PSU Women's Volleyball team advances with 100th straight win

Dec-14-2009, 05:04 PM

Go Lady Lions! WE ARE.....
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PSU advances with 100th straight win
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ESPN.com news services
Penn State women's volleyball team (36-0) won its 100th consecutive match, beating California 25-18, 25-17, 25-22 in the NCAA Gainesville Regional Final.

The win gives head coach Russ Rose 999 match victories in his career, according to Penn State's athletic Web site.

Penn State senior Megan Hodge was named the region's Most Outstanding Player. Hodge led the team with 14 kills on .429 hitting, according to Penn State's athletic Web site.

The Nittany Lions advances to the national semifinals for the third straight season. They will face either Hawaii or Michigan on Thursday in Tampa.

Dec-14-2009, 05:06 PM

Junior Alyssa D'Errico

Dec-14-2009, 05:07 PM

"The Nittany Lions advances to the national semifinals for the third straight season. They will face either Hawaii or Michigan on Thursday in Tampa"

Penn State will face Hawaii in the Semi-finals.

Dec-14-2009, 05:12 PM

These girls are cute.

**CROSSBONES** · Dec-16-2009, 01:14 AM

And they are hot babes too!

Dec-16-2009, 07:39 PM

I can't wait to watch them Thursday night. 2 more wins and they will have won 3 straight NCAA titles! Amazing!

**Palmetto Steel** · Dec-16-2009, 08:14 PM

So... These chicks are good at "handling big balls"?.....

**Palmetto Steel** · Dec-16-2009, 08:16 PM

"WE ARE....."

... Oh... Please... Nobody wants me to finish this statement...

Dec-16-2009, 08:22 PM

Dec-16-2009, 08:23 PM

Originally Posted by NKySteeler

"WE ARE....."

... Oh... Please... Nobody wants me to finish this statement...

I'll finish it for you....... WE ARE .......the champions.

**Palmetto Steel** · Dec-16-2009, 08:28 PM

Originally Posted by sjdrewk

I'll finish it for you....... WE ARE .......the champions.

OK... I'll give you that with this sport...

... Just trying to have some "generic" fun. I could finish it a few ways differently, but I'll stay on topic...

In all seriousness though, "props" to the gals!

Dec-16-2009, 08:37 PM

Originally Posted by NKySteeler

OK... I'll give you that with this sport...

... Just trying to have some "generic" fun. I could finish it a few ways differently, but I'll stay on topic...

In all seriousness though, "props" to the gals!

I love volleyball, I use to eat, drink and sleep it- I use to play all the time- not at all anymore but I love to watch Penn State Women's Volleyball and use to go to watch Stanford play in person when Keri Walsh was there. The rules are different than when I played but I still Love the sport; as my volleyball buddies and I use to say : "Volleyball is da Sport!"

Dec-18-2009, 11:01 AM

Penn State beat Hawaii 3 set to 1 and will face #2 Texas in what is one of the most anticipated match ups in volleyball history for the title. They were anticipated to face Texas last year but Texas was upset.

Last year, the Penn State women's volleyball team was called the greatest NCAA women's volleyball team ever. Their current streak is the greatest win streak in NCAA women's team athletics at 101 wins. They have not lost since 2007 when they lost to Stanford.

I can't imagine the pressure on these young girls. I hope they win on Saturday. It will be tough. Texas is really good.

Dec-20-2009, 12:22 AM

Just in case anyone was wondering the title game was played tonight. Penn State played #2 Texas in what was one of the most anticipated matches in volleyball history. It was just an exciting volleyball match. PSU actually lost the first 2 sets only to comeback and win in 5 sets. Only two other teams have comeback and won after trailing in the championship match after going down 0-2 in sets. So dramatic and made my heart pound. Congratulations to the team for winning tonight and for winning 3 straight NCAA titles. This is historic and unprecedented...... and with two straight undefeated season! YESSSS! I am so proud of those girls! And it goes without saying , the Texas team was so tough.

Here are is a press release:

Penn State makes history, wins third straight volleyball title
Updated 38m ago | Comments 3 | Recommend E-mail | Save | Print |

Enlarge By Mike Carlson, AP

Penn State celebrates its record-third consecutive NCAA volleyball title after rallying from an 0-2 deficit to beat Texas in five sets. The match also gave the Nittany Lions their 102nd win in a row.

