Rutgers at No. 5 Penn State | Saturday, Sept. 28- 7 p.m. | Live Stats | Listen | BTN+ ($)
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 5 Penn State women's volleyball team hosts Rutgers for a Big Ten match at Rec Hall on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Lions will celebrate Alumni weekend with numerous former players in attendance, including 12 players from the 1999 team that won the program's first national title.
Penn State is 8-2 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten after sweeping Michigan State with scored of 26-24, 25-21, 25-18, on Wednesday. Jonni Parker was the standout player for the Nittany Lions, finishing with 16 kills, a .343 hitting percentage, two aces, and two total blocks. A big third set helped Tori Gorrell end up with six kills on .455 hitting.
An improved Rutgers team is 6-6 overall, matching its win total from all of last season, but is 0-1 in league play after falling 3-0 (25-14, 25-23, 15-14) to Michigan on Wednesday. The Scarlet Knights had a six-match winning streak at one point this season, beating Towson, Princeton, Virginia, New Hampshire, Quinnipiac, and Colgate.
Rutgers has won just one time at Rec Hall, posting a 1-18 record at the historic facility. Penn State holds a 33-9 record in the all-time series and hasn't lost to the Scarlet Knights since 1982. The Nittany Lions have won 34 consecutive sets against the Scarlet Knights dating back to 2001
FULL NOTES: Rutgers at Penn State
PENN STATE
Record: 8-2
Big Ten: 1-0
2018: 26-8 (14-6 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Russ Rose
At Penn State: 1280-208 (41st)
Overall: 1290-209 (41st)
Location: University Park, Pa.
RUTGERS
Record: 6-6
Big Ten: 0-1
2018: 6-27 (0-20 Big Ten)
Head Coach: CJ Werneke
At Rutgers: 88-261 (12th)
Overall: 199-347 (19th)
Location: New Brunswick, N.J.
PENN STATE AGAINST THE BIG TEN
The Nittany Lions are 488-73 all time in Big Ten play, posting a winning percentage of .870. Penn State has had a winning record in Big Ten play every season since joining the conference in 1991. The Lions went undefeated with a 20-0 record against conference opponents in six of those seasons.
NATIONALLY RANKED
Penn State dropped one spot to No. 5 in the AVCA Coaches Poll after splitting a pair of matches with No. 6 Pittsburgh this past weekend. The Nittany Lions have been ranked in 447 consecutive polls dating back to the end of the 1988 season.
PENNSYLVANIA LEADS THE WAY IN COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Pennsylvania is one of seven states with multiple teams ranked in the ACVA Top 25, but is the only state with two teams ranked in the top five with Pittsburgh at No. 4 and Penn State at No. 5.
WHITE NEARS DIGS RECORD
Senior Kendall White ranks third in program history with 1,651 career digs. She needs just 35 to pass Kim Kumfer (1989-92) for second and needs 307 to pass Kaleena Walters (2002-05) to become the all-time leader.
EIGHT WINS, EIGHT CONFERENCES
Penn State's eight wins this season have come against teams from eight different conferences, including the CAA, Patriot League, American Athletic Conference, Big 12, SEC, Pac 12, ACC, and Big Ten.
BIG TEN AWARDS
Kaitlyn Hord won the team's lone Big Ten weekly award through four weeks of the season with Player of the Week recognition following the second weekend of play. She earned the award after being named the MVP at the Cyclone Invitational, where the Lions swept Iowa State and LSU.
