Megan Hodge was named ESPN the Magazine Acadmeic All-American of the Year today.

The award is the fourth overall for Penn State women's volleyball and the second consecutive. Christa Harmotto won the award last year.

Hodge won the award for her success in the classroom as a business major, in which she holds a 3.45 GPA.

No stragner to accolades on and off the court, Hodge was an AVCA All-American in her first three years at Penn State and looks poised to win the award again this year. Hodge also earned Most Oustanding Player in the last two NCAA Championships. She was also named Second Team Academic All-American last season.

-Landis

Some perspective on the Penn State women's volleyball team's stats thus far in relation to the rest of the Big Ten (which is arguably the best league in the country.)
 
Hitting percentage: .369, First
Opponent's hitting percentage:  .099, First
Assists per game: 13.79, First
Kills per game: 14.80, First
Blocks per game: 3.17, First
Aces per game: 1.44, Third (First place: Michigan- 1.66)
Digs per game: 12.77, Ninth (First place: Minnesota- 15.16)
 
The Lions are first in every major category except aces and digs.  Obviously, Russ Rose would appreciate more aces. But the head coach might not want a similar increase in digs. The low digging rate has a lot to do with the Lions' rank in blocking -- .38 blocks per game higher than Minnesota who is second in the conference.  With so many blocks, the Lions' back row rarely even gets an opportunity to dig the balls.
 
-AJ

What is Penn State going to do next year after Megan Hodge and Alisha Glass graduate?

Well, nobody knows for sure, but the No. 1 Lions took the right steps today when it was announced that the team has signed five of the top high school volleyball players in the country.

Two players signed national letters of intent while the other three have decided to turn down scholarship offers from other schools and walk-on at Penn State.

Here's a closer look at the five new players who will be wearing the blue and white next season:

Katie Slay

The 6-foot-6 middle blocker hails from Durham, N.C. She is a member of the same club team that current Lions Hodge and Katie Kabbes played for. This year she was named to the United States women's junior National Team. She was also part of the U.S. team that won the gold medal at the 2008 NORCECA Continental Championship.

Russ Rose on Katie Slay: "Katie is a great natural blocker. She has the potential to become a strong front row player for us."

Deja McClendon

The 6-foot outside hitter comes from DuPont Manual High School in Louisville, Ky. McClendon was recently named Kentucky's Miss Volleyball.

Russ Rose on Deja McClendon: "She's an explosive outside hitter with the physical tools to become a dominant outside attacker."

Madison Martin

Martin is a 6-foot-2 outside hitter from Plant City, Fl. She is currently in the middle of helping her high school team try for its fourth-straight state championship.

Russ Rose on Madison Martin : "Maddie is a great all-around player with the ability to help us at either front row outside positions, as well as being a primary passer in the back row."

Mikinzie Moydell

Moydell is a 6-foot-1 setter from Parker, Colo. Moydell could be in the mix next season when the Lions will be looking to find someone to fill the vacancy left by All-American setter Alisha Glass. According to maxpreps.com, Moydell posted 607 assists in 19 matches this season.

Russ Rose on Mikinzie Moydell: "We thought Mikinizie was the top setter prospect in the class. We feel that there will be a transition, but once she gets up used to the speed of the college game she could be a great college setter."

Ariel Scott

 Ariel is a 6-foot-5 outside hitter from Newark, N.J.  A dominant player at the net, Scott also has the ability to serve. This season she had 50 service aces and posted a 93 percent mark in serving accuracy for Immaculate Heart High School.  The Star-Ledger in Newark recently named Scott their Player of the Year.

Russ Rose on Ariel Scott: "Ariel is a player we're looking to see fit into any front row positions. She is a dominant attacker with a high contact point."

-Landis

 

Another busy weekend for Big Ten women's volleyball as the cream of the conference is starting to rise to the top.

The Nittany Lions remain on top with a 16-0 mark in conference play. The Lions earned a sweep Friday night over the second-place team in the Big Ten, Illinois.

The Illini bounced back Sunday and beat Ohio State in four sets in Columbus to improve its conference record to 13-3.

The only other team in the conference with hopes of catching the top-ranked Lions is the Gophers of Minnesota. Coming off two sweeps of Iowa and Wisconsin, Minnesota improved to 12-4 in the conference.

With just two weeks left in the Big Ten season, Penn State is in excellent position to win its 13 Big Ten Championship. The title would be the Lions' seventh consecutive.

Penn State needs to win just one of its final four matches to clinch the title. The only teams that could reach the 16-win plateau are Illinois and Minnesota. Penn State holds the tie-breaker over both team's having swept both earlier this season.

Check the Collegian later in the week for more coverage of the Lions run at 13th conference championship.

Here's how the Big Ten shapes up after 16 conference matches.

