Aug. 26, 2009

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -

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The No. 1 Penn State women's volleyball team kicks off the 2009 season at the Active Ankle Challenge hosted by No. 20 Saint Louis on Aug. 28-29. The Nittany Lions face Miami University (Ohio) on Friday, Aug. 28 at 5 p.m. CT (6 p.m. ET) in their season opener. From there, on Saturday, Aug. 29 Penn State takes on Alabama at 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET) and concludes the tournament against the ranked Billikens at 7 p.m. CT (8 p.m. ET).

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

Nittany Lion Preview
Head coach Russ Rose welcomes back 10 letterwinners and five starters, including four AVCA All-Americans, from last season's squad, which won its second-consecutive national title and its 12th straight Big Ten Championship. The team finished 2008 with a perfect 38-0 record and heads into this weekend on an NCAA record-breaking 64-match winning streak.

Top returners for Coach Rose include senior outside hitter and First Team AVCA All-American Megan Hodge (4.09 kills per set), senior setter and First Team All-American Alisha Glass (12.50 asssists per set), junior middle hitter and Second Team AVCA All-American Arielle Wilson (159 total blocks) and junior opposite and Second Team AVCA All-American Blair Brown (.426%). Also returning this season are senior and Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree Kelsey Ream, junior Academic All-Big Ten honoree Alyssa D'Errico, junior defensive specialist Cathy Quilico and sophomores Katie Kabbes, Heather Tice and Megan Shifflett. Joining Coach Rose's arsenal for 2009 are freshman outside hitter Darcy Dorton (Muncie, Ind.), freshman Kristin Carpenter (Mechanicsville, Va.), freshman setter Marika Racibarskas (Chatham, N.J.) and junior transfers Fatima Balza (Merida, Venezuela) and Jessica Ullrich (Winfield, Ill.).

Glass led the nation averaging 12.50 assists per set in 2008. None of her primary attackers hit below .349 for the season and she guided former Nittany Lion Christa Harmotto to a nation-leading attack percentage of .486. Glass also guided the Nittany Lions to a nation-leading and rally-era record breaking hitting percentage of .390.

The Nittany Lions finished 2008 ranked first in winning percentage (1.000) and blocks (3.22) and second in assists (14.03) and kills (14.95). Harmotto finished third in the nation in blocks per set at 1.47, while Wilson was 17th at 1.37 bps.

The Series: Penn State vs. Miami University The Nittany Lions lead the RedHawks 3-0 in a series dating back to 1990. The two squads last met on Sept. 16, 2006 with Penn State sweeping Miami University, 3-0 (30-21, 30-17, 30-12), at home in Rec Hall.

The Series: Penn State vs. Alabama
Saturday's meeting with the Crimson Tide will only be the second meeting between the two programs. The Nittany Lions won the only other match, 3-0 (15-2, 15-2, 15-5), at home on Sept. 21, 1996.

The Series: Penn State vs. No. 20 Saint Louis
It will be Penn State's second meeting with the Billikens on Saturday evening. The two ranked programs met early in 2008 with the Nittany Lions recording a 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-17) victory.

Nittany Lion Recap
The Nittany Lions wrapped up their historic 2008 season with a 3-0 (25-20, 26-24 25-23) decision against Stanford for their second straight and third overall NCAA title on Dec. 20 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. Hodge was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player for the second straight year, and Glass and former Penn Stater Nicole Fawcett were selected to the all-tournament team. Hodge led all players with 16 kills, while Fawcett was the only other Penn Stater in double-digit kills with 10. Brown closed out her sophomore season with nine kills and was second on the team with five block assists.

What's Next?
Penn State opens its home slate the weekend of Sept. 4 hosting the Nittany Lion Invitational at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions host Buffalo in their home opener on Friday at 7 p.m. Penn State will take on Robert Morris at 10 a.m. followed by Pittsburgh at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5.