Penn State wasn’t supposed to win this year. Three years of unprecedented success, three national titles, a half-dozen all-Americans. Surely it couldn’t be done again. Not with this team. They were too young, too inexperienced.
Well, the Nittany Lions not only won big in 2010, they won it all…
But the 3-0 (25-20, 27-25, 25-20) sweep of Cal wasn’t as easy for Penn State as the final score would read. Cal had Penn State on the ropes several times in each of the three sets, while the Nittany Lions snatched victory from the esophagus of defeat in set 2.
The first set seemed to be business as usual for Penn State. The Nittany Lions hit .324 to Cal’s .143, with a 17-11 kill advantage over the Bears. Freshman Deja McClendon had 6 kills.
In set two, Cal made great adjustments to get through Penn State’s blocking. The Bears kept it a one-point set through most of the first half, but then took a 15-12 lead before Penn State rallied back for a 20-all tie.
Cal and Penn State dueled to the death, as the Bears had several shots at a set point at 24-23 and 25-24. The Nittany Lions had one last push in them, grabbing the last two for the win and led two sets to none. Katie Slay, another key freshman on this year’s national title team, had 7 kills in the second set.
The final set wouldn’t have been complete without sustaining the drama of the first two. Cal’s blocking, in what seemed like a fantastic adjustment after the intermission, was killing Penn State. Usually that would be the other way around for any Nittany Lions opponent. The Bears would go up 10-6, until Blair Brown started to take control.
Brown, the senior captain and All-American, torched the Bears defense for 7 kills that sparked an 8-0 run for Penn State and a 17-12 lead. Brown finished the night with 18 kills.
And with that, it was all over. Penn State has become the most dominant four-year dynasty in college sports. How dominant? Going into this match–and now next year too–Penn State was the only team with current active players to know what it was like to win a national title.
Then there was head coach Russ Rose, who I’m pretty sure cracked a smile or two at the end. Some said he actually threw up a “five” afterward, but we’ll find out for sure as time goes by.
What Rose did this year was nothing short of incredible. Taking a team that’s lost four first-team All-Americans the last two seasons–all of whom are now on the U.S. national team–with little upperclass leadership or experience, and winning yet another national championship, that is probably one of the greatest coaching performances in the history of college sports, if not any sport.
Congratulations to the Penn State women’s volleyball team, Coach Rose, and their families. They have surely earned every bit of it.
Of course, tonight’s celebration wouldn’t be complete without this very special Goo Punch for Tim:
In a rematch of last year’s national title bout, Penn State swept Texas tonight (25-13, 25-13, 25-22) in the NCAA women’s volleyball semifinal. But unlike the classic battle from 2009, the Nittany Lions completely dominated the Longhorns, only trailing a few times in the third set. Most of the match, Penn State led Texas by double digit margins.
But to those watching the game, one couldn’t discern which was scarier–the dominance of senior captain Blair Brown, or the equal dominance of Penn State’s young freshmen like Deja McClendon, Ariel Scott and Katie Slay. In the first set, 11 of the Lions’ 16 kills came from freshmen.
With Penn State leading 16-10 in the second, the freshmen had already accounted for 16 kills and 8 blocks.
In the victory, freshmen contributed 23 kills and 12 blocks. Deja McClendon did not have a single error on the night, while hitting a ridiculous .733.
Blair Brown finished with 12 kills, while McClendon added 11 and Scott 10.
Penn State will now go on to face the winner of the other semifinal, either Cal or USC. That match starts in a half hour (9:30 p.m. ESPN2).
USC is 29-4 on the season and enter the final four having defeated New Mexico, San Diego, Indiana, and then No. 3 seed Stanford.
California, 29-3, didn’t drop a set on their road to the final four. Utah St., N. Carolina, No. 10 seed Minnesota, and Washington were all victims of their tournament dominance.
Duke reached up and flicked Penn State’s ear, snatching Set 3 from their overconfident hosts. But that made the Nittany Lions very, very mad, so Penn State proceeded to pound the Blue Devils into the Rec Hall floor in the fourth and final set, winning 3-1 3-1 (25-19, 25-18, 23-25, 25-17) in the NCAA women’s volleyball regional finals tonight.
