Arielle Wilson Class: Sophomore Hometown: Broadview, Ill. High School: Proviso East Height: 6-3 Position: MH

Pronounced: ARE-ee-el • WILL-son

Lion Career
2007 (Freshman): NCAA University Park Regional Most Outstanding Player ... Big Ten Freshman of the Year ... Big Ten All-Freshman Team ... Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week (10/1) ... Big Ten Player of the Week (11/5) ... played in 30 matches and 83 games ... saw first career action at the Penn State Classic (9/7-8) and through six games produced 18 kills (3.00 kpg) on .607 hitting with a team-high 14 blocks (2.33 bpg) ... earned first career start against Stanford (9/15), recording 10 kills and four blocks ... earned first career Big Ten start at Purdue (9/29) and picked up her first career Big Ten weekly award after averaging 3.60 kills per game on .536 hitting with 3.20 blocks per game against Purdue and Indiana (9/28-29) ... ranked second on the team and in the Big Ten and fifth in the country with a .446 hitting percentage ... averaged 2.39 kills per game, recording seven double-digit kill matches ... posted 10 kills without an error on 11 attacks in the NCAA National Semifinal against Cal (12/13) to hit a career-high .909 ... added 12 kills on .500 hitting in the national championship match versus Stanford (12/15) ... fell just shy of the NCAA Tournament hitting percentage record with 68 attacks (minimum is 75 total attacks, record is .564), hitting .618 with 2.56 kills per game in 18 games ... in the final two matches of the NCAA Championship, averaged 2.75 kills per game on .645 hitting with a team-high 11 blocks against Cal and Stanford (12/13 & 15) ... became just the second-ever freshman to lead the Big Ten in blocks, averaging 1.78 blocks per game in conference-only matches ... in all matches, led the team and the Big Ten and ranked third in the country with an average of 1.80 blocks per game, a mark that places her second all-time on Penn State's single-season blocks per game list ... recorded 149 total blocks for the season ... recorded a career-high 10 stuffs against Wisconsin (11/16) ... had 26 multiple-block contests ... also posted 16 digs for the year.

High School
Four-year volleyball letterwinner and one-year basketball letterwinner at Proviso East High School in Maywood, Ill. ... three-year varsity volleyball captain and four-year starter for the Pirates ... earned all-state, all-conference and all-area honors her senior season ... two-time team Most Valuable Player ... ranked seventh nationally by Prepvolleyball.com in 2006 ... named one of the top 50 recruits in the nation in 2007 ... tabbed by Mizuno as the best middle blocker in 2006 ... member of the 1st Alliance Volleyball club program ... was also named the best rebounder for Varsity basketball at Proviso East, helping her team to the regional championship during her junior season ... four-year member of the honor roll and was named all-academic for varsity volleyball during senior season.

Personal
Born Arielle Dwan Wilson on Jan. 3, 1989 in Chicago, Ill. ... parents are La Verna and Robert Wilson ... is an only child but has two step-sisters, Shuntay Grant and Ta-Meka Judon ... cousin Pettis Norman played football for the Dallas Cowboys, uncle Dennis Wilson played football at Iowa State, uncle Craig Norman played basketball at Triton College, uncle Otis Parks played basketball at Morris Brown College and cousin John Parks played football at Savannah State ... plans on majoring in nursing ... names hobbies as meeting new people and painting, favorite musical entertainer as Usher, favorite pro sports team as the L.A. Lakers, favorite athlete as Kobe Bryant, favorite food as shrimp, favorite book as "The Skin I'm In," favorite television show as "Grey's Anatomy," favorite movie as "P.S. I Love You," favorite actor as Denzel Washington, favorite actress as Kimberly Elise and favorite place to visit as the lakeshore and downtown Chicago ... nicknames are Arie, Miss Arielle and A-Train.

Quoting Russ Rose
"One of the greatest strengths that we had last year is that we had Melissa (Walbridge) and we were able to bring Arie along a little slower, rather than having to throw her into matches before she was ready. Dennis (Hohenshelt) did a great job with Arie and her development as a young offensive player. She still has to improve her blocking but she is an exceptional offensive player. She's strong and she is an individual who likes to be in the mix. She is a very confident player even though she doesn't possess as much experience as others, and she will be a player who we will not only depend on this year but who will have major responsibilities in the future. She was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year last year despite not playing a full Big Ten season. That fact that she was recognized by the conference coaches certainly identifies that her efforts didn't go unnoticed."

Wilson's Expectations
"To win another national championship, of course, to improve my game, and to start and finish the season with a bang."