Punter Kapinos honored for kicking performance
Penn State junior punter Jeremy Kapinos displayed a strong leg as well as a deft touch against South Florida on Saturday and has been recognized for his strong performance with his selection as the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week.
The conference honor is the second of his career, having also been selected after the Ohio State game last season. He is the first Nittany Lion punter to be recognized more than once by the Big Ten. Pat Pidgeon earned the league honor against Arizona in 1999.
Kapinos posted a 42.2-yard average on five kicks and stuck the Bulls inside their own 15-yard line on three occasions. Among his kicks was a 60-yard effort that ranked as the third longest of his career.
The owner of three of Penn State's top six all-time best game punting average marks, Kapinos displayed an ability to stick opposition deep in its own territory as he had punts downed or go out of bounds at the USF 4, 7 and 11-yard lines in the opener. In two of those instances the Penn State defense forced a turnover or three-and-out, including a first quarter interception at the 29-yard line that led to the Nittany Lions' second touchdown.
Kapinos, whose 41.9 career average entering the season ranks second all-time at Penn State behind George Reynolds' 43.0 mark, averaged 41.8 yards on his 61 punts last season. During the 2003 season, the former West Springfield High School standout re-wrote the Penn State freshman game and season punting records.
Big Ten selects Walters again for defensive play
Senior women's volleyball libero Kaleena Walters earned her second Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honor in as many weeks after leading the No. 4 Penn State women's volleyball team to important wins against two of the nation's top seven teams. Walters now owns the first two Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors in conference history, which are also the first two weekly honors of her career.
The Nittany Lions defeated then-No. 7 Southern California, Western Michigan and then-No. 4 Hawaii last weekend at the Hawaiian Airlines Classic in Honolulu. Versus the Women of Troy, Walters racked up 27 digs, one shy of her own Penn State record for digs in a four-game match while also passing effectively to allow five hitters to tally 15 or more attempts in the match. Against the Broncos, she again led all players with 19 digs as Penn State hit .312 in the contest. At Hawaii, she racked up 26 digs as five Nittany Lion players reached double-digit kill figures in testament to her passing, giving setter Sam Tortorello multiple offensive options. For the weekend, Walters totaled 72 digs for an average of 6.00 digs per game and inched closer to Penn State's career digs title with 1,507 to her name, 178 shy of the record.
Also honored for their performance last weekend at the Hawaiian Airlines Classic, freshmen Christa Harmotto and Nicole Fawcett picked up All-Tournament Team honors as senior setter Sam Tortorello was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. Joining the Nittany Lions on the All-Tournament team are Shaylen Jackson of Western Michigan, Bibiana Candelas of Southern California and Kanoe Kamana'o and Victoria Prince of Hawaii.
