UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 4 Penn State women's volleyball team opens up Big Ten Conference play on Wednesday evening at No. 7 Minnesota with a 9 p.m. ET first serve on the Big Ten Network.
Penn State came out of nonconference play with a 9-1 record, with their lone loss coming at then-No. 4 Stanford during the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge. The Gophers are currently 6-2 with both of their losses coming at the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge, falling to then-No.18 Oregon and then-No. 4 Stanford.
SERIES HISTORY
Penn State holds a 47-10 all-time record over Minnesota, with all but three matches coming in Big Ten play. Penn State matches up with the Gopher's twice before entering the Big Ten, with wins coming in 1983 and 198. The Nittany Lions and Gopher have matched up once in post-season play and it was in the 2012 NCAA Regional Final in West Lafayette, Indiana, where Penn State took the match, 3-1: 25-19, 19-25, 26-24, 25-18.
Last season, the two squads only met one time in the 2017 season and it was at Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis for the final match of the regular season. Penn State took the match in four, 29-27, 25-20, 24-26, 25-20, to clinch their share of the Big Ten title.
MILESTONE MARK
Graduate student Taylor Leath finished the match at American with 11 kills, adding eight digs and three blocks.
On her third kill of the match, Leath recorded her 1,000 career kill. Leath, now at 80 kills while at Penn State, put down 928 kill at the University of North Carolina, where she finished her undergraduate degree.
DIGGIN' MACHINE
Kendall White scooped up 151 digs so far this season, putting her at 1,113 for her career. She is the first to surpass 1,000 since Dom Gonzalez in 2011-14.
Penn State Career Top-10 Digs
1. 1,957 Kaleena Walters, 2002-05
2. 1,685 Kim Kumfer, 1989-92
3. 1,522 Noelle Zientara, 1987-90
4. 1,474 Dominique Gonzalez, 2011-14
5. 1,313 Ellen Hensler, 1983-86
6. 1,306 Roberta Holehouse, 2005-08
7. 1,278 Salima Davidson, 1991-94
8. 1,265 Michelle Jaworski, 1987-90
9. 1,245 Alyssa D'Errico, 2007-10
10. 1,207 Sam Tortorello, 2002-05
SCHEDULE UPDATES
The Nittany Lions will now take on the Buckeyes on Sunday, September 23 at 1 p.m. ET. Penn State has also moved the home match times on November 23 and 24. Both the match versus Minnesota on the 23rd, and the match versus Wisconsin on the 24th have been moved to 8 p.m. ET as the matches were picked up by the Big Ten Network in the wildcard selection.
--Nittany Lions--