UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Three Penn State women's volleyball players earned All-Big Ten honors on Thursday. Junior Kaitlyn Hord was voted to the first team, while juniors Gabby Blossom and Jonni Parker earned spots on the second team.
Hord earned All-Big Ten status for the third time and picked up her second-straight first-team honor after helping Penn State finish the regular season ranked No. 12 in the AVCA Coaches Poll. 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.
Blossom picked up right where she left off last season, adding a second time on the All-Big Ten second team. She did her part running the offense with 10.43 assists/set while helping the team hit better than .300 seven times, including each of the final four matches. She also helped out defensively with 2.93 digs/set and 0.32 blocks/set and added 11 service aces. Blossom picked up one Big Ten Setter of the Week award during the year.
Parker, a 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. Parker has made the All-Big Ten Team in each of her first three seasons at Penn State.
In addition to the three All-Big Ten honorees, junior Jenna Hampton was selected as the team's recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. She took over as the team's starting libero this season and led the team with 3.64 digs/set while also chipping in offensively with 1.16 assists/set. She earned on Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week award.
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, April 15, at 10:30 p.m., against the winner of Rice and North Carolina A&T.