Enlarge By Mike Carlson, AP

(Btw, this girl for Texas, Destinee Hooker was incredible! An amazing athlete)
Texas outside hitter Destinee Hooker, spiking a ball past Penn State's Arielle Wilson, had a game-high 34 kills for the Longhorns, who were trying to claim their first volleyball title since 1988.

TAMPA (AP) — Penn State became the first team to win three straight volleyball titles Saturday night, overcoming a two-set deficit to beat Texas in five and extend its record winning streak to 102 straight games.
Megan Hodge led the Nittany Lions (38-0) with 21 kills, including the final one that touched off a wild celebration at midcourt.

"They just won three national championships in a row," Penn State coach Russ Rose said. "Not a lot of people have done stuff like that. Our seniors just willed us to the win."

Penn State's 22-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-13 win helped it stake a claim as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, volleyball team in NCAA history. And maybe one of the best college teams ever.

The winning streak is second in Division I team sports behind the Miami men's tennis program's 137 straight victories from 1957-64.

The Nittany Lions led 22-19 in the first set and were on the brink of going ahead early. Then Texas called timeout, regrouped and rallied for six straight points to put Penn State behind, an unfamiliar position during most of its incredible run.

The Nittany Lions had only lost six sets this season entering the final match, although one of those came in the semifinals against Hawaii, before dropping the first two to Texas.

But Penn State regained its serving prowess and cruised through the next two sets and had only a few miscues in the final set before closing out the Longhorns.

Destinee Hooker had a game-high 34 kills for Texas, which was trying to claim its first volleyball title since 1988.

But the Nittany Lions were just too much.

Penn State hasn't lost since falling to Stanford in September 2007.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Dec-20-2009, 12:41 AM

4 Time 1st team all- american and player of the year: Megan Hodge.

Megan Hodge Named 2009 AVCA Division I National Player of the Year
Hodge is Penn State's second consecutive AVCA Player of the Year

Senior Megan Hodge

Dec. 18, 2009

TAMPA, Fla. - Penn State senior Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) has been named the 2009 AVCA Division I National Player of the Year, the American Volleyball Coaches Association announced. The award was presented this evening at the AVCA All-America/Player of the year banquet held in conjunction with 2009 AVCA Annual Convention in Tampa, Fla.

"I want to thank the AVCA for this award," said Hodge. "I especially want to thank my teammates and my coaches. This wouldn't have been possible without all of them. Finally, I want to thank my parents and my family for all of their support."

This is Penn State's second consecutive and third overall honor. Nicole Fawcett was selected in 2008 and Lauren Cacciamani was co-Player of the Year in 1999. Hodge recently became only the fifth athlete in the 29-year history of the AVCA All-America program to earn AVCA First-Team All-America recognition in all four seasons she wore a Nittany Lion jersey.

Hodge is an all-around player for head coach Russ Rose, who just recorded his 1,000th career victory with a 3-1 win against Hawai'i on Thursday evening in the National Semifinals. The 6-3 outside hitter leads the team with 539 kills, her 4.75 kills per set ranks first in the Big Ten and her .399 attack percentage sits at second in the league behind teammate Arielle Wilson. Hodge is also a threat in the back row ranking second on the squad with 282 digs (2.45 digs per set).

The Durham, N.C. native became Penn State's fourth four-time All-American. She has earned First Team accolades all four years of her career. She is a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year, earning the honor in 2006 as a freshman and 2009 as senior. This is the fifth straight year a Penn State student-athlete has been the league's player of the year.

Hodge has amassed a career record of 141-5 leading up to this year's National Title match. Her and classmate Alisha Glass are the winningest class in program history. During Hodge's career, the Nittany Lions have made three-straight NCAA National Semifinal appearances and advanced to the championship match each time. The team has captured two consecutive national titles and is aiming for an unprecedented third on Saturday, Dec. 19.
Hodge and the Nittany Lions take on No. 2 Texas on Saturday in the National Championship match. Livestats will be available at GoPSUsports.com and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2. Fans can listen to the match with Dean DeVore and Craig Dyer on Newsradio 103 WRSC-FM (103.1FM) in State College and surrounding areas and around the world for free on GoPSUsports.com. You will be able to email comments and questions during the broadcast to Dean and Craig at PSUVolleyball@gmail.com. In addition, fans can follow the Nittany Lions' trip to Tampa on Twitter, by following @PSUVolleyball or Susanpsusports.

Courtesy of the AVCA.