Penn State got off to its typical start, winning the first two sets by decent margins. But then things got shaky, as Duke started to tighten up and play well, while Penn State played like its expected the Blue Devils to just roll over in the 3rd set.
The Nittany Lions scraped back into that 3rd set, after trailing by more than a few points on several occasions. But the renewed sense of urgency by Penn State was too little, too late to save the match sweep.
Penn State had been hitting well over .300 in the first two sets, while Duke hit just about .130 or so. But in that 3rd set, Duke’s hitting spiked to over .200, while Penn State’s plummeted to the low .100′s. Like most other sports, momentum is a huge part of volleyball, and it showed strongly in Set 3.
Now Penn State looks to the winner of Texas-Purdue, which is beginning right now 9 p.m.) on ESPNU. No. 16 seed Purdue is coming off a stunner over No. 1 Florida, while No. 9 Texas beat No. 10 Minnesota, in the regional semis. Stay tuned for more on this. The National Semifinal against Texas/Purdue will be Thursday night in Kansas City.
You can bet this team isn’t getting ahead of itself, after sweeping both Niagara and Virginia Tech in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament the last two nights in Rec Hall. But they were overall encouraging performances for a team that hasn’t been able to match its established, albeit unprecedented, success the past three seasons.
Mixed in with the victories, Penn State set yet another record, notching its 91st and 92nd consecutive home-match wins. That’s a good stat considering the next two matches–the Regional semis and finals–are in the friendly confines of Rec Hall. Penn State is 44-3 in NCAA matches at Rec Hall after its win against the Hokies, and is 68-25 overall in NCAA matches.
The First Round
No. 4 (Seed) Penn State vs Niagara – W, 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-15)
Seniors Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) and Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) led the Nittany Lions with nine kills apiece. Wilson had a match-high attack percentage of .643. Sophomore setter Kristin Carpenter (Mechanicsville, Va.) dished out 33 assists and was second on the team with eight digs. Senior Alyssa D’Errico (Byron, N.Y.) led the team with 11 digs, while freshman Katie Slay (Raleigh, N.C.) had a match-high six total blocks.
Penn State attacked at a .370 clip and held the Purple Eagles to -.010. The Nittany Lions totaled 37 kills, five aces, 37 digs and 12.0 total team blocks. Niagara finished the match with 25 kills, four aces, 35 digs and 2.0 team blocks.
The Second Round
No. 4 (Seed) Penn State vs Virginia Tech – W, 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-13)
Senior Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) led all players with 11 kills, while senior Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) was second on the team with eight. Sophomore setter Kristin Carpenter (Mechanicsville, Va.) paced the offense with 30 assists and senior libero Alyssa D’Errico (Byron, N.Y.) tallied six digs. Brown led the team with six total blocks, including two solo, while freshman Ariel Scott (Ridgewood, N.J.) and senior Fatima Balza (Merida, Venezuela) each put up five blocks. Wilson also recorded four blocks.
The Nittany Lions attacked at a .321 clip and held the Hokies to .157. Penn State totaled 37 kills, one ace, 27 digs and 15.0 total team blocks in the match. Virginia Tech finished the match with 33 kills, four aces, 26 digs and 4.0 team blocks.
What’s Next…
Penn State will host Oklahoma (23-10) in the Regional Semifinal round, Friday night at 7.
Ticket & Tourney Info…
Penn State is one of four host sites for the NCAA Regionals. Joining the Nittany Lions will be Missouri (22-10), Duke (26-6) and Oklahoma (23-10) to Rec Hall on Dec. 10-11. ALL SESSION tickets for the University Park Regional on Dec. 10-11 are also on sale NOW. They MUST also be purchased in advance at the Bryce Jordan Center Ticket Office or by calling 814-865-5555. All session tickets are $16 for adults and $10 for youth and students with a valid college or university ID and $8 for groups of 20 or more. SINGLE SESSION tickets for the University Park Regional will only be available at Rec Hall on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 10-11, and are $10 for adults, $7 for youth and students and $5 for groups.