1.)    Penn State (26-0, 16-0 Big Ten)

2.)    Illinois (21-4, 13-3)

3.)    Minnesota (21-7, 12-4)

4.)    Michigan (22-7, 10-6)

5.)    Ohio State (21-8, 9-7)

6.)    Wisconsin (11-14, 6-10)

7.)    Michigan State (17-11, 5-11)

8.)    Northwestern (14-14, 5-11)

9.)    Indiana (15-15, 4-12)

10.) Purdue (12-15, 4-12)

11.) Iowa (12-16, 4-12)

-Landis

Blair Brown was named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week today. She shares the honor with Lauren Gibbemeyer of Minnesota.

The award is Brown's first conference honor of her career.

Brown has struggled at points this season, but over the weekend the junior seemed to put those struggles behind her. On Friday against No. 5 Illinois Brown tallied 17 kills, tying her career-high. The next night Brown came out against Northwestern and notched 9 kills and had .500 hitting percentage.

If Brown can maintain this level of play, the Lions will be even stronger than they are now. With Megan Hodge playing as well as she is and Arielle Wilson leading the country in hitting percentage, Brown will just be another weapon for opposing defenses to guard.

-Landis

- Blair Brown served for the Lions to start the third set and started a rally that ended with a kill for the Wildcats who opened up an early 1-0 lead.

- A kill from Megan Hodge gave the Lions a 4-2 lead. Hodge and Kabbes followed up the the kill with a block to increase the lead to three.

- A nice rally ended in a kill for Darcy Dorton from the left side. The kill gave the Lions a 10-5 lead. Dorton followed up with a block with the help of Ari Wilson to give the Lions a six-point lead. Chan called a timeout for the Wildcats.

- Darcy Dorton took a big swing an found a spot in the corner to give the Lions a 12-7 lead.

- A big kill from Megan Hodge made the score 14-9 Penn State. And Kelse Ream came into to serve for the Lions. Her first action of the season. Ream made a nice serve that was handled by the Wildcats and ended with a Northwestern kill.

- 5, 312 the attendance tonight. The fourth-largest crowd ever for Penn State women's volleyball.

- We're gonna head down to the floor with the Lions up 17-11 in the third set.

***

Some stats during the break:

- Penn State is hitting .352 for the match after posting a .364 mark in the first set and .333 in the second.

- A -.138 hitting percentage for the Wildcats dropped their overall mark to .078.

-Megan Hodge leads the Lions with 10 kills, while Naomi Johnson leads Northwestern with eight kills.

-As a team, the Lions have 7 blocks.

***

- Northwestern served to start the second set. A kill from the Lions and a hitting error from the Wildcats made the score 2-0 in favor of Penn State.

- Megan Hodge continued her strong play and notched her eight kill of the match to give the Lions a 3-1 lead.

- A kill from Alexandra Ayers gave the Wildcats a 6-4 lead.

- Katie Kabbes off the bench for the Lions notched her second kill of the match to tie the score at 7. Rose went with Kabbes early in the set in what looked like a substitution for Fatima Balza.

- Penn State built its largest lead thus far at 11-8 after four hits by the Wildcats.

- A ball off the antenna by Northwestern gave Penn State a 12-8 lead and prompted Coach Chan to call a timeout for the Wildcats. It was a sloppy set up to that point, but the Lions made the better of the sloppy play.

- A block from Wilson and Glass ended a mini run by the Wildcats and gave the Lions a four-point lead. Two more points for Penn State made the score 17-11 and prompted another Northwestern timeout.

- A service error from Northwestern gave the Lions a seven-point lead at 20-13.

- Megan Hodge unleashed her jump serve, a tough ball to handle for Northwestern. Blair followed with a kill and made the score 23-13.

- Hodge served the ball into the net on set point to make the score 24-14.

- A block from Katie Kabbes and Darcy Dorton gave the Lions their 25th and deciding point, and gave the Lions a 2 set to none lead.

- I'll be back after the break to bring you the third set action.

***

-The Lions got off to a quick start with a Blair Brown ace in front of a crowd that is filling Rec Hall and was on its feet for most of the first few points. They extended the momentum from that opening point into a 5-0 lead.

-Glass and Wilson put together a nice block that again got the crowd into the game and the bench into the typical routine of its "block party."

-Wilson has two kills and two assisted blocks thus far, and Hodge also has two kills for a Penn State team that looks clearly superior -- not only in talent, but in its mindset.

-Can't help but wonder how much the Lions start is a credit to their largest home crowd of the season.

-With a 14-6 lead the Wildcats took a timeout.  Most of the crowd rose to its feet as the two teams headed back to the bench.

-An 8-3 run by the Wildcats cut the lead to six, but a Northwestern hitting error --  a ball of the antenna and another wide on the far side caused the Wildcats to call another timeout, with the Lions up five.

-After a quick start for Penn State, the Lions fell into a funk, but thus far their early lead has been enough to carry them. But following a Naomi Johnson kill the Lions called a rare timeout with the score 21-19.

