Aug. 25, 2010

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 1 Penn State women's volleyball team kicks off the 2010 season at the Carolina Classic hosted by the University of North Carolina on Aug. 27-28. The Nittany Lions face UNC on Friday at 8 p.m. in their season opener. On Saturday, Aug. 29 Penn State takes on Villanova at 11 a.m. and concludes the tournament against Campbell at 5:30 p.m.

Livestats will be available for all three of Penn State's matches via a link at www.GoPSUsports.com.

Nittany Lion Preview
The three-time defending national champion Penn State women's volleyball team opens the 2010 season this weekend at the Carolina Classic hosted by the University of North Carolina. The Nittany Lions face the Tar Heels on Friday, Aug. 27 at 8 p.m. before taking on Villanova (11 a.m.) and Campbell (5:30 p.m.) on Saturday, Aug. 28.

Head coach Russ Rose welcomes back 11 letterwinners and six players with starting experience from the 2009 National Championship squad, including AVCA First Team All-Americans Blair Brown and Arielle Wilson, AVCA Honorable Mention All-America honoree Darcy Dorton and Preseason All-Big Ten selection Alyssa D'Errico. Other returners include senior middle hitter Fatima Balza, senior defensive specialists Jessica Ullrich and Cathy Quilico, junior outside hitter Katie Kabbes, junior defensive specialist Megan Shifflett, sophomore setter Marika Racibarskas and setter/defensive specialist Kristin Carpenter. Newcomers this season include Ariel Scott, Maddie Martin, Erica Denney, Maggie Harding, Katie Slay, Deja McClendon, Krosby Pabst, Mikinzie Moydell and Ali Longo.

The team is coming off a season in which it finished with a perfect 38-0 record for the second consecutive year, won its 13th Big Ten Championship and extended its record-breaking winning streak to 102 straight matches.

The Nittany Lions led the nation in hitting percentage (.381) and ranked second nationally in blocks per set (3.23). Wilson registered an NCAA record-breaking hitting percentage of .540 and ranked fourth in the nation in blocks per set (1.52). Other Nittany Lions ranked in the top 10 nationally include Alisha Glass who ranked seventh in assists per set (11.90), Balza who ranked 10th in blocks per set (1.47) and Megan Hodge who was eighth in the nation in kills per set (4.67).

Penn State vs. North Carolina
The Nittany Lions and Tar Heels have met six times with Penn State winning every match. The series began in 1981 with Penn State winning 2-0 (15-11, 15-6). The two squads last met Sept. 1, 2001 when the Nittany Lions won, 3-2 (30-17, 28-30, 30-25, 28-30, 15-9).

Penn State vs. Villanova
PSU owns a 12-0 record against the Wildcats in a series dating back to 1985. The Nittany Lions won the inaugural match, 3-0 (15-3, 15-7, 15-5). Penn State and Villanova last met Sept 6, 2008 with the Nittany Lions sweeping the Wildcats, 3-0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-16).

Penn State vs. Campbell
This is the first meeting between the Camels and the Nittany Lions.

Penn State Recap
The Nittany Lions wrapped up the 2009 season with a 3-2 (22-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-13) come-from-behind victory against No. 2 Texas in the NCAA National Championship match at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla. on Dec. 19, 2009. Megan Hodge, Alisha Glass and Arielle Wilson were all named to the all-tournament team. Hodge led the Nittany Lions with 21 kills, while Blair Brown and Darcy Dorton contributed 13 kills each. Alyssa D'Errico had a career-best 22 digs, Brown had 14, Hodge has 13 and Cathy Quilico and Glass has 12 apiece. Fatima Balza led the team in blocks with nine and Glass dished out 53 assists.

Coach Russ Rose ended his 31st season with 1,001 career wins and the Nittany Lions extended their record-breaking winning streak to 102 straight matches. Penn State is now 9-6 all-time against Texas.

What's Next?
Penn State opens its home slate against Seton Hall on Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall in the two-day Hampton Inn Classic. The Nittany Lions will face Colgate and VCU on Saturday, Sept. 4 at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. respectively.

For more information on the Penn State women's volleyball team, please visit GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State women's volleyball 2010 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets and The Outlets at Hershey.