Penn State will get home-court advantage through most of the NCAA tournament. (Photo: Steve Manuel)
Penn State locked up the 2010 Big Ten Women’s Volleyball championship by sweeping the Iowa Hawkeyes Friday night. But just as one would expect in this very odd season for the Lions, they turned right around and lost to No. 15 Minnesota yesterday afternoon. It’s not like a Russ Rose-coached team to look ahead, but it definitely felt like this team is keeping both eyes focused squarely on the tournament.
Speaking of which, Penn State also grabbed itself a very nice No. 4 seed in the national tournament. Penn State will be able to enjoy home-court advantage through the regional round, as the first three rounds will take place in the friendly confines of Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions host MAAC Champion Niagara (25-8) on Friday, Dec. 3 at Rec Hall in the first round on the tournament. Virginia Tech (19-11) of the ACC, who earned its first ever NCAA Tournament bid, will take on CAA Champion Delaware (26-5) at 5 p.m. in the other first round match. The winners of each of the matches will meet in the NCAA Second Round contest at 7:30 p.m. in Rec Hall on Saturday, Dec. 4.
The winner of the Penn State first and second round NCAA site will advance to the University Park Regional on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 10-11 at Rec Hall. The Penn State site winner will play the winner from Norman, Okla., which features No. 13 seed LSU (25-4), Tulsa (30-2), Wichita State (21-7) and Oklahoma (21-20). The other Regional Semifinal match will feature the Cedar Falls, Iowa (No. 5 seed Northern Iowa, Missouri, Arizona and Northwestern) site winner and the Durham, N.C. (Ohio, Penn, High Point and No. 12 seed Duke) site winner.
The winners from each of the four Regional sites (University Park, Pa., Seattle, Wash., Austin, Texas and Dayton, Ohio) advance to the NCAA National Semifinal, which will be held on Thursday, Dec. 16 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. with the National Championship match set for Saturday, Dec. 18.
No. 7 Penn State vs Iowa – W, 3-0 (25-18-25-13, 25-20)
Three Nittany Lions posted double-digit kills with senior Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) leading the way with 17. Freshman Deja McClendon (Louisville, Ky.) was second on the team with 13 and senior Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) tallied 10. Sophomore Kristin Carpenter (Mechanicsville, Va.) dished out 42 assists and was third on the team with 11 digs. Senior libero Alyssa D’Errico (Byron, N.Y.) led the team with 18 digs, while Brown had 13 and senior Cathy Quilico (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) had 12.
Penn State attacked at a .364 clip and held the Hawkeyes to .149. The Nittany Lions totaled 53 kills, three aces, 66 digs and 2.0 team blocks. Iowa posted 31 kills, three aces, 56 digs and 2.0 team blocks.
No. 7 Penn State vs No. 15 Minnesota – W, 3-2 (25-14, 25-21, 24-26, 23-25, 21-23)
Senior Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) led the Nittany Lions with a career-high 24 kills and also had 13 digs and three blocks. Freshman Ariel Scott (Ridgewood, N.J.) posted a personal-best 21 kills, while freshman Deja McClendon (Louisville, Ky.) had 15 and senior Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) registered 12. Sophomore setter Kristin Carpenter (Mechanicsville, Va.) had a career-high 70 assists and 15 digs. Senior libero Alyssa D’Errico (Byron, N.Y.) had a match-high and career-best 35 digs. Freshman Ali Longo (Littleton, Colo.) was second on the team with a personal-best 16 digs and senior Cathy Quilico (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) was fifth on the team with 11 digs. Senior Fatima Balza (Merida, Venezuela) led Penn State with eight total blocks, while McClendon was second on the squad with five.
Penn State registered a .278 attack percentage, while the Gophers (24-8, 14-6 Big Ten) hit .217. Penn State totaled 81 kills, five aces, 102 digs and 12.0 total team blocks. Minnesota finished the match with 73 kills. Six aces, 90 digs and 12.0 team blocks.