-Megan Hodge proved too much for the Wildcats in the end, and a hitting error gave the Lions the set two win, 25-20.  Wild Bill will be blogging set two. 

 

***

 

We're at Rec Hall again tonight as the No. 1 Penn State women's volleyball team takes on Northwestern. The Nittany Lions continue their current NCAA record of 91 consecutive wins, and are looking for their 28th win this season.

The stands are packed again tonight, so it should be another loud match. Sorry about the delayed coverage last night, the wireless died here in Rec Hall meaning we could not bring you play-by-play coverage.

The band riles the crowd up just moments before play gets underway here in State College.

The starting lineups are as follows:

Northwestern:

-Senior outside hitter Ariel Baxterbeck

-junior middle Naomi Johnson

-Redshirt freshman middle Kathryn Chrystal

-Freshman libero Julie Chin

-Sophomore outside hitter Alexandra Ayers

-Junior setter Elyse Glab

-Redshirt junior middle Sabel Moffett

And for Penn State:

-Freshman outside hitter Darcy Dorton

-Junior middle hitter Fatima Balza

-Senior setter Alisha Glass

-Junior middle hitter Arielle Wilson

-Junior middle hitter Blair Brown

-Senior outside hitter Megan Hodge

-Junior libero Alyssa D'Errico.

 

And now AJ will take over for me (Jocelyn) to bring you action from the first set.

Welcome to Rec Hall where tonight the No. 1 Penn State women's volleyball team will take on No. 5 Illinois. Collegian volleyball reporter Bill Landis here to preview the match.

This is the second meeting between the Lions and Illini this season. Penn State swept a match in Champaign, Ill., back on Sept. 26.

Since that match, Illinois has lost just one match and Penn State has hasn't dropped any.

Illinois is in the middle of an eleven match winning streak, but faces a tough task tonight if it hopes to keep the streak alive.

The Illini took a major hit about two weeks ago when they lost senior libero Ashley Edinger in a match against Purdue. Sophomore Rachel Feldman has taken over the libero duties and has shown promise in two matches against Michigan and Michigan State.

Still, expect the Penn State hitters to test the young libero early as she has played a team with caliber of hitter that Penn State has.

This is most likely Penn State's toughest test the rest of the way in the team's quest for another Big Ten Championship.

Should be an entertaining match. We'll be back to bring you the first set action

This time it's unanimous.

After 11 weeks of indecisive voting, the Penn State women's volleyball team finally earned all 60 votes this week in the AVCA poll.

After Texas' loss to Iowa State (see below) the Lions are the nation's lone unbeaten team.

Head coach Russ Rose said he addressed the Texas loss to his team before Saturday's match in Iowa, but only to note the parity in NCAA volleyball. He mentioned as well, that the team that had knocked off No. 2 Texas the night before also came from the Hawkeye state.

The Lions proceeded to sweep the Hawkeyes; 25-17, 25-22, 25-13.

The Longhorns remain at No. 2 in the poll, and Penn State's opponent on Friday, Illinois, is ranked No. 5, behind Hawaii and Washington.

Here is the top ten in full:

1. Penn State
2. Hawaii
3. Texas
4. Washington
5. Illinois
6. UCLA
7. Stanford
8. Iowa State
9. Nebraska
10. Florida
 
 

And then there was Penn State.

The No. 1 Nittany Lions are the only undefeated team left in Division I women's volleyball. With Texas' loss to Iowa State in five sets (25-22, 22-25, 15-25, 25-20, 12-15) last Wednesday, Penn State now stand alone.

The No. 8 Cyclones win over the No. 2 Longhorns was Texas' first this season, and the Longhorns are the highest-ranked opponent that Iowa State has beaten in the program's history.

Iowa State held Texas to just a .198 hitting percentage. The Longhorns are currently third in the nation in hitting percentage behind Penn State (.404) and Hawaii (.319) at .318.

Here's a little taste of the atmosphere in Ames, Iowa after the Cyclones big win.

The new AVCA Coaches poll has not come out yet, but Texas' loss could shake some things up at the top of the polls. The Longhorns were receiving 10 first-place votes last week.

People are going crazy about the Penn State women's volleyball team. The No. 1 and undefeated Nittany Lions are finally receiving national recognition for what they have accomplished in the past three years.

If you didn't notice, the Lions were featured on the Sportscenter Top 10 twice last week. (Sorry, I couldn't find the video.)

Senior outside hitter Megan Hodge has just received Academic All-District honors by ESPN The Magazine for the second time in her career. To be eligible for the award, one must be a starter or an important reserve and have a cumulative 3.30 GPA.

You want more national attention for the Lions? How about a USA Today article about the team's quest for 90 consecutive wins this weekend against Iowa Wisconsin?

This team is finally starting to turn heads, just remember who was there first, your friendly neighborhood Collegian women's volleyball reporters (that would be those three good-looking people to the right of your screen.)

-Landis