University Park, Pa., April 13, 2006 ¨C Gatorade National Player of the Year Megan Hodge has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Penn State women¡¯s volleyball team for the 2006 season. The Durham, N.C., native joins the already-impressive class of Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year Blair Brown, Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year Alisha Glass and Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year Jessica Yanz, all of whom will be eligible to suit up for the Nittany Lions next season.

¡°The fact that everyone has this recruiting class ranked as one of the top classes, that means everyone has similar high expectations for the impact these players will make,¡± said head coach Russ Rose, who will be entering his 28th season. ¡°I¡¯m excited about their potential. I¡¯m excited that all four were admitted to the University on their own merits and that all four wanted to come to Penn State. We¡¯re looking forward to working with them. I won¡¯t know until I see them in the gym with the existing players what system we¡¯re going to run and what our strengths and weaknesses are going to be. But certainly it¡¯s a very athletic group that has the ability to make an impact during their college career. The fact that three of the players have won state championships in the last year encourages me because I think coaches everywhere seek the opportunity to work with players who are accustomed to winning and understand the sacrifices necessary to finish on top.¡±

Hodge is a versatile 6-3 outside hitter and a two-time North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year. Hailed as the best girls¡¯ volleyball player in North Carolina history, Hodge helped her Riverside High School squad to a 74-14 scholastic record and was a unanimous choice as the Pac-6 Conference Player of the Year. The daughter of Michael and Carmen Hodge, both former members of the Virgin Islands¡¯ national volleyball teams, Hodge was a teammate of Blair Brown and Alisha Glass on the 2004 USA Youth National Team. Voted the Most Valuable Player and Best Attacker at the 2004 NORCECA Championships, Hodge also was a member of the 2005 USA Youth National Team that participated in the Youth World Championships in Macau, China. A two-time High School All-American and voted the Top Senior Ace by Prep Volleyball, Hodge is a member of the Triangle 18¡¯s Volleyball Club. She also excels in the classroom, holding a 4.5 grade point average while remaining active in her church, school and community as a member of the Riverside High School Student Council and acting as a peer mentor for students with special needs.

¡°Megan has the potential to be a member of the U.S. National team and has had a good bit of experience already with USA Volleyball to expose her to the rigors of the international game,¡± said Rose. ¡°She helps us in the same way that Nicole Fawcett helps us. She can hit the ball high and hard. Megan has the ability to play both left side and right side, she hits well out of the back row and she is a terrific offensive player. She appears to be as good an offensive players as we¡¯ve had coming in as a freshman, and I would say comparable to Nicole Fawcett, in that they both hit the ball with a good bit of velocity. The fact that both her mom and dad were accomplished players and her father has worked as her coach, that enhances my assumption that Megan will have a good understanding of the game.¡±

Brown is a 6-4 middle hitter from Leesburg, Va. The Virginia Gatorade and State Player of the year, Brown helped her Loudoun Valley High School squad to 93 wins with only 14 losses during her four-year tenure, including a 55-match winning streak and a 29-0 Virginia AA State Championship season in 2004. The holder of the Virginia state record with 1,463 kills, Brown is a three-time District Player of the Year, a two-time Regional Player of the Year and a two-time All-Met Player of the Year. Brown, along with Alisha Glass and Megan Hodge, was a member of the 2004 USA Youth National Team that won the gold medal at the NORCECA Games and was ranked seventh on Prep Volleyball¡¯s ¡°Senior Aces¡± list. Off the court, Brown excels in the classroom with a 3.8 grade point average, ranking 28th in a class of 428 and also serving as a National Honor Society officer.

