Click here for the Penn State women's volleyball postseason NCAA Regionals media guide (30 pages in PDF format).

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., Dec. 7, 2004 - The third-ranked and No. 2 seed Penn State women¡¯s volleyball team will take on No. 13 UCLA on Friday, Dec. 10 at 5:00 p.m. PT (8:00 p.m. ET) in the NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinal match in Seattle, Wash. No. 5 and host Washington will play No. 12 St. Mary¡¯s (Calif.) in the 7:30 p.m. PT match that will be televised live on Fox Sports Northwest. There will be no television for the Penn State-UCLA match and all matches will be played at the Bank of America Arena.

The winners of each Friday night match will square off in the NCAA Regional Final match on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 7:00 p.m. PT (10:00 p.m. ET) in a contest that will be televised live by CSTV. The winner of that match will advance to the NCAA National Semifinals, which are slated for Thursday, Dec. 16 in Long Beach, Calif. The winners advance to the NCAA National Championship match on Saturday, Dec. 18 in a match that will be shown live on ESPN2 at 1:00 p.m. PT. (4:00 p.m. ET).

Radio will be available for the Penn State-UCLA match live on ESPN Radio 1450 AM WMAJ or on www.GoPSUsports.com.

Penn State swept both American (30-18, 30-18, 35-33) and Maryland (34-32, 30-27, 31-29) last weekend at Rec Hall in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Versus the Eagles on Friday night, senior Ashley Pederson (Sioux Falls, S.D.) posted a match-high 17 kills while freshman Kate Price (Fraser, Mich.) chipped in 15 kills. Junior libero Kaleena Walters (Mt. Lebanon, Pa.) tallied a team-high 17 digs while senior Syndie Nadeau (St. Georges, Quebec) and junior setter Sam Tortorello (Shorewood, Ill.) both chipped in 15 digs. Tortorello and sophomore Cassy Salyer (Aurora, Colo.) each added five blocks.

The following night against Maryland, freshman Melissa Walbridge (Yardley, Pa.) exploded with a career-high 15 kills on .636 hitting, leading six Penn State players in double-digit kills. Tortorello recorded a career-high 10 kills en route to her first career triple-double, adding 52 assists and 15 digs. Walters again led the defensive front with 22 digs and Salyer topped the blocking charts with five stuffs. For the weekend, Tortorello averaged 2.50 kills per game on .464 hitting, 16.67 assists per game, 5.00 digs per game and 1.17 blocks per game.

Previewing Penn State For the season, Price leads the Nittany Lion squad with 3.94 kills per game as Pederson chips in 3.86 kpg and Nadeau posts 3.14 kpg. Tortorello directs the offense with 14.01 assists per game and Walters leads the defensive front with 5.71 digs per game. Walbridge and Salyer tops the blocking charts with 1.30 and 1.15 blocks per game. As a team, Penn State is hitting .286 with 17.58 kills per game, 16.31 assists per game, 1.24 service aces per game, 19.78 digs per game and 3.00 blocks per game.

Scouting UCLA The Bruins come into Friday¡¯s match after defeating Loyola Marymount in four games (30-28, 30-23, 27-30, 30-22) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and downing Long Beach State in three games (31-29, 30-24, 30-27) in the second round. Senior middle hitter Brynn Murphy leads all players with 3.26 kills per game as sophomore outside hitter Becky Green averages 3.05 kpg. Senior setter Krystal McFarland directs the offense with 12.45 assists per game and senior libero Chrissie Zartman tops the defense with 5.85 digs per game. Sophomore middle hitter Nana Meriwether heads the blocking front with 1.60 blocks per game as Murphy chips in 0.96 bpg. As a team, UCLA is hitting .226 with 16.00 kills per game, 14.89 assists per game, 1.30 service aces per game, 17.57 digs per game and 2.79 blocks per game.

The Series UCLA leads the series with Penn State, 6-3. The last meeting was a three-game Bruin win (30-11, 30-28, 30-18) on Dec. 1, 2001 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in State College. The last Penn State win was a three-game victory (15-11, 15-9, 15-5) on Dec. 10, 1999 in the NCAA Central Regional Final match in State College.

Scouting St. Mary¡¯s The Gaels enter the weekend with a 25-3 record after defeating Sacramento State in four games (26-30, 30-27, 30-22, 30-17) on Friday in the first round and outlasting California in five games (30-28, 26-30, 30-28, 24-30, 15-13) on Saturday in the second round match. Senior outside hitter Lindsey Bogason tops the squad with 3.68 kills per game while junior outside hitter Kaui Salzman posts 3.33 kpg and sophomore outside hitter Cassandra Kolkka averages 2.93 kpg. Sophomore setter Mandy Bible directs the offense with 13.04 assists per game and freshman outside hitter Melissa Stidham tops the defense with 4.00 digs per game. Senior middle hitter Stacey O¡¯Connor heads the blocking charts with 1.52 blocks per game and sophomore middle hitter Mariko Coverdale adds 1.13 bpg. As a team, St. Mary¡¯s is hitting .230 with 15.96 kills per game, 14.74 assists per game, 1.32 service aces per game, 17.38 digs per game and 3.34 blocks per game.

The Series It would be the first-ever meeting between the two schools in women¡¯s volleyball.

Scouting Washington The Huskies come into the weekend with a 26-2 record after downing Idaho in three games (30-22, 30-14, 30-19) in the first round and outlasting Kansas in five games (34-32, 30-26, 25-30, 26-30, 15-12) in the second round. Senior outside hitter Sanja Tomasevic returns from a broken hand to lead the squad with 4.68 kills per game while freshman outside hitter Christal Morrison (4.35 kpg) and junior outside hitter Brie Hagerty (4.13 kpg) also average more than 4.00 kills per game. Sophomore setter Courtney Thompson dishes out 14.70 assists per game while junior libero Candace Lee tops the defense with 5.71 digs per game. Junior middle hitter Darla Myhre leads the team in blocking with 1.40 blocks per game. As a team, Washington is hitting .290 with 17.25 kills per game, 16.03 assists per game, 1.57 service aces per game, 18.24 digs per game and 2.65 blocks per game.

The Series The series between the two schools is tied at 1-1. Washington won the first meeting in three games (15-8, 15-11, 15-13) on Sept. 5, 1992 while Penn State took the second meeting in three games (15-9, 15-9, 15-9) on Sept. 2, 1995.

Tickets are available by calling the Husky Ticket Office at 206-543-2200.

* Ticket Prices - All-session for adults: $12 for reserved seating/ $10 for general admission; All-session for student/youth/seniors: $6; All-session for children under 5: $4; All-session group tickets: $5/each for groups of 25 persons or more.
* Payment for tickets may be made by check, money order, MasterCard, Visa or Discover
* Tickets may not be refunded or exchanged
* To request disabled seating, you must contact the Husky Ticket Office (206-543-2200)
* Every person, regardless of age, must have a ticket to enter the facility
* For more information, contact the Husky Ticket Office at 206-543-2200

For more information on the NCAA Tournament Regional matches in Seattle, please visit http://gohuskies.collegesports.com/ot/2005-w-volley-ncaa.html.

Please visit www.GoPSUsports.com for more information on the Penn State women¡¯s volleyball team.