Gabby Blossom Named Big Ten Co-Setter Of The Week

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

Penn State women’s volleyball co-captain Gabby Blossom shared Big Ten Setter of the Week honors with Ohio State’s Mac Podraza after recording 100 assists and 40 digs for the Nittany Lions last week.

It’s the second time this season and the sixth time overall that Blossom has earned weekly recognition from the conference. Blossom set a new career high with 20 digs in Penn State’s 3-1 win over Rutgers, then matched it in West Lafayette with another outstanding defensive performance.

Blossom was named Big Ten Setter of the Week on September 27 after leading the Nittany Lions to wins over Rutgers and Ohio State. Blossom tied her career high for assists with 58 in a five-set loss to No. 6 Purdue Sunday afternoon and sits at 674 for the season. Blossom is fifth in the Big Ten in assists per set (10.37) heading into this weekend’s pair of road matches against No. 12 Minnesota and No. 3 Wisconsin.

Blossom shared last week’s honors with Podraza, Nebraska’s Madi Kubik, Ohio State’s Arica Davis, and Purdue’s Jena Otec, a longtime club volleyball teammate of Blossom with the Rockwood Thunder. Jonni Parker was named Big Ten Player of the Week on September 6 and is the only other Nittany Lion to receive weekly conference recognition so far this season.

β€œJena has been one of my best friends forever,” Blossom said of the Boilermakers’ libero. “We’ve played together since we were 11 and played until we were 18. Our families are best friends. She’s a sister to me. I love her to death. I’m so grateful volleyball brought her into my life.”

Blossom has had eight double-doubles through 18 matches this fall, but has really picked up her play defensively of late, accomplishing the feat in six of the last seven matches. Blossom has 185 digs this season, trailing only libero Jenna Hampton’s 251.

“I thought Gabby’s defense was much improved,” Russ Rose said following a four-set win over Rutgers. Blossom has also been Penn State’s most consistent server this season, leading the team with 20 aces and only four service errors.

Blossom, a business psychology major from St. Louis, Missouri, discussed how her classes have helped her as a leader for the Nittany Lions. Blossom and Parker share the rare distinction of being three-time captains for Penn State women’s volleyball.

β€œI think, in a lot of my classes, it’s very applicable,” Blossom said. “I love psychology and I love my psych classes. I have really great professors and classmates. Just real-world applications and figuring out different people need different things in life, so it’s super applicable.”