9 p.m., ET. Like last year, the NCAA will announce its field of 64 teams, with the top four having a chance to host the NCAA Regionals. Following the NCAA First and Second Rounds, NCAA regions will be hosted at the remaining highest seed in each region. Winners of each region advance to the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship in Kansas City.