What: Northwestern (10-5, 1-3 Big Ten) vs. Penn State (10-4, 3-1 Big Ten)
Where: Rec Hall
When: Wednesday, October 5, 2011 – 8:00 p.m. ET (Late Start!)
Media: Live on BTN; GameTracker
Penn State
Snapshot
Penn State swept its two matches over the weekend, winning 3-0 against Wisconsin on Friday, and 3-0 against Minnesota on Saturday night. Other than the scores (and the all-around solid play of 6-6 MB Katie Slay, who was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season), the matches didn’t bear much resemblance to one another. In an interview with Dan Norton of the Daily Collegian, Head Coach Russ Rose made it clear that he was not pleased with his team’s effort against the Badgers (and praising the “Russ’s Rowdies” student section):
I’d like [the team] to be like the section of students [Russ’s Rowdies] that come out because they care and have fun. I’d like that instead of the blank faces I see when they make a mistake or when the other team does something good.
Russ’s Rowdies whooping it up at Rec Hall
Rose gave higher marks to the team for its performance against Minnesota, telling Dan Norton:
I’m appreciative of the fact that the kids found a way to work a little bit harder.
Which team will show up against Northwestern — the blank faces or the enthusiastic, harder working bunch? We’re betting on that second group. Oh, and we think Russ’s Rowdies will continue to be . . . rowdy.
Stats
Here’s a link to Penn State’s statistical leaders (in an easy-to-view sortable table format 🙂 )
And here’s a table showing the NCAA rankings of Penn State and its players by statistical category:
Updated as of 8-24-2011
| Number | Name | Position | Year/ Class | Height | HS (Club) | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott, Ariel  | OH | 2/So. | 6-4 | Immaculate Heart Academy (Team Complete Athlete) | NJ |
| 2 | Kabbes, Katie  | OH | 4/Sr. | 6-4 | Cardinal Gibbons (Triangle Volleyball) | NC |
| 4 | Gonzalez, Dominique  | DS | 1/Fr. | 5-6 | Sandra Day O'Connor/ (Alamo Volleyball) | TX |
| 5 | Carpenter, Kristin  | L/DS/S | 3/Jr. | 5-6 | Hanover (Richmond Volleyball Club) | VA |
| 6 | Martin, Maddie  | OH | 2/So. | 6-2 | H.B. Plant (Tampa Bay Juniors) | FL |
| 7 | Grant, Nia  | OH | 1/Fr. | 6-2 | Howland (Cleveland Renaissance Volleyball Club) | OH |
| 8 | Denny, Erica  | MH | Fr. (RS) | 6-5 | Grandview (Front Range Volleyball Club) | CO |
| 10 | Racibarskas, Marika  | S | 3/Jr. | 6-0 | Chatham (Team Complete Athlete) | NJ |
| 11 | Dorton, Darcy  | OH | 2/So. (RS) | 6-2 | Delta (Munciana) | IN |
| 12 | Hancock, Micha  | S | 1/Fr. | 5-11 | Edmond Memorial (Oklahoma Peak Performance) | OK |
| 13 | Shifflett , Megan  | DS/S | 4/Sr. | 5-6 | Langley VA Elite | VA |
| 14 | Whitney, Aiyana  | OH | 1/Fr. | 6-5 | Northern Valley Regional (Downstate Juniors) | NJ |
| 15 | Harding, Maggie  | DS | 1/Fr. (RS) | 5-6 | State College Area | PA |
| 16 | Slay, Katie  | MH | 2/So. | 6-6 | Wakefield (Triangle Volleyball Club) | NC |
| 18 | McClendon, Deja  | OH | 2/So. | 6-1 | Dupont Manual Magnet (KIVA) | KY |
| 23 | Longo, Ali  | DS | 2/So. | 5-6 | Chatfield (Juggernaut Volleyball) | CO |
| 33 | Fuller, Lacey  | DS | 1/Fr. | 5-6 | Torrey Pines (Coast Volleyball) | CA |
Northwestern
Snapshot
Northwestern is coming off its first Big Ten win of the season, as it defeated Indiana (8-8, 0-4 Big Ten) Saturday night 3-0 (25-10, 25-15, 25-17). The Wildcats were led by 5-11 So. OH Stephanie Holthus (pre-season All Big Ten)with 11 kills, 6-1 Jr. MB Kathryn Chrystal, with 6 blocks, 5-7 Jr. L Julie Chin, with 15 digs, and 6-0 Fr. S Hannah Crippen, with 3 service aces.
Northwestern’s head coach Keylor Chan praised his team after the match:
We played exceptionally well in all phases tonight. We’ve been working really hard as a team and we executed against a great opponent. We were able to sustain the intensity tonight and that was huge for us.
Prior to the season, Chan said that the goal for the 2011 Wildcats was to make the NCAA tournament again.
That’s going to be an evolving goal for this team, and I’m excited for that. We obviously have a whole bunch of new faces, and we need to reinvent ourselves. We have a lot of freshmen and some older girls who need to step into new roles.
For that to happen, Chan thought Holthus would need to improve on her very successful freshman year performance:
She’s going to have to take another step. We lost a lot of players who actually score points for our team, and Stephanie is going to have to fill that void. She led our team in attempts last year, so we know she can handle the load, but now she’s going to have to be one of the feature players that we have in our program. It’s a really exciting time for her, that’s why she wanted to come to Northwestern, and this is what she’s prepared her whole career to do, and now it’s her time. We’re excited to see her do it.
She came through against Indiana this past weekend. Penn State may be another story.
Stats
Here’s a link to Northwestern’s cumulative individual statistics as of 10-2-11.
And here’s a table showing the NCAA rankings of Northwesteren and its players by statistical category:
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Roster
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