Seniors Blair Brown and Fatima Balza (Photo: GoPSUsports.com)
It was quite the week for Penn State women’s volleyball. The Nittany Lions not only grabbed sole possession of first place in the Big Ten, but did it in their typically convincing fashion. To top off the week’s work, three Nittany Lions took home conference honors.
Here’s the lowdown on last week’s action.
Sweepin’ Up
Penn State earned a full sweep of the Big Ten weekly honors for volleyball this week, garnering offensive, defensive, and freshman of the week awards.
Player of the Week: Blair Brown, Penn State Sr., Opp., Purcellville, Va./Loudoun Valley
Brown is honored with Big Ten Player of the Week for the second week in a row after recording two double-doubles last week, averaging a 5.8 kills, 3.5 digs and 0.8 blocks per set. In Wednesday’s match against Ohio State, the senior finished with a match-high 19 kills, also posting 11 digs and three blocks in a sweep of the Buckeyes. Against No. 25 Northwestern, she once again led the match with 16 kills, tacking on 10 digs and two blocks in the three-set win. Brown averaged a conference-best 6.67 points per set last week to help Penn State remain in first place in the conference standings.
Defensive Player of the Week: Alyssa D’Errico, Penn State Sr., LIB, Byron, N.Y./Byron-Bergen
After averaging 5.5 digs per set and helping the Penn State defense hold its opponents to .160 hitting over the weekend, D’Errico claims her first Big Ten weekly honor. The senior libero recorded a match-high 15 digs in Penn State’s midweek match against Ohio State, a 3-0 Nittany Lion victory, then added 18 more in a three-set win over No. 25 Northwestern on Friday night. She also perfectly received 43 service attempts in the matches as Penn State remained atop the Big Ten standings with two matches to play.
Co-Freshman of the Week: Deja McClendon, Penn State OH, Louisville, Ky./DuPont Manual Magnet
McClendon averaged 3.5 kills and 1.7 digs per set in Penn State’s wins over Ohio State and Northwestern last week to clinch Freshman of the Week honors for the fifth time. Her top match of the weekend came against the nationally ranked Wildcats, posting 15 kills on .520 hitting, also recording four digs and a pair of blocks in the three-set victory after totaling six kills, six digs and a block against the Buckeyes.
Crackin’ Nuts
No. 7 Penn State vs Ohio State – W, 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-21)
Senior Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) led Penn State with 19 kills on 29 attempts with only one error for a match-high .621 attack percentage. Brown was also second on the team with 11 digs. Sophomore Kristin Carpenter (Mechanicsville, Va.) dished out 39 assists, while senior libero Alyssa D’Errico (Byron, N.Y.) had a match-high 15 digs and two aces. Senior Fatima Balza (Merida, Venezuela) led the Nittany Lions at the net with six total blocks.
Penn State (24-4, 14-3 Big Ten) registered a .356 attack percentage and held the Buckeyes to .149. The Nittany Lions totaled 46 kills, six aces, 48 digs and 8.0 total team blocks. The Buckeyes finished the match with 28 kills, 28 digs and 7.0 team blocks.
No. 7 Penn State vs No. 25 Northwestern – W, 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-20)
On Senior Night, senior Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) led the Nittany Lions with 16 kills, while freshman Deja McClendon (Louisville, Ky.) was second on the team with 15. Sophomore Kristin Carpenter (Mechanicsville, Va.) dished out 39 assists, while senior Fatima Balza (Merida, Venezuela) had a team-best six total blocks, including three solo. Senior libero Alyssa D’Errico (Byron, N.Y.) had a match-high 18 digs and Brown finished second on the team with 10.
The Nittany Lions registered a .266 attack percentage, while Northwestern (18-10, 8-9 Big Ten) hit .151. Penn State totaled 46 kills, four aces, 58 digs and 8.0 total team blocks. The Wildcats finished the match with 30 kills, one ace, 42 digs and 11.0 team blocks.
Penn State is back in action on Friday, Nov. 26 at Iowa in a 2 p.m. matchup with the Hawkeyes. The Nittany Lions take on Minnesota on Saturday, Nov. 27 at 9:30 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
Seniors Blair Brown and Fatima Balza (Photo: GoPSUsports.com)
It was quite the week for Penn State women’s volleyball. The Nittany Lions not only grabbed sole possession of first place in the Big Ten, but did it in their typically convincing fashion. To top off the week’s work, three Nittany Lions took home conference honors.
