No. 5 Penn State at No. 13 Wisconsin | Wednesday, Oct. 2 - 9 p.m. (EST) | Live Stats | Listen | BTN (TV)
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 5 Penn State is set for a top-25 matchup in Big Ten volleyball on Wednesday as it travels to Madison to take on No. 13 Wisconsin at 8 p.m. (EST). The match will air live on the Big Ten Network.
Penn State is 9-2 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten after back-to-back 3-0 wins over Michigan State and Rutgers last week. Wisconsin is also 2-0 in the Big Ten with wins over No. 15 Purdue (3-0) and Indiana (3-0). The Badgers enter at 6-4 overall.
Wednesday's match will be Penn State's fifth against a nationally-ranked opponent this season. The Lions are 2-2 in those matches with wins over then No. 6 Pitt and then No. 10 Oregon, and losses to then-No. 1 Stanford and then-No. 6 Pitt.
Penn State leads 48-9 in the all-time series, but seven of those nine losses came in Madison. The Lions are 19-7 against the Badgers on the road.
FULL NOTES: No. 5 Penn State at No. 13 Wisconsin
PENN STATE
Record: 9-2
Big Ten: 2-0
2018: 26-8 (14-6 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Russ Rose
At Penn State: 1281-208 (41st)
Overall: 1281-209 (41st)
Location: University Park, Pa.
WISCONSIN
Record: 6-4
Big Ten: 2-0
2018: 25-7 (15-5 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Kelly Sheffield
At Wisconsin: 166-48 (sixth)
Overall: 439-158 (18th)
Location: Madison, Wis.
TOP-FIVE ATTENDANCE
Penn State currently ranks fourth in the nation in home attendance, averaging 3,752 fans through eight matches at Rec Hall. The Big Ten holds five of the top 10 spots in the national home attendance rankings.
.500 CLUB
Three Penn State players have combined to record double-digit kills with a .500-plus hitting percentage six times this season. Five of the six occurrences have come in victories. Serena Gray has had double-digit kills with at least a .700 hitting percentage twice, while Kaitlyn Hord has done it once.
PENN STATE AGAINST THE BIG TEN
The Nittany Lions are 489-73 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 remained at No. 5 in the AVCA Coaches Poll after sweeping Michigan State and Rutgers last week. The Nittany Lions have been ranked in 448 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 1,660 career digs. She needs just 26 to pass Kim Kumfer (1989-92) for second and needs 298 to pass Kaleena Walters (2002-05) to become the all-time leader.
EIGHT WINS, EIGHT CONFERENCES
Penn State's nine 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.
