University Park, Pa., Nov. 30, 2002 - The Penn State women’s volleyball team pounded Iowa in three games (30-19, 30-14, 30-16) Saturday night in Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions improve to 24-7, 14-6 in the Big Ten while the Hawkeyes end their season at 8-22, 2-18 in conference action. Tonight’s win ties Penn State for second in the conference with Wisconsin, who defeated Michigan State in three games tonight in East Lansing, Mich.

“This wasn’t a pretty match,” said head coach Russ Rose. “Getting in the NCAA Tournament is always a nice goal to achieve and it’s exciting for the players. We did some nice things tonight and I thought we did a good job keeping the ball in play.”

Seniors Tina Huisenga (Oak Forest, Ill.) and Mishka Levy (Houston, Texas) were honored before the match for their contributions to the Penn State women’s volleyball team. Huisenga also made her first career start, recording one dig and providing a strong effort from behind the service line.

Sophomores Syndie Nadeau (St. Georges, Quebec) and Ashley Pederson (Sioux Falls, S.D.) both tallied 13 kills to lead all players. Junior Cara Smith (Lafayette, Ind.) again had another successful night, posting nine kills on 18 attempts without an error to hit .500. For the season, Smith is hitting .432 with an average of 3.30 kills per game. As a team, Penn State posted a .352 hitting mark while limiting Iowa to an even .000 hitting percentage (30k-30e-122ta).

Freshman libero Kaleena Walters (Mt. Lebanon, Pa.) posted a career-high 17 digs with freshman setter Sam Tortorello (Shorewood, Ill.) adding 11 digs to go along with her 43 assists. Penn State outdug the Hawkeyes 53 to 36.

Smith led the Lion blocking front with five blocks, including two solo efforts while Levy added four blocks in addition to eight kills on 15 swings in her final regular-season match.

Levy now stands in sixth place on the Penn State all-time kill list with 1,449 career kills while also ranking seventh on the all-time blocking chart with 390 career put-backs.

Game one stayed close early, with an Iowa service error giving the Lions the 5-4 lead. The teams exchanged attack errors and kills with another kill from Pederson making the score 9-7. After a Hawkeye kill, Penn State rattled off four kills, three straight from Nadeau to take the 13-9 lead. The Lions remained in control, steadily increasing their advantage. Another Nadeau put-away gave Penn State the 20-12 margin before a kill from Smith gave the Lions game one, 30-19. Nadeau posted eight kills on 10 attempts with no errors in the first set while Pederson added five kills and Smith tallied two blocks. Penn State outhit Iowa .486 to .186 in the game.

A Levy kill began the second set, sparking a 10-2 run for the Lions to start the game. The Hawkeyes attempted to fight back, but Penn State was too much. Aided by strong serving from Levy and defensive specialist Emily Gerega (Freedom, Pa.), the Lions quickly gained the 22-9 lead. Junior Erin Iceman (Wooster, Ohio) finished the second set with a kill, 30-14. Pederson and Levy both posted four kills in the set while Walters recorded eight digs. Penn State outhit Iowa .313 to -.194 while recording 15 kills to the Hawkeyes’ six.

With the third stanza knotted at five, Penn State took charge, outscoring Iowa 15-5 to gain the 20-10 lead on a kill from Pederson. The teams traded errors and three straight Hawkeye hitting errors gave the Lions the 24-11 lead. Strong serving from junior Jessica Hayden (South Laguna Beach, Calif.) and a kill from Nadeau allowed the Lions to take the game 30-16. Smith and Pederson both posted four kills in the set while Levy recorded four blocks. The Lions outhit Iowa .250 to -.023 for the game.

The Lions now await the NCAA Tournament selection show, which will be aired on Sunday, Dec. 1 beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPNEWS. The first and second rounds of the tournament will be held the weekend of Dec. 6-7 at campus sites with regionals taking place the following weekend, Dec. 13-14. The semifinals of the NCAA Tournament will be Dec. 19 in New Orleans with the national title game taking place on Dec. 21.

For complete match and season statistics and updates, please visit the women’s volleyball homepage on Penn State’s official athletic website, www.GoPSUsports.com.

Final Big Ten Standings

 Big Ten Overall 1. Minnesota 17-3 30-5 2. Penn State 14-6 24-7 Wisconsin 14-6 23-8 4. Ohio State 13-7 19-10 5. Michigan State 11-9 19-11 6. Indiana 10-10 20-12 Northwestern 10-10 17-15 Michigan 10-10 16-14 9. Illinois 7-13 13-16 10. Purdue 2-18 12-21 11. Iowa 2-18 8-22