PSU 1st in AVCA Poll; Dorton Named Big Ten Freshman of Week

Posted on by Nyline

Penn State #1 in First AVCA Regular Season Poll

The AVCA has released its first regular season poll, with preseason #1 Penn State still in the top spot. The Nittany Lions received 53 52 of 61 60 1st Place votes. (Although there are 60 voters, Penn State is listed with 53 1st place votes (compared to 52 in last week’s preseason poll), with eight votes going to other teams, for a total of 61. We’re assuming it’s really 52 1st place votes for Penn State.)

Penn State went 3-0 over the weekend in the Active Ankle Challenge, defeating Miami University 3-0, Alabama 3-0, and, after a nail-biting first set (29-27), St. Louis University 3-0 in front of a crowd of 6,000+.

Head Coach Russ Rose commented on the crowd and Penn State’s performance in an interview with Bill Landis posted today on thedailycollegianonline. “To play in front of 6,000 people is something that you can never really replicate in practice. . . . So you never really know much about your team until you’re placed into a situation like that. I wouldn’t say we’re anywhere near where we were last year, but certainly we received some great performances.”

Results were mixed for Big Ten teams, with Michigan (which swept Nebraska in Omaha) jumping 9 places from #16 to #7 (Nebraska dropped from #3 to #6), Illinois climbing from #10 to #8 after opening the Kevin Hambly era 2-0, Minnesota dropping from #11 to #13 after losing to Nebraska 3-2, Purdue dropping from #19 to #24 after losing to Dayton 3-2 in the title match of the Motor Board Premier, and previously unranked Michigan State making its debut at #20.

Dorton Named Big 10 Freshman of the Week

Freshman Outside Hitter Darcy Dorton has recorded a first for Penn State — being named Big Ten Freshman of the Week (it’s the first time the award has been given). Here’s what the Big Ten release had to say:

“Playing against Miami (Ohio) on Friday in her first collegiate match, Dorton led her team with 15 kills and a .565 hitting percentage as the Nittany Lions swept the RedHawks. The freshman posted her second double-digit kill performance of the weekend against No. 20 St. Louis on Saturday, putting down 11 kills at a .368 clip. For the weekend, Dorton tallied 33 kills (3.7 kps) on a .414 attack percentage. She also helped Penn State out-block each of its three opponents, tallying seven block assists on the weekend.”

Here’s the release fromgopsusports.com.