Here’s the lowdown on last week’s action.
Sweepin’ Up
Penn State earned a full sweep of the Big Ten weekly honors for volleyball this week, garnering offensive, defensive, and freshman of the week awards.
Player of the Week: Blair Brown, Penn State Sr., Opp., Purcellville, Va./Loudoun Valley
Brown is honored with Big Ten Player of the Week for the second week in a row after recording two double-doubles last week, averaging a 5.8 kills, 3.5 digs and 0.8 blocks per set. In Wednesday’s match against Ohio State, the senior finished with a match-high 19 kills, also posting 11 digs and three blocks in a sweep of the Buckeyes. Against No. 25 Northwestern, she once again led the match with 16 kills, tacking on 10 digs and two blocks in the three-set win. Brown averaged a conference-best 6.67 points per set last week to help Penn State remain in first place in the conference standings.
Defensive Player of the Week: Alyssa D’Errico, Penn State Sr., LIB, Byron, N.Y./Byron-Bergen
After averaging 5.5 digs per set and helping the Penn State defense hold its opponents to .160 hitting over the weekend, D’Errico claims her first Big Ten weekly honor. The senior libero recorded a match-high 15 digs in Penn State’s midweek match against Ohio State, a 3-0 Nittany Lion victory, then added 18 more in a three-set win over No. 25 Northwestern on Friday night. She also perfectly received 43 service attempts in the matches as Penn State remained atop the Big Ten standings with two matches to play.
Co-Freshman of the Week: Deja McClendon, Penn State OH, Louisville, Ky./DuPont Manual Magnet
McClendon averaged 3.5 kills and 1.7 digs per set in Penn State’s wins over Ohio State and Northwestern last week to clinch Freshman of the Week honors for the fifth time. Her top match of the weekend came against the nationally ranked Wildcats, posting 15 kills on .520 hitting, also recording four digs and a pair of blocks in the three-set victory after totaling six kills, six digs and a block against the Buckeyes.
Crackin’ Nuts
No. 7 Penn State vs Ohio State – W, 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-21)
Senior Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) led Penn State with 19 kills on 29 attempts with only one error for a match-high .621 attack percentage. Brown was also second on the team with 11 digs. Sophomore Kristin Carpenter (Mechanicsville, Va.) dished out 39 assists, while senior libero Alyssa D’Errico (Byron, N.Y.) had a match-high 15 digs and two aces. Senior Fatima Balza (Merida, Venezuela) led the Nittany Lions at the net with six total blocks.
Penn State (24-4, 14-3 Big Ten) registered a .356 attack percentage and held the Buckeyes to .149. The Nittany Lions totaled 46 kills, six aces, 48 digs and 8.0 total team blocks. The Buckeyes finished the match with 28 kills, 28 digs and 7.0 team blocks.
No. 7 Penn State vs No. 25 Northwestern – W, 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-20)
On Senior Night, senior Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) led the Nittany Lions with 16 kills, while freshman Deja McClendon (Louisville, Ky.) was second on the team with 15. Sophomore Kristin Carpenter (Mechanicsville, Va.) dished out 39 assists, while senior Fatima Balza (Merida, Venezuela) had a team-best six total blocks, including three solo. Senior libero Alyssa D’Errico (Byron, N.Y.) had a match-high 18 digs and Brown finished second on the team with 10.
The Nittany Lions registered a .266 attack percentage, while Northwestern (18-10, 8-9 Big Ten) hit .151. Penn State totaled 46 kills, four aces, 58 digs and 8.0 total team blocks. The Wildcats finished the match with 30 kills, one ace, 42 digs and 11.0 team blocks.
Penn State is back in action on Friday, Nov. 26 at Iowa in a 2 p.m. matchup with the Hawkeyes. The Nittany Lions take on Minnesota on Saturday, Nov. 27 at 9:30 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
