TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
American (24-7, 15-1 Patriot League) vs. Towson (28-2, 16-2 CAA) | Friday, Dec. 6 (5 p.m.) | Live Stats | Watch
Princeton (17-7, 10-2 Ivy League) at No. 8 Penn State (24-5, 17-3 B1G) | Friday, Dec. 6 (7:30 p.m.) | Live Stats | Watch
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State, ranked seventh nationally, is set to host First and Second Round matches as the No. 11 overall seed in the 2019 NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament on Friday and Saturday at Rec Hall. Patriot League champion American will take on CAA champion Towson in the first match at 5 p.m., while the Nittany Lions will host Ivy League champion Princeton in the second match of the night. The winners will meet on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
All three matches this weekend will stream free of charge on BTNPlus.com.
The Lions are 16-2 against the three teams joining them at Rec Hall this weekend. They are unbeaten against American (8-0) and Towson (1-0), and have a 7-2 record in the all-time series with Princeton. They haven't played Princeton since 2010, and the Tigers two wins in the series each came in 1977.
Penn State is a perfect 21-0 in First Round matches since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 68 teams in 1998. Tee Lions have advanced past the opening weekend in 19 of those 21 seasons. Overall, they are 101-31 in the championship tournament.
Princeton enters the postseason at 17-7 overall and already played one elimination game. The Tigers tied with Yale at 10-2 in the Ivy League and took down the Bulldogs in four sets in a one-match playoff to earn the conference's automatic berth.
American picked up an automatic bid thanks to its 16th Patriot League title in the last 19 years. The Eagles went 24-7 overall, including 3-1 wins over Navy and Army West Point in the conference tournament.
Towson was dominant in the CAA this season, rolling to a 28-2 overall record and a perfect 16-0 mark in league play. The Tigers secured their automatic bid with a 3-1 win over Elon in the semifinal round and a 3-0 victory over James Madison in the championship match of the CAA Tournament.
All-session tickets are now on sale online at GoPSUSports.com, in person at the athletic ticket office at the BJC Monday through Friday from 9 am to 4:30 pm and by calling 1-800-NITTANY to purchase over the phone. Single session tickets will only be available at the door the night of each match/matches.
The 2019 Penn State women's volleyball season is presented by McLanahan's.
FULL NOTES: NCAA First and Second Rounds
WHITE GOES BACK-TO-BACK
Senior libero Kendall White was recently named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, giving her the award for the second-straight season. Penn State has won the award three straight years, including Haleigh Washington in 2017. White is one of four Nittany Lion players that have combined for five Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors. She is the first Penn State player to win the award in back-to-back seasons.
ROSE VOTED BIG TEN COACH OF THE YEAR
Penn State head coach Russ Rose was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year for the 16th time in the 37 years of the award. Rose picked up his most recent honor with a vote of the league's coaches. Rose has at least 11 more Big Ten Coach of the Year awards than anyone in league history.
FOUR PENN STATE PLAYERS VOTED TO ALL-BIG TEN TEAMS
Four Penn State players were voted to All-Big Ten teams following the regular season. Senior ibero Kendall White, sophomore middle blocker Kaityn Hord, and sophomore opposite Jonni Parker were all unanimous first team selectios, while sophomore setter Gabby Blossom earned a spot on the second team.
STATS/RECORDS NOTES
The Lions are unbeaten at 19-0 when leading 2-0, are 4-0 when leading 2-1, are 21-0 when posting a higher hitting percentage than their opponent, are 19-0 when they have more blocks than their opponent, and are 20-0 when they have more aces than their opponent.
CONSISTENT WINNERS
Penn State has never posted less than 22 wins in a season with Russ Rose as the head coach. The Nittany Lions have recorded at least 30 wins 27 times during that stretch
PENN STATE AGAINST THE BIG TEN
The Nittany Lions are 504-76 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.
SIXTH IN ATTENDANCE NATIONALLY
Penn State currently ranks sixth in the nation in home attendance, averaging 3,476 fans through 16 matches at Rec Hall. The Big Ten holds six of the top 10 spots in the national home attendance rankings.
NATIONALLY RANKED
Penn State dropped to No. 8 in the AVCA Coaches Poll after beating then No. 5 Wisconsin and then-No. 8 Minnesota last week. The Nittany Lions have been ranked in 457 consecutive polls dating back to the end of the 1988 season.
BIG TEN LEADS THE WAY IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
Four Big Ten teams appeared in the top 10 of the most recent AVCA national rankings — No. 5 Wisconsin, No. 6 Nebraska, No. 7 Minnesota, and No. 8 Penn State. No other conference has more than two teams in the top 10.
WHITE NEARS DIGS RECORD
Senior Kendall White ranks second in program history with 1,942 career digs. She needs 16 to pass Kaleena Walters (2002-05) to become the all-time leader.
WINS AGAINST EIGHT CONFERENCES
Penn State's 24 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. They can add a ninth conference to that list with a win over Princeton on Friday.
BIG TEN WEEKLY AWARDS
- Kaitlyn Hord won the team's lone Big Ten 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.
- Kendall White has won two Defensive Player of the Week award this season, giving her seven for her career. She won the award on Oct. 14, after averaging 4.00 digs per set in wins over Maryland and Ohio State. Her most recent honor came after totaling a season-high 29 digs in a four-set win over Purdue.
- Gabby Blossom won three Setter of the Week awards this season, the first three of her career. She received the honor on Oct. 21, after averaging 12.14 assists/set in road wins over Michigan and Michigan State. She then won the next week on Oct. 28 after averaging 12.25 digs/set in wins over No. 17 Illinois and Maryland. Blossom added her third award after a double-double against Indiana and 53 assists in a win over Purdue.
BIGGEST COMEBACK (SET)
Penn State's biggest comeback to win a set this season came during a sweep at Michigan State on Oct. 20. The Lions trailed 21-14 before battling back to win the set 26-24. They went on to score the first six points of the second set.
BIGGEST COMEBACK (MATCH)
Penn State came back from two sets down to beat Illinois 3-2 (18-25, 24-26, 25-15, 30-28, 15-13) at Rec Hall on Oct. 23. The Illini had four chances at match point in set four. It was the first time the Lions erased a 2-0 set deficit in a win since beating USC on Aug. 27, 2011. That match was also played at Rec Hall.
