8_31_w_vball_288_31_w_vball_28
Craig Houtz

Four Top-10 Teams Set for Big Ten/Pac 12 Women's Volleyball Tournament at Rec Hall

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. –  Four top-10 women's volleyball teams will be in action at Rec Hall this weekend as No. 4 Penn State hosts No. 1 Stanford, No. 8 Minnesota and No. 10 Oregon for the Big Ten/Pac 12 Challenge on Friday and Saturday.

The Nittany Lions will play top-ranked Stanford, the defending national champion, on Friday at 9 p.m., in a match that will air live on the Big Ten Network. They will play No. 10 Oregon on Saturday at 8 p.m. The match against Oregon, as well as Minnesota's matches against Oregon (Friday, 6 p.m.) and Stanford (Saturday, 5:30 p.m.) will stream on BTN Plus with a subscription.

The four teams at the event have a combined record of 13-2. The Nittany Lions are a perfect 5-0 to start the season for the third consecutive year, while Stanford is 4-0, Minnesota is 2-2 and Oregon is 2-0.

Penn State is coming off a 2-0 record at the Cyclone Invitational with wins over Iowa State and LSU. Sophomore Kaitlyn Hord was named the Tournament MVP and then added Big Ten Player of the Week recognition on Monday. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by teammates Jonni Parker and Kendall White.

 



WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday, Sept. 13
6 p.m. | No. 10 Oregon (2-0) vs. No. 8 Minnesota (2-2) | Live Stats | BTN+ ($)
9 p.m. | No. 1 Stanford (4-0) at No. 4 Penn State (5-0) | Live Stats | Big Ten Network (TV)
Saturday, Sept. 14
5:30 p.m. | No. 8 Minnesota (2-2) vs. No. 1 Stanford (4-0) | Live Stats | BTN+ ($)
8 p.m. | No. 10 Oregon (2-0) at No. 4 Penn State (5-0) | Live Stats | BTN+ ($)

PROMOTIONS/THEMES
• Wear White Match (Friday)
• $5 ticket when you show your Pitt football ticket (Friday and Saturday)

FULL NOTES:  Big 10/Pac 12 Challenge

PENN STATE
Record: 5-0
Big Ten: 0-0
2018: 26-8 (14-6 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Russ Rose
At Penn State: 1277-206 (41st)
Overall: 1277-206 (41st)
Location: University Park, Pa.

STANFORD
Record: 4-0
Pac12: 0-0
2018: 34-1 (20-0 Pac 12)
Head Coach: Kevin Hambly
At Stanford: 68-5 (third)
Overall: 246-91 (11th)
Location: Stanford, Calif.

OREGON
Record: 2-0
Pac 12: 0-0
2018: 23-11(13-7 Pac 12)
Head Coach: Matt Ulmer
At Oregon: 43-23 (third)
Overall: Same
Location: Eugene, Ore.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Stanford: Penn State is 12-10 in the all-time series with Stanford. The Nittany Lions won two matches against the Cardinal in 2017, but the Cardinal responded with two wins last season, including in the NCAA Regional Final.
Oregon: Penn State and Oregon are tied 2-2 in the all-time series. The Lions swept the Ducks last season.

RETURN TO HAPPY VALLEY
A pair of former Penn State All-Americans return to Happy Valley in different roles this weekend. Salima (Davidson) Rockwell '95 will be the color commentator alongside Jason Knapp on play-by-play for Friday night's match against Stanford on the Big Ten Network. Alisha (Glass) Childress '10 is an assistant coach for Stanford.
 
5-0 START
The Nittany Lions are 5-0 to start the season for the third consecutive season and the 25th time in the 44 seasons of the program.
 
NATIONALLY RANKED
Penn State jumped two spots to No. 4 in the AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll after beating Iowa State and LSU at the Cyclone Invitational. The Nittany Lions sit behind Stanford, Nebraska, and Texas. Minnesota is ranked eighth and Wisconsin is ninth, giving the Big Ten 40 percent of the top-10 teams.
 
WHITE NEARS DIGS RECORD
Senior Kendall White ranks third in program history with 1,574 career digs after passing Noelle Zintara (1987-90) during the season opener. She needs 112 to pass Kim Kumfer (1989-92) for second and 384 to pass Kaleena Walters (2002-05) to become the all-time leader.

.700 CLUB
Penn State has had two players combine for three matches with a .700-plus hitting percentage on at least 10 kills this season. Serena Gray did it twice at the Penn State Classic, while Kaitlyn Hord did it during the second match of the event against Holy Cross.

The 2019 Penn State women's volleyball season is presented by McLanahan's.