PSU 2023 Season Preview Part 2: Middle Blockers
This is the 2nd in a four-part series that looks at the Penn State Women’s Volleyball roster for 2023. This article focuses on the Middle Blockers, with a rundown on returnees, incoming freshmen and players lost to graduation.
Here’s a link to Part 1: Pin Hitters, which was posted last week.
The next part of the series will be Part 3 – Setters, which will be posted on Thursday, May 25th. Part 4 – Liberos/Defensive Specialists, will be posted next Tuesday, May 30th. So keep an eye on DigNittanyVolleyball.com, and follow us on Twitter — @DigNittany — or on the DigNittanyVolleyballForum.
Oh, and in case it isn’t clear, where there is text that is highlighted in blue and bolded (other than the headings) that text is a link — for example, player names are linked to their bios.
Eighteen Consecutive Years of Middle Blocker Excellence
💪 at the net!
Our middles excel in the toughest conference in the country!#WeAre
🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/kzuSigB3DE— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) May 18, 2023
Holland and Trammell Return at Middle Blocker
It’s a good bet that streak of middle blocker excellence will continue in 2023. The Nittany Lions return both their 2022 middle blocker starters (or rather, both players who started until Taylor Trammell suffered an injury against Maryland on October 21st and was lost for the season). Penn State does lose Katie Clark, the super-sub who replaced Trammel after that injury (all Clark did was rank 5th in the B1G in hitting percentage!), but having a healthy Trammel back is a major plus.
Allie Holland, one of those returnees, was second on the team in 2022 with 3.24 points/set (Kash Williams ranked 1st with 3.75). Her 1.34 blocks/set ranked 9th in the B1G and her .322 hitting percentage was 2nd best for Penn State (Katie Clark led the team.) That performance earned Allie 1st Team All B1G honors in 2022. The good news for Penn State fans? Allie hasn’t missed a beat from 2022 to now. She wants to play at an All-American level in 2023 and her goals for the team are equally high. Topping it all off, Allie is a great teammate and has been a tremendous leader for the younger players.
Trammell participated fully in Spring practice and is jumping really well. She is driven to improve. Her injury may even have had an upside (though we are pretty sure Taylor would have skipped that upside to avoid the injury): Watching matches from the bench gave her a different perspective on the flow of the game generally and middle blocker play specifically. She’s primed for the team to accomplish big things in 2023.
Newcomers Burke and Willow Eager to Compete
Holland and Trammel will be joined by two true freshman: Karis Willow and Catherine Burke, both talented players who won’t concede anything to Holland and Trammel. At 6-4 and 6-3, respectively, both bring good size and strength to the position. Willow, in particular, is known for her powerful kills. Though it’s very tough for a true freshman to excel at middle blocker, Willow and Burke won’t shy away from the competition.
Notes about the chart
- The two names in red are no longer with the team: Katie Clark (graduated) and Erika Williams (transfered out).
- Only college stats are included; therefore, no stats are shown for Burke and Willow.
2023 Middles (2022 Stats)
| Player | 2023 Class | Ht | SP | MP | Pts/S | K/S | % | Blk/S | SA/S | Dig/S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holland, Allie (2022 1st Team All-Big Ten) | 4/Sr. | 6-03 | 118 | 31 | 3.24 | 2.19 | .322 | 1.34 | 0.27 | 0.72 |
| Trammell, Taylor | 4/Sr. | 6-02 | 67 | 19 | 2.09 | 1.46 | .292 | 1.13 | 0.00 | 0.15 |
| Burke, Catherine | 1/Fr, | 6-03 | 000 | 000 | 000 | 000 | 000 | 000 | 000 | 000 |
| Willow, Karis | 1/Fr, | 6-04 | 000 | 000 | 000 | 000 | 000 | 000 | 000 | 000 |
| Clark, Katie | 0/Grad | 6-03 | 80 | 23 | 2.63 | 2.11 | .360 | 0.90 | 0.00 | 0.24 |
| Williams, Erika | 2/So. | 6-01 | 3 | 2 | 2.00 | 1.33 | -.091 | 1.33 | 0.00 | 0.33 |