Match Preview: Penn State vs. Purdue

Photo by Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, Wikipedia Commons

The Match: Penn State (13-2; 3-1 Big Ten) vs. Purdue (11-4, 2-2 Big Ten)

Where and When: West Lafayette, IN., 7:00 p.m. E.T.

Media Coverage: Game Tracker; Streamed live at video.bigtennetwork.com

Match Snapshot:

The Nittany Lions will be taking on a Purdue team that is playing at home for the first time since September 11th.  With six starters returning from its 2009 squad (and a total of 10 returning players), Purdue is experienced and talented.  The best player for the Boilermakers may be 6-1 So. OH Ariel Turner , who is ranked first in the Big Ten with 4.64 kills/set, along with 2.08 digs/set and 0.83 blocks/set.   Purdue also counts heavily on 6-2 Jr.  OH Tiffany Fisher , who has averaged 2.62 kills/set and 1.21 blocks/set to date, and has an impressive .357 attack %.  Other key players for the Boilermakers are 6-2 RS Fr. OH Catherine Rebarchak  (2.21 kills/set), 6-2 RS Fr. OH Katie Griffin (1.73 kills/set) and 6-3 So. MB Anna Drewry (1.65 kills/set and 0.81 blocks/set). 

In the backrow, 5-6 So. DS Carly Cramer has averaged 4.40 digs/set, followed by 5-9 Jr. DS Emily Ehlers (3.21 digs/set), amd 5-10 RS Jr. DS Blair Bashen (2.66 digs/set, 11 aces).  Setter Jaclyn Hart adds 1.71 digs/set and 10.84 assists/set.

For Penn State, 6-3 Sr. MH Arielle Wilson (2.79 kills/set, .462 attack %, 1.223 blocks/set), 6-5 Sr. Opp. Blair Brown (3.63 kills/set, .324 attack %), 6-1 Fr. OH Deja McClendon (3.53 kills/set, .356 attack %) lead the way offensively.  In addition to  Wilson, Brown , and McClendon, key players for Penn State include 6-3 Sr. MH Fatima Balza (1.37 bps), 6-6 Fr. MH Katie Slay (1.48 blocks/set – best among Big Ten freshmen), 5-9 Sr. L Alyssa D’Errico (4.08 dps, .67 aces/s), 5-6 So. S Kristin Carpenter (10.14 asst./s), 6-5 Jr. OH Katie Kabbes (1.98 kps) and 5-1 Sr. DS Cathy Quilico (1.88 dps).

Rosters and Stats

Here are the Rosters for the Nittany Lions and the Boilermakers, followed by a statistical comparison of the two teams and their plaers:

     Purdue 

No. Name Class Pos. Ht. Hometown/High School/Previous College
1 Davis, Rachel RS FR S 6-0 Kalamazoo, Mich./Plainwell
3 Fox, Hilliary FR MB/OH 6-1 Montgomery, Ind./Barr Reeve
5 Hart, Jaclyn SR S 6-1 Palos Hills, Ill./Stagg
6 Ehlers, Emily JR DS 5-9 Mishawaka, Ind./Penn
8 Turner, Ariel SO OH 6-1 Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista
9 Miller, Amanda JR DS 5-7 Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Mission Viejo
10 Griffin, Katie RS FR OH 6-2 Avon, Ind./Avon
11 Cramer, Carly SO DS 5-6 Martinsville, Ind./Martinsville
13 Perri, Elena FR OH 6-0 Richland, Mich./Gull Lake
14 Bashen, Blair RS JR DS 5-10 Houston, Texas/St. John’s
15 Gosewisch, Courtney SO DS 5-8 Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South
16 Arthurs, Kristen SR MB 6-3 Newport, Mich./St. Mary’s Catholic Central
17 Rebarchak, Catherine RS FR MB/OH 6-2 Mobile, Ala./St. Paul’s Episcopal
18 Fisher, Tiffany JR MB/OH 6-2 Topeka, Ind./Westview
20 Drewry, Anna SO MB 6-3 San Antonio, Texas/Tom C. Clark

     Penn State

Updated as of 8-24-2010

NumberName PositionYear/
Class
HeightHS
(Club)
State/
Nation
1 Scott,
Ariel

Opp/OH1/Fr.6-4Immaculate Heart Academy
(Team Complete
Athlete)
NJ
2 Kabbes,
Katie

OH3/Jr.6-5Cardinal Gibbons
(Triangle Volleyball)
NC
3 Balza,
Fatima

MH4/Sr.6-3Liceo CaracasVE
4 Ullrich,
Jessica

DS4/Sr.5-8Wheaton North
(1st Alliance)
IL
5 Carpenter,
Kristin

S/DS2/So.5-6Hanover
(Richmond Volleyball Club)
VA
6 Martin,
Maddie

OH1/Fr.6-2H.B. Plant
(Tampa Bay
Juniors)
FL
7 Wilson,
Arielle

MH4/Sr.6-3Proviso East
(1st Alliance)
IL
8 Denney,
Erica

MH1/Fr.6-5Grandview
(Front Range
Volleyball Club
)
CO
9 Brown,
Blair

Opp4/Sr. (RS)6-5Loudoun Valley
(Renaissance)
VA
10 Racibarskas,
Marika

S2/So.6-0Chatham
(Team Complete
Athlete)
NJ
11 Dorton,
Darcy

OH2/So.6-2Delta
(Munciana)
IN
12 D’Errico,
Alyssa

L/DS4/Sr.5-9Byron-Bergen
(VolleyFx Magic)
NY
13 Shifflett ,
Megan

DS/S3/Jr.5-6Langley
VA Elite
VA
14 Quilico,
Cathy

L/DS4/Sr.5-1Westlake
(Gene's Team)
CA
15Harding,
Maggie

DS1/Fr.5-6State College
Area
PA
16Slay,
Katie

MH1/Fr.6-6Raleigh
(Triangle Volleyball
Club
)
NC
18McClendon,
Deja

OH1/Fr.6-1Dupont Manual Magnet
(KIVA)
KY
19 Pabst,
Krosby

DS1/Fr.5-7Woodrow
Wilson
(Mizuno Long Beach)
CA
22 Moydell,
Mikinzie

S1/Fr.6-0Chaparral
(Front Range Volleyball Club)
CO
23 Longo,
Ali

DS1/Fr.5-6Chatfield
(Juggernaut Volleyball)
CO