Media Wrap
“No. 1 Lions split in Nike Big Four tournament” — The Daily Collegian
By Wynton Jake Somerville, Collegian Staff Writer. September 9, 2013.
Entering the weekend with the No. 1 ranking in the country, Penn State lost to No. 6 Texas in a slugfest in the Nike Big Four Tournament. The top-seeded Lions lost in five sets to defending champion Texas on Saturday (27-25, 17-25, 25-13, 21-25, 10-15). The tournament featured four heavyweights in women’s volleyball: Texas, No. 2 Stanford and No. 8 Florida. Mistakes plagued the Lions as they compiled 25 hitting and 22 service errors, including several costly errors in the final set. Penn State bounced back on Sunday, knocking out Florida, 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-20).
Quote of the Day (Russ Rose, in article by Wynton Jake Somerville):
What’s important is that they work hard and keep focus and recognize just cause they didn’t play today [doesn’t mean] that they’re not going to play tomorrow. I think that’s one of the hardest things for young people [is] for them to not get distracted and think no today means no forever.
For the complete article at The Daily Collegian, Click Here.
“Nittany Lions sweep past Florida Gators” — The Centre Daily Times
From CDT staff reports
AUSTIN, Texas — The Penn State women’s volleyball team bounced back from its first loss of the season to sweep past Florida in the final day of the Nike Big Four Challenge.
The No. 1 Nittany Lions (3-1) dropped the No. 8 Gators 25-18, 25-17, 25-20 Sunday morning at Texas’ Gregory Gym. The four-year run for the event, which also featured Stanford and the Longhorns, closes. Texas beat Penn State in five sets on Saturday.
For the complete article at The Centre Daily Times, Click Here.
World Gone Upside Down?
We don’t know how the B1G final standings will look. But we do know they won’t look exactly like this:
B1G Standings 12-1-2013
| Rank | Team (w/ Link) | B1G W's | B1G L's | All W's | All L's | AVCA Poll - 11-25-13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Penn State | 19 | 1 | 28 | 2 | 2 |
| 2nd | Nebraska | 16 | 4 | 23 | 6 | 10 |
| 3rd | Minnesota | 15 | 5 | 27 | 6 | 11 |
| 4th | Wisconsin | 12 | 8 | 23 | 9 | 13 |
| 4th | Illinois | 12 | 8 | 16 | 14 | 18 |
| 6th | Purdue | 11 | 9 | 20 | 11 | 20 |
| 7th | Michigan State | 10 | 10 | 21 | 11 | 19 |
| 8th | Michigan | 8 | 12 | 18 | 13 | 23 |
| 8th | Northwestern | 8 | 12 | 16 | 16 | NR |
| 10th | Ohio State | 6 | 14 | 18 | 14 | NR |
| 11th | Iowa | 2 | 18 | 11 | 21 | NR |
| 12th | Indiana | 1 | 19 | 9 | 22 | NR |
Match Stats and Recaps
Texas 3, Penn State 2
From GoPSUsports.com:
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 1 Penn State women’s volleyball (2-1) came up just short in a close 3-2 (27-25, 17-25, 25-13, 21-25, 10-15) loss to No. 6 Texas (3-1) in the opening match of the Nike Big Four Classic in Austin, Texas.
Senior Deja McClendon led the offense with her first double-double of the year, posting a season-high 20 kills and a squad-best 17 digs. Redshirt freshman Paulina Prieto Cerame and senior Katie Slay joined McClendon in double figures with 18 and 12 kills, respectively.
Junior Micha Hancock dished out a season-high 51 assists, adding two service aces and eight digs. Junior Nia Grant recorded a career-high three aces, while also registering four kills and four digs.
Junior Dominique Gonzalez and senior Maddie Martin both finished with double-digit digs, recording 13 and 10 each.
For the complete recap at GoPSUsports.com, Click Here.
Penn State 3, Florida 2
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 1 Penn State women’s volleyball (3-1) defeated No. 8 Florida (5-1) in the final match of the Nike Big Four Classic in Austin, Texas Sunday afternoon, improving to 8-3 all-time against the Gators and 2-0 in the event.
Sophomore Megan Courtney led the Nittany Lions offense with her first double-double of the season, notching 11 kills and a team-best 12 digs. Redshirt freshman Paulina Preito Cerame followed close behind with nine kills, while junior Nia Grant recorded eight kills.
Junior Micha Hancock registered a squad best performance from the service line with five aces, while posting five kills on six errorless swings for a .833 hitting clip.
After trailing early in the opening set, Hancock broke open a tie game, 7-7, with a pair of back-to-back service aces. Courtney and McClendon followed with kills to give the Nittany Lions a three-point advantage, 11-8. Holding on to the lead, PSU used a 9-4 streak to construct a 19-12 advantage, forcing the Gators to call two timeouts to in an effort to halt the momentum.
For the complete write up from GoPSUsports.com, Click Here.