¡°Blair has been in our camp for a couple of years and has demonstrated that she will have no problem in a high-level college volleyball environment,¡± said Rose. ¡°She has a quick arm and she hits unique angles because she is so long and quick. Most of her experience has been in the middle hitting position but we might be looking at her more as an opposite/outside hitter.¡±

Glass is a 6-0 right side hitter and setter from Lake Leelanau, Mich. Glass led her Leland High School squad to their first-ever Class D state championship, including producing a single-match record 48 kills in the title match. Named Miss Volleyball in the state of Michigan, Glass is the National and State High School record holder in season aces (296), career aces (937) and career kills (3,584) and during her scholastic career attacked at a .440 clip while also contributing 1,816 digs and 680 blocks. Ranked sixth on Prep Volleyball¡¯s ¡°Senior Aces¡± list, Glass was a member of the 2003 USA Youth National A2 Team and played on the USA Red squad that won the gold medal at the HP Championships in Austin, Texas, where she also received the ¡°Best Setter¡± award. She is a two-time first team all-state, all-region and all-conference selection and also started on the 2004 USA Youth National Team, along with teammates Blair Brown and Megan Hodge, that won the gold medal in Puerto Rico at the NORCECA Games. Glass was recognized as ¡°Best Server¡± in the event. A complete athlete, Glass was also named first team all-state as a basketball player as a junior and was voted one of the top 25 players in the state by the Detroit Free Press. Off the court, Glass holds a 3.7 grade point average and is a member of the National Honor Society.

¡°Alisha came off as good a year as any high school player could ever have,¡± stated Rose. ¡°She set a number of records as a hitter and as a server. I saw her play a couple of times and she hit some jump serves that I thought would have no difficulty scoring in the college game right now. She is probably the most well-rounded player in that she is as good in the front row as she is in the back. The fact that she set in the USA Volleyball High Performance program last summer and was recognized as the Best Setter in the event, that highlights what we believe are terrific natural skills for the setting position. She has a presence about her that she is going to fill a lot of voids within the team just because of her personality and the type of person she is. She is a special character with a lot of enthusiasm and I know that she is going to provide more than what people see if they were to just look at her play. Her mother served as her volleyball coach and her grandfather was her high school coach. Both of them have always commented to Alisha¡¯s impact on the team more than her talents as an athlete, and that is a characteristic that I think this group needs at this time.¡±

Yanz is a 6-0 setter from Naperville, Ill., and was tabbed the 2005 Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year. A four-year starter and ranked 23rd on Prep Volleyball¡¯s ¡°Senior Aces¡± list, she led her Naperville Central High School to the 2005 Illinois State Championship, along with the DuPage Valley Conference title. Yanz was a unanimous selection to the DuPage Valley 2004 and 2005 All-Conference teams. The 2005 Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year, Yanz was also tabbed the Naperville Sun Player of the Year and the Daily Herald All-Area Team Captain, given to the most valuable player. In her fifth season with the Sports Performance Volleyball Club, Yanz was a member of the 18 Elite squad that won the Junior Olympic National Title in July of 2005. Off the court, Yanz is a member of the Spanish National Honor Society and the National Honor Society.

¡°Jess is coming from a club volleyball program that has won a number of national championships and I know that they train at a very high and committed level,¡± said Rose. ¡°The last two setters that we¡¯ve had from Sports Performance [Bonnie Bremner and Sam Tortorello] had great success, both in the their club programs and the impact they made in college. No setter is probably going to set more balls before she comes into training camp than Jess, and I believe that is going to help her with the transition to the college game.¡±

The Penn State women¡¯s volleyball team returns all but three players from last season¡¯s 31-3 Big Ten Champion squad that posted an unblemished 20-0 record in conference action. The Nittany Lions will be looking to replace three-time All-American setter Sam Tortorello, 2006 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year libero Kaleena Walters and middle and right side hitter Kim Holm. However, Penn State returns 2006 AVCA National Freshman of the Year and Second Team All-America outside hitter Nicole Fawcett, AVCA Second Team All-America middle hitter Melissa Walbridge, First Team All-Big Ten middle hitter Christa Harmotto, 2003 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Cassy Salyer and 2004 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Kate Price.

For more information on the Penn State women¡¯s volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com.