UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Two Penn State women's volleyball players were honored with Northeast All-Region recognition by the American Volleyball Coaches Association on Tuesday. Junior Kaitlyn Hord made the main list of honorees, while Jonni Parker was an honorable mention selection.
Hord earned a spot on the all-region team for a third-straight year. She was a first-team All-Big Ten selection this season after leading Penn State to a 9-5 record and a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the 40th-consecutive season. The middle blocker averaged 2.36 kills/set with a team-best .404 hitting percentage. She also led the team in blocks/set with 1.34. She posted double-digit kills seven times this season, including three times with a hitting percentage better than .400. Hord tallied at least five blocks in a match six times, including a season-best 10 against nationally-ranked Minnesota.
Parker was selected as an honorable mention after earning all-region recognition in each of her first two seasons at Penn State. She was a second-team All-Big Ten honoree this season. The six-rotation player for the Lions, led the team in kills at 3.11/set and of course contributed to every other aspect of the game. She added 14 aces, 2.11 digs/set and 0.89 blocks/set. The junior had eight matches with double-digit kills, including a huge performance against nationally-ranked Minnesota with season highs in both kills (21) and digs (16). That was one of her three double-doubles on the season.
The Lions have had at least one player make an all-region team every year since 1993.
Penn State (9-5) enters the NCAA Tournament as the No. 13 overall seed and received a bye in the first round. The Lions, who are the only program to make all 40 NCAA Tournaments, will open play in the Second Round on Thursday at 10:30 p.m. (ET), against the winner of Rice and North Carolina A&T.
