Dec. 12, 2007

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -

Complete AVCA All-America Teams in PDF Format

The five-time defending Big Ten Champion and top-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team (32-2) collected four AVCA All-America honors, the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced Wednesday. Junior outside hitter Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio), junior middle hitter Christa Harmotto (Aliquippa, Pa.) and sophomore outside hitter Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) all were named AVCA First Team All-America while sophomore setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) earned AVCA Second Team All-America honors.

The AVCA National Player of the Year will be announced at the AVCA All-America banquet on Friday, Dec. 14 while the AVCA National Coach of the Year will be announced at the Jostens Coaches Honors Luncheon on Thursday, Dec. 13.

The First Team All-America honor is the second consecutive for both Fawcett and Hodge and the third overall All-America honor for Fawcett as she was named Second Team her freshman season in 2005. Harmotto's First Team All-America award is the first of her career and her third overall All-America accolade as she was recognized as a Second Team selection a year ago and an Honorable Mention pick following her freshman season in 2005. It is the first career All-America accolade for Glass.

The AVCA honors First, Second and Third Team All-America selections, with each team consisting of 12 players per squad, along with recognizing Honorable Mention selections. Penn State is one of only two schools with three First Team AVCA All-America and four overall selections, as Stanford also earned three First Team selections and one Second Team honor. Defending national champion Nebraska earned five total All-America honors as Texas earned four total accolades.

The four selections bring Penn State's total number of All-America selections to 52 since 1979 and head coach Russ Rose has now coached at least one All-America selection in 28 of his 29 seasons at Penn State.

Fawcett earns her third consecutive AVCA All-America honor and her second straight Second Team recognition. A three-time unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection, Fawcett ranks second on the team with 4.47 kills per game on .313 hitting. She has 29 double-digit kill matches this season, including a career-high 31 kills against Cal Poly on Aug. 31. Against Illinois on Nov. 17, Fawcett surpassed the 1,400 kills for her career, making her only the eighth Nittany Lion player in history to accomplish the feat. She also has a team-leading 42 service aces for the season to go along with 168 digs and 96 total blocks. In NCAA action this season, Fawcett is averaging 4.33 kills per game on .440 hitting with seven aces, 13 digs and 21 total blocks.

Harmotto picks up her third consecutive AVCA All-America honor but her first First Team All-America recognition. The Big Ten Player of the Year, she is hitting .494 for the season, good for second in the country, while providing 3.13 kills per game and 1.68 blocks per game, which places her fourth in the nation. She has 21 double-digit kill matches and has at least four blocks in 26 contests, including a season-best 12 stuffs at Illinois on Oct. 19. In the NCAA Tournament, Harmotto is averaging 3.25 kills per game on .607 hitting with 25 total blocks (2.08 bpg).

Hodge earns her second straight First Team AVCA All-America honor after also earning her second consecutive unanimous First Team All-Big Ten recognition. She is averaging a team-leading 4.60 kills per game on .301 hitting with 2.59 digs per game, also adding in 83 total blocks. She has double-digit kill numbers in all but one match of the season, including recording a season-high 25 kills at Michigan on Nov. 24 and putting down 17 kills on .714 hitting in the NCAA First Round win over Siena. In NCAA action, Hodge is averaging 4.33 kills per game on .484 hitting with 25 digs and eight blocks.

Glass earns her first career AVCA All-America honors after also being selected First Team All-Big Ten. She has directed the Lions to a .351 season hitting percentage, which ranks first in the country, and has four players averaging more than 2.00 kills per game. Glass is averaging 13.00 assists per game and also has 81 kills on .324 hitting along with 181 digs and 103 total blocks. In the NCAA Tournament, Glass has directed Penn State to a combined .502 hitting percentage with no attacker hitting less than .429. She is also adding in 13 kills on .545 hitting with 13.25 assists per game, 1.58 digs per game and 1.42 blocks per game.

The top-ranked Big Ten champion Penn State women's volleyball team (32-2) continues its NCAA title quest when it faces No. 6 California (26-7) in the NCAA Semifinals on Thursday, Dec. 13 at 8:00 p.m. PT (11:00 p.m. ET) at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, Calif. The other NCAA Semifinal features No. 4 Stanford (31-2) and No. 5 Southern California and begins at 6:00 p.m. PT (9:00 p.m. ET). The winners of each of the matches will meet in the NCAA title contest at 6:00 p.m. PT (9:00 p.m. ET) on Saturday, Dec. 15.

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